Synopsis: The bestselling comic-book writer of “Authority and Transmetropolitan” brings his trippy and fast-paced style to the publishing world with his first detective novel. A burned-out private detective is enlisted by an army of presidential goons to retrieve the U.S. Constitution…the real one. Following in the steps of Neil Gaiman, “Crooked Little Vein” is packed with action, adventure, and a wild cast of characters that are sure to appease not only hardcore comic fans, but a whole new slew of mystery readers waiting for a surprisingly surreal treat that infuses the madness of the graphic-novel world.
Review: Wow, I think I can honestly say that I have never read a book like this one. I confess that I am still on my ass after finishing it, not really knowing how to position myself in relation to what is happening all along the novel. I expected a dark story, depicting a sort of satire of society and it is true that this is what we have here, but there is also so much more. This is definitely not the kind of books I’m used to read but I think it was different to try something that different.
But let’s go back to the story. We discover McGill, a terrible private detective who always ends in catastrophic situations whatever he might do. An example? While he was dealing with an ordinary case of deceit, it turned out that the man had created a club with some of his friends and in the evening he went to do some pretty weird things with ostriches. Yes!! Ostriches!! Okay I admit that from that moment, I wondered in what kind of book I fell, because it is far from over and we see all that throughout the chapters. But I think I’ll let you discover it for yourself because everything is really twisted sometimes. Here I digress again, back to our hero… So he lived a rather morose life and you can say a pretty miserable one too, but one day a person of the White House shows up with his henchmen to hire him to find the second constitution of the United States lost many years ago. Why him? The unluckiest man in the world? Precisely because he is always found in the strangest situations and he is not afraid to get his hands dirty. But while McGill accepts the job, he certainly did not expect that this mission would lead him in a race across the United States, forcing him to deal with the most perverse people (yes, yes, really). Yet it is this quest that will enable him to meet Trix, this unusual young woman who seems to live her life in a rather unconventional way and become his companion. I admit that the two form the strangest duo. They are very different from each other and it is difficult to imagine them together and yet it works. McGill is a stressed man, who is “freaked out” at all times and yet this girl will open him up to new horizons. I must say that I liked Trix but she is a little too open for me I would say. Her way of life is intriguing and I admit that she often has an idea about everything. But I’ll let you discover it for yourself too.
It was a good novel, but it is true that it is not for a sensible heart. Very dark, perverse and twisted, I think those are the perfect words to describe the whole story. I did not know the author but I was very surprised by his universe. He presents addictive and sexual people’s vices without any problems. The survey itself is also really interesting and I was curious to know where this book would lead us. Of course, I did not expect the end and I loved the way it was concluded. A very good idea.
This is an original reading but you must know in what you’re getting into because everything is really special.
