This was an interesting read! This was my 1st book at Loren D. Estleman but will not be my last, I am adding their books to my TBR!

If you thought from the cover that this would be a noir mystery, you couldn't be more wrong. It's more like a slice-of-life in the writing and publishing industry in the 1940s through 1960s. While it would seem like "Paperback Jack" would be relevant to the book banning happening now, so little time is actually spent on the challenges that it's more irrelevant than anything. Overall, the book was lackluster.

This book takes a long time to go nowhere. I wanted this to be maybe satirical, maybe kind of like the noirs I love to watch. However this book is caught up in the toxic masculinity it wants to claim higher ground over. I didn't find the characters charming and I couldn't figure out any plot. This is the story of a man making his way through a post-war world and I wanted more intrigue.

I don’t even know how to rate this book or what the point of it even was? It was partially marketed as a thriller and I expected something a bit more exciting but it was really a play by play of this guy’s post war experience with publishing and the fallout with the mob and the government…it didn’t pick up until the last 30 min to an hour. I really forced myself to finish this.

3 stars

A well written book about the life of a writer, but I never really figured out what the point of this book was. Every time I thought I had figured out where it was going, it changed. I still enjoyed reading it though.

[What I liked:]

•This book is interesting, & for the most part well written. I especially liked the setting & the hints of noir feel scattered about.

•The supporting characters are all interesting. From Jacob’s agent & publisher, to the other writers at blue devil, there are lots of quirky characters.

•It was interesting to learn about the trends & changes in pulp fiction publishing, how WWII affected things, & how censorship threatened the industry in the 50’s & 60’s.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•Was this book a thriller, as advertised? I’m not sure. At points there was excitement, but it felt more like the meandering biography of a writer. The sections of the book don’t feel cohesive, & about the only consistent theme in the book seemed to be mapping the changes in the US publishing industry from the 1930’s to the 1970’s.

•I was really disappointed that Jacob & his artist friend never reconnected. Especially given that the ending is all about him catching up with other colleagues. They were so close through most of the book.

•The ending made absolutely no sense to me. Why would that guy want to hurt Jacob after all those decades? The motivation didn’t make sense. Why did Jacob care so much to cradle the guy in his dying moments? They never liked each other!! That whole scene seemed out of nowhere & unnecessary, just awkwardly tacked on after everything had already wrapped up.

CW: terminal illness, substance abuse, homophobia, physical assault, accidental death

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

The post-war publishing world meets Jacob Happelmen with a new challenge. Ever clever writer is able to write himself into a new and quite successful career. But the road he took to get there and the relationships he has made to help him reach the rise of his career are under thorough investigation. And once the famous author is about to get famously punished.

Phenomenal fast pace novel full of clever characters and a gripping plot. Jacob is by far my absolute favorite character, his witty humor and never-ending sarcasm made this novel even more entertaining. I am absolutely amazed by how much I've enjoyed this story. Great writing style and I can't wait to read more of Loren D. Estleman's novels. This may be my new favorite historical fiction read.

Thank you, NetGalley for a free and advanced copy of the novel in the exchange for my honest review.