Review: Back Door to L.A.

Back Door to L.A. by Jack Clark
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Eddie Miles is thinking about giving up the cab driver life when his long lost daughter re-enters his life, only to disappear as quickly as she arrived. Who took her and why? That's what Eddie means to find out, forcing him to work with his worst enemy, his ex-wife!






Jack Clark is a Chicago cab driver and the author of Nobody's Angel. When he emailed me asking if I'd like to read it, I jumped at the chance.

Eddie Miles over 50 and wondering what the hell he's doing still driving a cab when his daughter shows up in Chicago looking to reconnect. Too bad she's on the run from something and quickly disappears. Much like Nobody's Angel, Eddie being a cab driver adds a lot to the atmosphere of the story, at atmosphere of loneliness and regret.

I really like the way Jack has Eddie go about trying to find his daughter. He flounders quite a bit, not surprising since he's a cabbie and not a gumshoe. His volatile relationship with his ex is one of the driving forces of the novel.

Dan Payne was a pretty easy villain to hate, what with being a dirty former cop and runner of a porn ring. About the only thing I can complain about was the ending. Most of it happened off screen and Eddie was just caught in the aftermath. Actually, Eddie's wife may have been a touch unbelievable in her extreme bitchiness. Call a guy back when his daughter is missing, damn it! I did like the ambiguity the ending left, though.

Back Door to L.A. really got my meter running. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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