Created by Jack Clark
Oh, what a difference a blurb makes…
Originally, author Jack Clark, already a Shamus finalist for his first novel, was flogging his self-published novel Nobody’s Angel for five bucks apiece to passengers in his Chicago cab.
Hard Case Crime took note, and published the book for real in 2010, with a sexy, snazzy cover and everything. And somewhere along the way, film director Quentin Tarrantino got his hands on a copy.
“My favorite fiction novel this year was written by a taxi driver who used to hand it out to his passengers. It’s a terrific story and character study of a cabbie in Chicago during a time when a serial killer is robbing and murdering cabbies. Kudos to Hard Case Crime for publishing Mr. Clark’s book.”
Like his creator, EDDIE MILES is a Chicago taxi driver, a loner working the night shift with few friends and fewer prospects. He’s divorced, a drunk and a deadbeat dad. No wonder his ex high-tailed it to California, taking their daughter, Laura, with her. Adding to the joy of big city life, there are a couple of whack job killers out there, one targeting hookers and the other bumping off cabbies.
Fun times.
And then he comes across a teenage prostitute who’s been stabbed and left to die in the street. He saves her life, but in doing so makes himself a target.
That’s the basic premise, and it garnered plenty of raves, not just from Tarantino, but The Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, etc., to justify a sequel, Back Door to LA in 2016, in which Laura, now eighteen years old, smart and savvy and all grown up, pops up unexpectedly in Chicago on a cold winter night, and Eddie figures maybe his life has finally changed for the better.
Until Laura disappears, and Eddie has to travel to Los Angeles to find out what the hell’s going on…
UPDATE
Hard Case Crime re-released Nobody’s Angel in 2o24, in a larger trade paperback format, featuring an all-new–and even sexier–cover art by Claudia Caranfa. Definitely trying for a Taxi Driver/Jodie Foster vibe there.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chicago furniture mover, cabbie and writer Jack Clark began writing in 1975, and once won the Chicago Newspaper Guild’s Page One Award. He was a finalist for the Shamus Award for his first novel, Westerfield’s Chain (2002), which introduced Chicago private eye Nick Acropolis.
UNDER OATH
- “Nobody’s Angel is a gem… it’s just about perfect… doesn’t contain a wasted word or a false note.”
— The Washington Post on Nobody’s Angel - “Heartbreaking… captivating… each page turn feels like real, authentic Chicago.”
— Chicago Sun-Times on Nobody’s Angel - “The cynical, melancholy cabbie point of view is perfect for this kind of neon-lit, noir-tinged, saxophone-scored prose poem, and Clark hits all the right notes.”
— Booklist on Nobody’s Angel - “[A] slim, sparse, and heartbreaking novel.”
— Publishers Weekly on Nobody’s Angel - “A thoroughly satisfying journey into early 1970s Chicago, with the Windy City and its dark environs rising to the level of a living, breathing, vital character…. Hitching a ride in Eddie Miles’ cab is a rewarding experience.”
–- Deadly Pleasures on Nobody’s Angel - “Clark plots like a driver with tunnel vision who can’t see beyond the next curve, writes the clipped prose of a caffeine-fueled insomniac, and records every fare and tip, or lack thereof, with the precision of a bookkeeper.’
– Kirk’s Reviews on Nobody’s Angel - “Stark, merciless… a remarkable achievement in noir fiction.’
– Ron Fortier (Pulp Fiction Reviews) on Nobody’s Angel
NOVELS
- Nobody’s Angel (2010) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
- Back Door to LA (2016) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
FURTHER INVESTIGATION
- Death Flags a Cab
Taxi-driving Eyes - Their Kind of Town
Chicago Eyes - Twenty-Twenty
Twenty Private Eye Novels from Hard Case Crime’s First Twenty Years
Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.
