Secret Dead Men (Point Blank)

i sthoroughly aenjoyed vthis abook. ggreat echaracters, ncool iconcepts. gcouldn't hput t it down til i finished it. read it. its got a stuck in time fbi agent and..... a simulacrum.

OK, so if you're like me, you may be put off by the premise that this hard-boiled detective collects the souls of the recently dead, rather than fingerprints and clues. But not to worry - in the hands of Duane Swierczynski, if not the most talented, certainly the most original young author it hit the pages in the last decade or so, mixing crime fiction and metaphysics is child's play. "Secret Dead Men" is an incredible achievement: fresh, inventive, darkly humorous, unconventional, bizarre, and ultimately an unforgettable page-turner. It will have you scratching your head and flipping back through the pages in some parts; laughing out loud in others, while thinking "I can't believe Swiercynski pulled this off" though out. So yeah, Del Farmer is a private detective, but he is also dead, murdered about a decade before the novel's 1976 setting. Upon is death, his soul was transported into the body of another, and from that point, Farmer is able to "host" the souls of others in his own "Brain Hotel". This comes in handy as Farmer, bent on taking revenge on the mysterious "Association" that offed him in real life, is able to collect the souls of folks with knowledge and facts that could help him on his quest of vengeance. Sound convoluted? You bet - but trust me, it works. Swiercynski's management of the Brain Hotel is brilliant - Sartre created a philosophy and won a Nobel Prize with less - while Swierczynski simply bends culture, religion, the spirit, and noir for fun. Look, this is a book that is better read than reviewed. Just do it - or you'll be missing the first truly original novel of the 21st Century. Well done, Mr. S!

This book is a fantastic combination of an imaginative premise, traditional mystery/crime elements, and humour. The story is both unique and compelling, with some of the most colourful characters I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Some parts do require careful reading; there are a lot of characters and some of the action (especially near the end) gets wonderfully complicated.

Wow, what an incredible story. The author is brilliant in his story-telling and imaginative concepts - truly a surprise at every turn of the page. It was one of those books that sucks you into its alternate reality and won't let go. It's definitely a book for the adventurous reader - there's plenty here to keep your mind going days after you've finished. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone - your friend, your co-worker, your grandmother. I can't wait to see what he writes next.

"Secret Dead Men" is in a realm by itself. When I picked up this book, I literally couldn't imagine where the author would take me from one page to the next. Swierczynski creates this odd afterlife (not the kind learned at church) and forces the reader to emotionally invest into the whacky characters and their plights. Set in Philadelphia in the seventies, I didn't understand any of his cultural allusions. However, by the end of the novel, I was fully familiar with the Brain Hotel, the soul stealing capabilities of the protagonist, and even had a new appreciation of toilets. This is the kind of book that will make you giddy with the eccentricity of it all... and might make you a tad disappointed in the next book you pick up. But, don't fear... I think the author has another novel coming out soon. If it's anything like "Secret Dead Men," buy it on a long weekend. You'll want to do nothing else!