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From Publishers Weekly A melodramatic plot and
histrionic dialogue, plus some racial and gender stereotyping that some
readers may find offensive, tarnish Lovell's (Song of Night) otherwise
suspenseful and engaging mystery. Black New York ex-cop Blades Overstreet
gets seduced into the dangerous enterprise of helping alluring soap-opera
star "Precious" find her long-lost father. Since Overstreet is already in
the bad graces of the NYPD/FBI for accusing a fellow officer of shooting him
"by accident" because of his color during a buy-and-bust operation,
hostility toward Overstreet skyrockets when he stumbles on a murdered FBI
agent. Attempting to grapple with issues of race and ethnic "otherness," the
novel overdoes such references and, ironically, undermines their message
with slurs such as the assertion that Jamaican women "prefer to ride the
dick all night." Moreover, the author heaps crude metaphors like "I didn't
realize this shit was going to become hotter than a hooker's ass" on top of
clichés like "To taste her was to eat a ripe, full-bodied fig." In between
scenes of repulsively gruesome violence, the male characters brag in the
crassest terms about their sexual successes. This is a book for macho crime
fans only. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist The Caribbean-born author turns
from literary fiction (Fire in the Canes , 1995; Song of Night ,
1998) to the crime novel with this atmospheric tale of black ex-cop Blades
Overstreet. Embroiled in a lawsuit with the NYPD after being accidentally
shot and nearly killed by a fellow undercover detective, Overstreet has
resigned from the force and alienated his wife with his anger and paranoia.
In the midst of trying to win her back, and against his better judgment, he
agrees to help a beautiful young actress pay off an informant for
information about her long-absent father. But things go seriously wrong when
the informant--an FBI agent-- turns up dead. Overstreet becomes the prime
suspect, and, dodging both the FBI and the cops, he seeks to find the
connection between the actress and a powerful local politician. Awash in the
cultural milieu of Caribbean immigrants--preparations for the annual West
Indian Carnival Day Parade serve as a major backdrop--this is stylish
entertainment featuring a vulnerable protagonist with a volatile temper and
a tortured personal life. Joanne Wilkinson Copyright © American
Library Association. All rights reserved Bookaholic, July, 2003 ...the writing is terrific. Black Issues Book Review,
May/June 2003 ...sleuthing rendered with wit, imagination and a
Caribbean flair. African American
Literature Book Club, July 2003 The book is, in a word,
superb...smart, sexy, soft in the right places...I loved every word of it.
New York Daily News, July
18, 2003 Lovers of detective fiction
will eat up Lovell's page-turner... QBR, July/August 2003 ...an exciting, action-packed, visually descriptive,
fast moving, and witty tale that kept me on the edge of my seat Book Description A debut mystery by a highly
regarded author of literary novels, a gritty African-American noir with the
atmosphere of Dashiell Hammett and the multicultural appeal of Walter Mosely.
Too Beautiful to Die introduces
Blades Overstreet, a black ex-cop, now at odds with the NYPD over the
incident that prompted his resignation-a buy-and-bust operation gone bad
when a white cop "accidentally" shot and nearly killed him. Now, the man who
saved Blades's life prevails upon him to help a beautiful soap-opera star
named Precious find her father. But that assignment quickly turns sour when
Blades stumbles on the murdered body of an FBI agent, and he becomes the
target of an FBI/NYPD manhunt.
About the Author Glenville Lovell was born in
Barbados. He is the author of several prizewinning plays as well as two
novels, Song of Night and Fire in the Canes .
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08/14/03
