Bergdorf & Associates by Thomas C. Mavroudis
I am sorta out of the business of reviewing books I know nothing about. For several years I wrote reviews for Monster librarian and I enjoyed getting random books by authors I knew nothing about. Many were first-time first authors and a few were not ready for prime time. Kate at Omnium Gatherum whose work I greatly respect sent me a couple of books, a few authors I know but admittedly this is an author I know nothing about except what is on the cover.
I don't want to sound too critical, but I didn't love this book. I strive to be positive at all times and there are things to like here. However, I have to be honest and in a marketplace filled with thousands of new books every year, a book really needs to stand out to get noticed or rocket to the top of the list where I am going to suggest someone invest time and money.
Mavroudis is a talented writer, there are really moments of dark vibe I enjoyed. We can start on the positive. Perhaps the scene I most vibed with was when Abe the main character visits his father in a nursing home. The scene is tragic and powerfully written, and it is connected to the plot but it is not the main drive.
I also really liked this moment from Chapter 10:
“The plastic bag on the passenger seat crackles with the beating heart wrapped inside it. Between the nursing home and Penny’s house, I see five police cars at irregular intervals along my route, a dragnet for some heinous criminal. I wouldn’t describe myself as heinous. Like a driver who has a drink or two at dinner but is not drunk, I’m paranoid of being pulled over when a sixth cop car stops behind me at a stoplight. The impending incident loops through my mind, again and again:
What’s in the bag, sir?
Nothing.
I’m going to ask one more time. What is in the bag?
My friend’s grandmother’s heart.
I’m not sure what my rights are, if I have to tell or not. They may not ask about it. And another thing – I still don’t know if Cruz is my friend.”
So the story is about Abe, who just survived a suicide attempt. You might not feel awesome about life; if you were contracted by demons and Djinns to hunt down artifacts. Now that is an interesting set-up and the title fits but my first problem with this book is that the title doesn't hook me. I think it sells the book a little short. It makes me think of an office, not a gothic tale.
Mavroudis does wonderful work with tone and vibe. That said, the mystery and the story didn't interest me at all. It is a short book but I still felt my mind wondering, and losing interest while reading. While the characters are interesting but the story wasn't, I honestly was not invested in Abe's quest or who he worked for. Vibe and characters can carry me for lots of pages but not all the way.
I enjoyed it enough to be interested in what Mavroudis does in the future. I think another draft, that makes the stakes clear, even the back cover description is a bit amorphous. A more interesting title to match the vibe shouldn't affect the reader, experience but when you are considering picking up a book to read. Seeing the name of a firm doesn't suggest a journey. Consider Brian Keene's Darkness on the Edge of Town. If that is sitting on my coffee table waiting to be read the title gets my attention over and over.
Mavroudis is talented no doubt. He will be on my radar. I expect good things to come.
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