Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed on 8/22/2019 + 1223 more book reviews

This novel is quite unlike most of Bradbury's usual fare. In it, he delves into the realm of the noir mystery novel. It is set in 1949 and takes place in Venice, California where the narrator is a young writer (Bradbury himself) who gets involved in a series of possible murders of some of the less fortunate residents of the decaying city of Venice. The story starts out with the narrator riding an old street car when a mysterious person behind him whispers "Death is a lonely business." Before the person can be identified he runs off into the rainy streets. Then the narrator discovers a body in an abandoned circus wagon left in an old canal of Venice. Other deaths and near deaths occur throughout the novel as the narrator tries to find the killer. He is aided by Elmo Crumley, a street-smart detective, and Constance Rattigan, a reclusive actress of yesteryear.

Bradbury did actually live in Venice from 1942 to 1950 and wrote some of his early stories there which were published by the pulp magazines of the time. This novel gives some of the mindset of where Bradbury got his ideas. An interesting different perspective from Bradbury.

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