Book Review Misadventure 
by Millard Kaufman
McSweeney's, hb, £16.99, Fiction
Book Review: Misadventure
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Millard Kaufman’s debut novel, Bowl of Cherries, was published in 2008 when its author was 90 years old. Although it was his first novel, he was no stranger to the writing world, already having a successful Hollywood screenwriting career behind him – his best work was arguably 1954’s Oscar-Nominated Bad Day at Black Rock.
His second novel, Misadventure, was released in the US last year, and unfortunately Kaufman passed away shortly afterwards. It’s a completely different animal to the obtuse comic fiction of Bowl of Cherries.
A young real estate agent is hired by a dejected wife to murder her millionaire husband. A short time later, he is also hired by the millionaire husband to bump off the dejected wife. Reminiscent of classics like Chinatown, it’s a perfect exercise in modern noir and shows all the hallmarks of a screenplay. There are henchmen, shady deals, an exotic blond who’s not quite what she seems, and an evil genius with a Mexican island full of laboratory monkeys (Ok, so it’s not entirely standard noir).
Somehow both old fashioned in its style but contemporary in its personality, it’s a pacey, violent, humorous novel, which pieces itself together bit by bit into a superb thriller.
Posted on Wednesday 1st September 2010
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