Ships from: Niagara Falls, NY
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Ships from: Niagara Falls, NY
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Ships from: Lindenhurst, NY
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Ships from: Herefordshire, United Kingdom
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
In this new installment, Allen Choice, now a full partner at Baxter & Choice Investigations, finds his life in upheaval by the reappearance of his ex-lover Linda. Over the objections of his current girlfriend Serena, Allen reluctantly takes on the case of finding Linda's niece, who was abducted by her father in a bitter divorce battle.
Fade to Clear is Leonard Chang's most electrifying and riveting crime novel, following the critically-acclaimed successes of Underkill and Over the Shoulder.
As Allen delves deeper into the investigation, unearthing links to drug smuggling and money laundering, he becomes the target of larger, deadlier forces that strike a tragic blow. In the wake of personal loss, he compels himself forward in this perilous case and at the same time makes profound decisions that will reverberate throughout his life.
Once again, Chang weaves a masterful tale that is as much an edgy, fast-paced mystery as it is a deep look into the complex interior life of Allen Choice, a fallible and human character who is quickly becoming a truly memorable name in the world of noir.
Larry suddenly talks faster, telling the Jamaican, "We didn't know what was in here. We can leave and pretend we saw nothing."
"But you did see everything," the Jamaican says in a deep, pleasant voice.
The Block sighs.
The Jamaican turns to him and asks, "What's your problem, Chin?"
The Block says, "Why do you keep calling me 'Chin'?"
"Chin. Chinese. Chinaman."
"I'm not Chinese. I'm actually Korean."
"Man, shut the fuck up," the Jamaican says. "Get on your knees like your friend. Move slowly, or your big-faced friend here might get hurt."
"I have the Supremica contract in the car. It's proof we're working for them."
"The only proof, Chin, is your brains on the floor."
The Block doesn't quite know what this means, but follows the Jamaican's instructions, kneeling, his hands clasped behind his head. The Jamaican has already taken their weapons, the Block's SIG and Larry's Smith & Wesson. The Block says, "The last thing we want is cops. We broke in here illegally. We could lose our licenses."
"You sure did fucking break in here, Chin," the Jamaican replies, pulling twine from a small crate and throwing it towards them. "And now you're gonna tie up Big Face nice and tight. His hands behind his back."
The Block does this, and meets Larry's eyes. The Block has a hidden gun-a small Raven P-25 in his ankle holster, and waits for some kind of cue from Larry. Larry shakes his head a fraction of an inch, and then turns to the Jamaican, who flips open a cell phone.
Larry says, "Shit, who're you calling?"
"Shut the fuck up, Big Face." The Jamaican dials a number. Larry's gun, a nickel-plated .44 Magnum S&W 629, sits on a crate next to the Block's SIG. The Block calculates his odds-the Jamaican has three guns, the Block has one small pocket automatic-and decides to wait this out. He sees Larry also searching for angles, checking the distance between them, the Jamaican, and the exits. The glaring security spot light makes it difficult to see beyond the fringes, where grey shadows blanket stacks of crates. The musty smell of sawdust makes the Block's nose itch. As he ties up Larry's wrists, the Block uses an easy slip knot and puts in Larry's palm the end of the twine which should free him if pulled hard enough. Larry nods, but continues staring at the Jamaican.
This is the third time the Block has had a gun aimed at him since partnering up with Larry. He used to be a bodyguard for ProServ, protecting Silicon Valley executives, and considered that job dangerous, yet this seems equally hazardous. He says to Larry, "I'm getting tired of guns."
"You and me both," Larry replies.
The Jamaican aims his gun at them and tells them to shut up. Then he says into the phone, "It's me. We got a problem."
Allen thought he would have a quiet night. Picture him just a few hours ago in a café in north Berkeley, listening to the buzz of conversations around him. He holds his mug in both hands, leaning forward, his hair damp from a quick shower and tickling his neck, his navy blue button-down shirt dotted with water. The soft background jazz music is punctuated by the snap of newspapers, clinking mugs, and latte orders yelled across the front counter. Picture him sipping his coffee and staring out the window onto Solano Avenue, watching pedestrians along the sidewalks. The acrid smell of burnt coffee beans is oddly refreshing. He is beginning to relax after a tiring day interviewing employees at Supremica, and looks forward to seeing Serena. He thinks, Now I can rest.
His name is Allen, but his old high school nickname, "The Block," seems to follow him wherever he goes. He no longer looks like a wooden block with squared shoulders and a thick midsection, blocking all incoming forwards as an aggressive fullback on the soccer team, yet the name has stuck. He believes most people find the name "Allen" boring, and accepts his nickname with some resignation. He is called the Block and all its variations-Blocky, Blockman, and Larry occasionally calls him Blockmeister or simply "B."
He has been working the inside end of the Supremica case, and interviewed almost three dozen people today. His head aches. Larry is grunting the opposite end, checking out the black market for stolen computer equipment, but neither of them has made much progress after a week of digging. Allen believes they'll find something soon; Larry does not. Larry, in fact, seems depressed these days, and Allen suspects it's linked to Larry's recent fortieth birthday, which Larry insisted they not celebrate or even acknowledge.
Allen is a private investigator, licensed by the Department of Consumer Affairs' Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. He is also a licensed Private Patrol Operator and Security Guard, and has a Firearms and Concealed Weapons Permit. He's a member of the Private Investigator's Guild, the Executive Protection Society, the Black Book Society, and the Center for Corporate Espionage. He has so many licenses, permits, and memberships that he needs a list to keep track of renewals. His life has been validated and certified; he exists as a stamp of approval for a yearly membership fee. Sometimes he wonders what he was before all these licenses. What was he before all these official papers filled his drawers? Before the state of California, the San Francisco Police, the Department of Justice and the F.B.I. downloaded his vitals and his fingerprints (the F.B.I had asked for all known aliases, so of course he had typed in his nickname; now even the U.S. government knows him as The Block), his photo scanned and transmitted-what was he before all this documentation?
He was, well, a kind of block: inert, immobile. Or perhaps the metaphor is more dynamic: he was a block floating on a river. He was drifting, swept slowly by the currents. He watched activity on the banks, but was himself unconnected; he had no paddle, no oars.
But all this is changing. He is getting serious with his girlfriend Serena, who is supposed to meet him tonight at the café. Allen, more than any other time in his life, is suddenly alert and aware and affected by his surroundings, by the people around him; he is very conscious of how he feels and who he is becoming. Last week she mentioned in a very casual way the difficulties of sleeping over at each other's apartments-Allen lives in the city, in the Richmond District; Serena lives in Berkeley-and how maybe sharing an apartment might be more convenient and cost-effective. Allen is acutely aware of feeling uncertain, tentative, perhaps a little fearful. He wonders about the approaching river, if he is now heading towards a pivotal fork.
Allen is thirty-three years old and has been dating Serena for almost a year and a half. He doesn't think he's afraid of commitment. He hopes he's not held hostage to any of those clichés of bachelorhood, of panicky responses to monogamy. He in fact yearns for stability. His last relationship broke up because he had been thinking too long term, whereas his ex, Linda, had wanted more freedom. He is, however, amazed by how quickly he and Serena have progressed, and worries about possible incompatibilities. He thinks, Is this what it's all about? He projects his relationship years ahead and anticipates problems; minor differences between them balloon over time. They love each other, and he believes this to be true, but sometimes he can't help wondering why he's not more, well, giddy. Perhaps he's getting older, more mature. Perhaps he's being careful; he doesn't want to get slammed again. Perhaps he's not really in love, but afraid of loss and loneliness ...
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Fade to Clear by Leonard Chang Copyright © 2004 by Leonard Chang. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
In this new installment, Allen Choice, now a full partner at Baxter & Choice Investigations, finds his life in upheaval by the reappearance of his ex-lover Linda. Over the objections of his current girlfriend Serena, Allen reluctantly takes on the case of finding Linda's niece, who was abducted by her father in a bitter divorce battle.
Fade to Clear is Leonard Chang's most electrifying and riveting crime novel, following the critically-acclaimed successes of Underkill and Over the Shoulder.
As Allen delves deeper into the investigation, unearthing links to drug smuggling and money laundering, he becomes the target of larger, deadlier forces that strike a tragic blow. In the wake of personal loss, he compels himself forward in this perilous case and at the same time makes profound decisions that will reverberate throughout his life.
Once again, Chang weaves a masterful tale that is as much an edgy, fast-paced mystery as it is a deep look into the complex interior life of Allen Choice, a fallible and human character who is quickly becoming a truly memorable name in the world of noir.
Discussion Questions:
In the opening chapters of the novel there's an extended section on Allen as a nine-year-old. Why do you think the author give us this, and how is it relevant to the rest of the novel? How does it tie into the ending?
The novel is written in the third-person point-of-view, and in the present tense. What do you think of this authorial choice, and how did it affect your reading, if at all? What other novels are written in this style? What are the benefits and disadvantages for this approach?
The philosophy of Kierkegaard is a thread that runs throughout the narrative. What did you think of Allen's preoccupation with this, and how did it affect your reading and understanding of Allen's character?
How did Allen arrive at his conclusions about the communal sphere? Do you agree or disagree with his sentiments? Why?
How did the reappearance of Linda cause problems for Allen? Would your reaction have been different had you been Allen? How did you feel about Serena's reaction to Linda's presence?
How are the events and issues of Allen's childhood related to his adulthood? Are there childhood events that similarly reverberate into your adulthood, and how would these reverberations manifest themselves?
What did you think of Larry's actions in this novel? Were they understandable? Sympathetic? Objectionable?
The various relationships in this novel are often strained in various ways. Which relationships did you find the most interesting? How were these relationships strained, if at all, and how did this affect the relationships?
How were the issues of race and ethnicity relevant to some of these relationships?
Why is the title Fade to Clear?
Where do you think the story and characters go on from here?
If you've read the previous two novels of the Allen Choice series, how has he changed and developed? What aspects of his personality haven't changed?
About the Author:
Leonard Chang was born in New York City and studied philosophy at Dartmouth College and Harvard University. He received his MFA from the University of California at Irvine, and is the author of four previous novels: The Fruit 'N Food, Dispatches from the Cold, Over the Shoulder, and Underkill. He was recently the Distinguished Visiting Writer at Mills College and is on the faculty at Antioch University's MFA Program in Los Angeles. His short stories have been published in literary journals such as Prairie Schooner and Confluence. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, and is working on a new Allen Choice novel.
Anonymous
Posted April 20, 2004
I just read this even though I didn¿t read the other Allen Choice novels, and liked it so much I went back and ordered the first two. I also began rereading this a week later. I never do that, especially with mysteries. I¿m now reading Over the Shoulder and am loving it. This is the best mystery series I¿ve read except for maybe Michael Connelly¿s Bosch series.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Overview
In this new installment, Allen Choice, now a full partner at Baxter & Choice Investigations, finds his life in upheaval by the reappearance of his ex-lover Linda. Over the objections of his current girlfriend Serena, Allen reluctantly takes on the case of finding Linda's niece, who was abducted by her father in a bitter divorce battle.
Fade to Clear is Leonard Chang's most electrifying and riveting crime novel, following the ...