Poet Meschery (Over the Rim) makes his fiction debut with an outstanding series launch. It's 1968, and business has been slow for Brovelli Brothers Used Cars in Oakland, Calif. Owners Vincent and Victor Brovelli, identical twins, cut their losses when they can by repossessing cars from deadbeats. One repeat offender is Sweets Monroe, a candy-munching scoundrel who saved the twins' father, Pop, from a street gang, so they keep cutting him slack-until they find the body of Sweets's ex-girlfriend in the trunk of his repo'ed Impala. Sweets swears he didn't kill her. The twins are skeptical, but Pop, for whom honor is everything, coerces them into proving Sweets's innocence. Vincent is married, so Victor, lover of women, fast cars, and classic literature, buys a book on how to be a detective and takes on the investigation. As Victor hunts for a killer and tangles with the Mafia, biker gangs, Black Panthers, and crooked cops, he learns the line between good and evil isn't as plain as he thought. The times are changing, and so is Victor. Meschery offers a breathless adventure full of tension, humor, pathos, and heart. Readers will early await the sequel. (Oct.)
Publishers Weekly
Sports Illustrated once ran an article about Tom Meschery, former NBA basketball player and the author of the immensely entertaining CASE OF THE '61 CHEVY IMPALA, and it was titled: "The Most Interesting Man in the NBA."
I don't know many guys in the NBA, but I'm guessing that's an accurate description. But being the "most interesting man in the NBA" doesn't mean you're a good writer. So, here's what makes Meschery not just a good writer but a great one. 1) He's a graduate of the prestigious Iowa Writers Workshop; 2) he's published five books of poetry; 3) he taught high school English for 25 years (and although that doesn't guarantee literary success, it's proof of the tenacity, dedication and patience it takes to be a good writer); 4) he has lived a life of diversity, change and scholarship, not to mention that his retired jersey is one of only six that hang from the rafters of the Golden State Warriors (formerly Philadelphia).
I could go on about his qualifications, but the proof is on the pages of THE CASE OF THE '61 CHEVY IMPALA, his first novel, published at the tender age of 84. It's a detective mystery set in 1960's Oakland, written with humor, drama and insight. The book is loaded with spot on cultural, historic and geographic references. There's Black Panthers, cars, music and plenty of Italian family dynamics (even though Meschery is Russian).
Full disclosure: Meschery is a friend of mine. I met him when he was an assistant coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, trying to get rookie Bill Walton to put down his love beads and get angry on the boards. Despite our friendship, if this wasn't an excellent book, I wouldn't recommend readers go out and spend their hard-earned money on it. Buy this book and see what I'm talking about.
One last thing, and it's something you won't find in the book. When Meschery was the seventh player picked in the 1962 NBA draft, his signing bonus with the Warriors was a Chevy Impala (compared to $6,012,960 for the seventh pick in 2022.). Tom Colton
