Purgatory Chasm

“Tander Phigg was an asshole, but he was also a Barnburner. Barnburners saved my life. I help them when I can. No exceptions.”

The job seems simple. Conway Sax, a no-nonsense auto mechanic with a knack for solving difficult problems, has never liked obnoxious blowhard Tander Phigg. But a promise is a promise. Tander’s a Barnburner, a member of the unique Alcoholics Anonymous group that rescued Conway, and when a Barnburner has a problem, Conway takes care of it.  Besides, all Tander wants is to get back his baby, a vintage Mercedes that’s been in a shady auto shop far too long.

But Conway soon discovers there’s much more to the problem than Tander first let on – especially when Tander turns up dead. Conway was the last person seen with the victim, and on top of that, he has a record, making him the cops’ top suspect. He must catch the killer to clear himself, but beyond that, he’s a man who honors his promises, even when the guy he made them to is dead.”

It took me a few chapters to get into Steve Ulfelder’s debut “Purgatory Chasm” for two reasons – I couldn’t quite grasp how a regular guy – fresh out of prison after serving time for Manslaughter two – could manage to work his way through the inevitable trouble that was heading his way simply by making a promise. The second reason was the overwhelming information on car types at the beginning of the book.

However once I’d made my way past this initial reticence I settled down into what is a highly enjoyable journey of one man’s quest to hold his end of the bargain – with the help of a few friends.

The narrative is slick and Purgatory Chasm is a very quick read, one thing it certainly did was hold my attention effortlessly throughout and despite my early misgivings I’m certainly glad I continued reading the book.

The characters are full of colour and depth – all given suitable back stories and Ulfelder works well to blend each and every character avoiding wasted effort and non-essential narrative. The main protagonist, like many of his supporting cast is a recovering Alcoholic and I would have liked to have heard a little more on this struggle but for a debut book Steve has done a decent job without going into overkill.

There is a certain humour lurking deep within and his description of “Montreal” – a serious drug lord was a delight!

His dyed-black hair was a slightly modern take on a pompadour, and his goatee looked drawn on. His getup was straight out of the “Dick Van Dyke Show”: narrow-legged black slacks, a shimmery blue-grey jacket with skinny lapels, an equally skinny necktie. It was tailored and expensive-looking, so I figured the early 60’s look must be hip again.

So there we have it. With an increasing body count to deal with, being in the wrong place at the wrong time really isn’t an option for Conway Sax. An entertaining read and a narrative that hooks you in, slowly but surely, Purgatory Chasm is certainly worth a read – Petrol heads and fans of the action/thriller genre will love it!

Published by Minotaur on May 10th 2011