I absolutely loved
Cleaning Up Finn by Sarah M. Chen. I defy anyone who reads this tightly wound
novella to find anything wrong with it. It has a classic noir main character,
death, despair, and—best of all—a full-throttle plot that picks up more and more
speed as the plot unfolds.
Phineas Roose (Finn)
is a single man who, although he comes from a well to do family, makes his
living managing a local restaurant. Although he is quick to point out it is one
of the top grossing restaurants within the organization’s chain, he knows he
hasn’t lived up to his father’s expectations. He spends his time at work trying
to pick up well-to-d0 women and one night he succeeds when he picks up Ronnie,
a kindred soul who shares with him the bond of not living up to their parent’s
expectations. He takes Ronnie onto the boat of his uber-rich best friend (well
actually his only friend) and they commence to have a party for two. When his
overindulgence of wine leaves him unable to consummate their new relationship,
he ends up leaving Ronnie face-down drunk near the boat dock. The next morning
Ronnie has disappeared and the police, and ultimately a private eye hired by
Ronnie’s parents, become involved and they all set their sights on Finn. As
Finn tries his best to clear his name in Ronnie’s disappearance, he quickly learns
that Ronnie is not the person who Finn, or anyone else, thought she was.
As the pressure
starts to get to him, Finn is willing to do anything to extract himself from
the noose tightening around his neck. Readers will be shocked to learn just how
far he’s willing to go and who he’s willing to hurt to keep himself from going
down. As things get worse for him, Finn becomes more desperate and his downward
spiral brings him closer to his breaking point.
Chen has written
some solid stories that were published in the All Due Respect anthologies, but
this is the first longer piece I’ve read from her. She follows a classic noir
formula in this offering, but she puts in her own little touches and keeps the
story feeling fresh. This novella is a solid piece of writing and I am looking
forward to her next foray into longer pieces of noir fiction.
Highly Recommended.
Reviewed by Derrick
Horodyski.
