Frank Sinatra In A Blender by Matthew McBride

FrankSinatra
“Y’know, there’s just something remotely fascinating about cutting off another man’s legs with a chainsaw. Especially if he’s still alive.” – Nick Valentine

To say Nick Valentine is a unique individual would be putting it lightly. Along with his partner Frank Sinatra – no, really – he works as a private detective in St. Louis. He likes to think there’s no case he can’t solve, and he’s damn sure there’s no drink or drug he doesn’t like.

When a credit union is robbed and the police have trouble picking up a decent lead Valentine finds himself front and center on the trail of the robbers…and the money. And he’s not the only one, as an oddball assortment of the worst examples of humanity St. Louis has to offer are all hot on the trail as well.

From dealer and go-to guy Big Tony and his partner Doyle, to local heavy hitter Mr. Parker and his enforcers Sid and Johnny No Nuts, author Matthew McBride has populated Frank Sinatra in a Blender with one of the most colorful cast of characters you’ll ever run across.

Before you know it Valentine is up to his ass in double crossing bad guys, suspicious police officers, and enough liquor and Oxycontin to drop an ox. Add to that copious amounts of strippers, car chases, and shootouts and you’re in for one hell of a no-holds-barred ride. Oh, and don’t forget that chainsaw.

It’s a tribute to McBride’s deliciously warped sense of humor that he can make even the most repugnant characters like Sid and Johnny No Nuts literally laugh out loud funny. Their combination of extreme sadism and outrageous incompetence really allows for no other reaction. There’s one scene in particular where Sid and Johnny take a very unfortunate individual to the basement of an abandoned church to engage in some decidedly unChristian activity that will have you shaking your head at the sheer audacity of McBride’s writing.

Frank Sinatra in a Blender is some of the most wickedly dark, hardboiled writing to come along in quite some time. Those active in the online world of short crime fiction have known about Matthew McBride’s work for a while now – the man’s affinity for chainsaws is legendary – but with the release of this brilliantly original first novel McBride is finally poised to garner some of the mainstream recognition he so richly deserves. If you’ve not picked up Frank Sinatra in a Blender yet, for the love of all things noir, do yourself a favor and get on this! Not only will you enjoy a hell of a read, you may just get a contact high in the process. —

Frank Sinatra in a Blender is available from Concord ePress.

Matthew McBride burst onto the crime-writing scene with his shocking and visceral short stories of bad men and good guns. Now his powerful first novel confirms what noir and crime pros have been murmuring online for months—this guy is the one to watch. He started writing on the assembly line at a Chrysler plant in St. Louis, where he worked for thirteen years. Now he’s a force to be reckoned with as a crime writer. McBride lives on a farm in rural Missouri with his wife and a bull named Hemingway. To learn more about Matt, visit his blog or follow him on Twitter.

Frank Sinatra in a Blender was one of my Top 10 Reads of 2011

7 Comments

  • Josh Stallings

    June 28, 2011 - 7:50 PM

    Ok, to be honest I f-ing love this book. Raw untamed madness. I have never laughed so hard at dismemberment, and a sock full of teeth, brilliant stuff. Great review, you are on a roll, keep it coming E!

  • Sabrina Ogden

    June 28, 2011 - 7:46 PM

    I love this book and despite the information from you and McDroll I managed to develop a crush on Nick. It happened at the end of the book when he was hiding and, well, you know the story already. Yeah, he might be screwed up, but the guy is smart!

  • Thomas Pluck

    June 28, 2011 - 4:41 PM

    There is a Kindle app for PC, Mac, etc.
    If you have a Nook color, I won’t tell you to Google “root nook color” and do that so you can install the Android Kindle app so you can read Kindle books on it. That would be wrong.
    I’m 75% done and this is seriously the best new P.I. novel I’ve read in a long, long time.

    • Elizabeth A. White

      June 28, 2011 - 4:49 PM

      That would definitely be wrong…yet, isn’t it all too often the things that are “wrong” that feel so right? 😉

  • le0pard13

    June 28, 2011 - 4:15 PM

    Interesting it’s only available as an e-book for the Kindle. Hope it becomes available in other formats as I don’t have a Kindle and don’t relish reading it on my phone ;-). Fine review. Thanks, Elizabeth.

    • Elizabeth A. White

      June 28, 2011 - 4:20 PM

      Unfortunately I do believe that is their initial business model. From their site: “Concord ePress books are initially available in Kindle editions, which can be read on a wide variety of devices.”

  • McDroll

    June 28, 2011 - 3:06 PM

    Great review and a fantastic book!

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