Saraband for a Runaway
(New PuLP Press, 2017)
"White's recurring private investigator, Tom Haftmann, would do Dashiell Hammett proud!"
--Sex and Murder Magazine
Reviewed in the United Kingdom
Rarely have I read a more dogged seeker of job satisfaction, or a more remarkable display of a seriously twisted personal morality. In this considerably brutal story, our hero (in some senses, possibly) is trying to find a young runaway woman to return her to her parents. Basic PI stuff -- guy investigates and solves the puzzle. Sounds unremarkable, no?
Except... it's entirely remarkable. The action is vivid and stark. Haftmann narrates his own story, so the reader gets to understand his internal negotiations, which are superficially simple but functionally frightening.
If you enjoy tales of a smart guy in what appears to be a decline towards a death wish, this is outstanding. I found myself endlessly instructing Haftmann not to do the stupid, heroic, vainglorious thing, startled in the knowledge that he would do it. And he always did.
Was the prize worth it? Only the author knows, but I was both exhausted and exhilarated by the end. And this is so not for the squeamish...
--Frank Westworth, author of the J.J. Stoner novels & the "Killing Sisters" trilogy
"Robb White never fails to engage his readers . . ."
-- Edward Squires, Not Quite a Novella
