GARY PHILLIPS’ HOLLIS P.I.
Edited by Gary Phillips & Morgan McKay
Pro Se Press
169 pgs
From Pro Se Press comes this six-story collection featuring Los Angeles private eye, Nate Hollis. Created by veteran pulp writer Gary Phillips, Hollis is a street-savvy detective with the usual assortment of colorful supporting characters ala his grandfather Clutch Hollis who owns the Hideaway Bar, and Irma “Deuce” Ducett, a one-time female cop turned bounty hunter. All of them are terrific players and in this volume, Phillips not only pens two of the six tales but invited four other new pulp writers to play in his sandbox. The result is a treat for all lovers of hardboiled private eyes.
Phillips kicks off the collection with “The Chuckles Job” wherein Hollis is kidnapped and severely beaten by an old foe. He manages to escape and investigate who and why he was targeted. All of this leads him to uncover a bizarre series of events that include a long-forgotten heist, a young man with an eidetic memory, and a single-engine plane crash into an apartment house. The twist and turns are crazy in this one.
Bobby Nash steps up to the plate next with “Naomi.” Hollis investigates the murder of a young woman caught up in the soulless porn business. It’s an emotional roller coaster for Hollis and by the tale’s finale; he’s managed to give the girl’s tortured parents some justice. Our favorite story in the book.
“Belly of the Beast” by Juliet Blackwell is the book’s third entry. In San Francisco for a few days, Hollis is contacted by an old flame. A billionaire businessman into kinky sexual practices is found ritually murdered and a local Wicca practitioner is arrested for the crime. Hollis’ job is to prove her innocence and find the real killer. Having him operate outside of his usual L.A. haunts works extremely well in this fast-paced, really well-written story.
“Twilight of El Perro” by Aaron Philip Clark has Hollis investigating the murder of one of his deceased father’s old informants named Fletch. The thing is Fletch died being ravaged by two trained pit bulls owned by El Perro, a sixty-ish killer most people think is dead. Whereas this senior is anything but in a well-plotted tale concerning greed and corruption.
Number five is “Baby Daddy” by the late Derrick Ferguson. When a wealthy hustler tries to con a young actress with a phony murder scam, Hollis gets called into the matter to help unravel the real purpose behind the convoluted extortion. Another example of what the New Pulp community lost with Derrick’s passing.
Finally Phillips wraps it all up with an Irma Deuce story, “Last Stand at Echo Villa.” She’s hired to find someone only to then discover she’s been set up. She and the prey have to fend off two hired guns in an abandoned shopping mall – apartment complex. Different kind of story that works extremely well.
All total, “Gary Phillip’s HOLLIS P.I.” is an excellent collection of crime stories with some memorable characters. Worth your time and dime.
