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It is 1948. The place: San Francisco San Francisco Inquirer sports writer Billy "Mr. Boxing" Nichols is called by Hack Escalante to come to his manager's home immediately. There has been an accident. Billy comes to the house and sees boxing promoter and manager, Gig Liardi, dead on the floor from an apparent blow to the head. Hack is scared and does not know what to do. Billy, for reasons of his own, decides to save Hack and helps bury Liardi somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Both men share vow of secrecy and go on with their lives. This is where Eddie Muller's The Distance begins. It is a classic noir story where the only thing missing from this book is the smoke and the lonely saxophone playing in the background. Eddie Muller has been writing about boxing as well as the noir genre for several years. He has combined his two passions and put them together in his first novel. He succeeds well in his endeavor and hopefully he will continue to do so. The story is told through the point of view of Billy Nichols. He enjoys his job and knows everything there is to know about boxing. Unfortunately, he has been having trouble with his wife and a police detective named Francis O'Connor in investigating Gig Liardi's disappearance. Hack is panicking and decides to enlist in the Armed Forces to divert attention to himself. The book has the requisite lady in read in this book portrayed by Hack Escalante's redheaded wife, Claire. She is unaware of what happened to Liardi, but apparently she knows more about the situation that she lets on. Nichols is attracted to her and share a torrid love affair. This can only spell disaster. The plot is good and strong and the characters are colorful and plentiful. The boxing matches are very descriptive and intense leading to the visual imagery in this black and white world. Billy Nichols is going the distance and so is the author. Enjoy.
Reviewed by Angel L. Soto, November 2002
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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