Black Teeth by Zane Lovitt

Publisher's Synopsis

Jason Ginaff doesn’t get out much. Partly because of the anxiety, mainly because he works at home. Researching people on the internet. Job candidates doing bucket bongs on Instagram accounts they thought they’d deleted; the prospective new head of sales stripping for a hens’ night…

He’s been searching for something on his own time, too.

Now he’s found it: the phone number of the man he believes to be his father.

Which is how he gets mixed up with Rudy Alamein. They’ve been looking for the same man.

Difference being, Rudy wants to kill him.

My Review of Black Teeth by Zane Lovitt

A freezing Melbourne winter provides the backdrop to a strong noir tale of murder and deception. From the dark themes mental issues, revenge and feelings of murder we’re taken on a beguiling ride with moments of sparkling humour and an over-riding sense of doom.

“It’s easier to be someone else when you put on their clothes.”

Jason Ginaff is a man of many personas and each has a fake name behind which he can hide. Prone to panic attacks he’s far more comfortable sitting in front of a computer digging up dirt on potential job candidates than he is testifying in court. But it’s all part of his job.

When he tracks down Glen Tyan, an ex-policeman who he believes could be his father, he unwittingly enters into the orbit of Rudy Alamein. Rudy is just as averse to contact with other people as Jason, but he’s also on a mission to avenge his father, recently dead while serving a prison sentence. He’s stalking the policeman responsible for putting his father away. Care to guess who that cop might be?

It’s the murder of Cheryl Alamein, Rudy’s mother, where the mystery lies. From a seemingly straightforward scenario we pick up enough detail to understand that this is a case that’s anything but simple.

Using a series of different guises and backed by some seriously questionable internet “research” Jason poses as insurance agent, tradesman, lawyer, among other professions, to run his investigation. He’s quick-witted, well prepared and a mere second away from completely melting down in front of the people he lies to.

Black Teeth is a finely crafted mystery that benefits from increasing layers of deception. From Jason himself to Rudy and Glen and even to Beth, Jason’s erstwhile love interest, nothing can be taken at face value. It’s all about secrets, lies and ulterior motives.

As is the case with many noir crime novels, it is difficult to find the characters completely likable. To some extent they are each trying to overcome the mental scarring caused by a traumatic event involving either one or both of their parents. And it’s through the glimpses of vulnerability that I found myself, while not exactly caring for each of them, at least interested to find out how they would cope.

Black Teeth is a well-paced, thought provoking crime novel that is a terrific example of Australian noir.