All Detective Eckerly wanted to do that day was place a bet on a horse. He didn’t expect Darlene Johnson to walk into his office with her chocolate box. And certainly didn’t expect what followed. . .Book One of Orphan Paper’s long awaited Noir series.
Hairspray and Lighter is a throwback to the noir era trenchcoat-wearing gumshoe the likes of James Ellroy, but with a much darker and grittier edge. Eckerly is a fantastic protagonist and Jupes writing progressing in a fast and consistent manner, meaning there are plenty of hooks along along the way. A good and bad thing, as I did sleep in twice from reading too late the night before. Other than that though a fantastic read and I’ll be picking up each new J Jupes book when they’re released.
Jupes isn’t a writer I was previously aware of, and as the book cover is rather odd I wasn’t sure what to expect inside. However I have to say I was delighted.
This is a dark, broody and gritty noir masterpiece the likes of which we very rarely see these days, at least I haven’t so I don’t know where they’ve been hiding if there are more. More so than that there is an unconventionality to the writing that we see little of these days. Everyone seems tied up in contemporary expectations there is little room for a book to breathe and be allowed to develop organically. Hairspray and Lighter is more of a wild beast than a household pet, so if this tickles your literary tastebuds then give it a whirl.
Hairspray and Lighter is a dark and broody, gritty, noir read. It strayed off the beaten path of regular noir, or at least those I have been used to, but I found this a refreshing change.
The dialogue at times was a little odd, and I found myself chuckling at parts I’m not sure if I was supposed to, but anyone sick of tried and tested should definitely give this a read. An almost Lynchian take on the noir genre, and that is no bad thing in my eyes.
First things first: this is a quick read that’s well worth the couple of hours of your time. I am a huge fan of books with somber and/or dark undertones, and this book hits the “jackpot” section in that regard. Throw in a dash of unique style and we have ourselves a book that really pushes the genre, reinventing the style that we don’t see in many books these days. The author took a (likely calculated) risk with this story /formatting and writing style, and I think it paid off pretty well.
The story follows Eckerly (a cop) tracking a string of homicides with an interesting trend/connection. There are twists (some of which aren’t entirely unpredictable), and some unusual (not unusual in a bad way) plot points, but you know what? The writing was so unique and calculated that it made everything work well even if it was done in an unconventional style for a noir tale. I actually couldn’t stop reading once I started. The pace and flow worked well, and it was easy to get absorbed in the excitement of it all.
Hairspray and Lighter, by Johnny “J.” Jupes (144 pages, published by Hekate Publishing, 2018), is the first part of the “High Heels and Hemorroids”, also known as “The Detectives That Don’t Fit” series, and is a hard-boiled, private investigator / muder mistery noir thriller.
An assassin is running loose with a can of aerosol hairspray, a lighter and some accounts to collect. A private detective wakes up in his apartment after a game of poker, with the intention of going to the horse races to bet. An exotic diamond has been stolen and a blonde with asymmetrical breasts and a box of chocolates needs a hand.
A couple of days are enough to develop the dark, bloody and mysterious plot of Hairspray and Lighter. Starting from a simple noir premise, the story gets complicated when private detective Eckerly, his poker buddies, a poet in love and an elderly cat lover are dragged into a violent vortex stained with theft, kidnapping, rape, death, people trafficking and mad scientists.
This novel is well written, the characters have sufficient dimension, the story develops with agility and the plot has a good endowment of mystery.
I enjoyed reading this rather short novel. The plot is interesting and the characters are quite friendly and touch real-life scary themes.
British author J (for Johnny) Jupes falls into that fascinating world of unclassifiable authors: his genre embraces mystery (as suggested by his series designator ‘The Detectives That Don’t Fit’) and humor and off the wall verbiage that is a pure delight to read. According to Jupes, he writes ‘pulp and dystopian novels and likes having a cover image in front of him before even thinking about the first word. Raised by a strict English playwright, Jupes can’t stomach convention.’ And to say more would distract form the experience of reading his well-crafted novel HAIRSPRAY AND LIGHTER.
Yes there is a story amidst all the wild writing but it takes a bit to crawl into the tunnel of words and once acclimated to the writing style the story gains impact. For starters, the opening language is as follows: ‘Dawn yielded, flooding west over Houston like blood backtracking into the gray dope filling that morning’s syringe. Trap Boy stood, frozen, arm raised, mouth open, a prehistoric peat man, until the blue and white Volare made its turn onto B and everything began to move, him cawing No-Joke, No-Joke, No-Joke, the other mad hatters joining in, all of them trolling the east side between 2nd and 3rd. The car’s windows were rolled down. Two blueberries slumped in their seats, staring ahead, listening to brand names, Cash, Chinatown, Poison, echo through gutted space. Something was happening that wouldn’t happen again; the air was torn, and no one had a clue what just spilled out the gash; the city, a rat’s whisker away from shattering. The RMP cut across the next intersection; a few feet over on 4th, bucket hats, hoodies, Adidas, all lined up behind the jagged hole sledge hammered through a bombed-up cinder block wall. Framed inside was the head of Benji, fourteen, price tag swinging off the side of his Knick’s cap. Benji handed a glassine envelope to a man in a wheel chair, the line nudged forward. Next block, a torn tan polyester suit pushed his way out two cracked glass double doors reflecting the RMP’s skewed white stripe, frosted red bulb over the frame making it for after-hours. The suit spun, plastered, already falling, fell, flat on his face; the officers catching salsa pop before the doors pulled shut. Then a sloppy fist fight, nothing serious; and on that corner, a single soul was tilted, a hand floating in front of his face, eyes closed. The smell of coffee and fresh bagels blew through the car before it made a right onto 14th; slowing in front of a sooty walk-up, sandwiched between two other sooty walk ups. The driver lit his last Chesterfield of the shift.’
So where does this take us? To an ingenious murder story that focuses on hairspray and butane lighter. Or as the synopsis suggests, ‘All Detective Eckerly wanted to do that day was place a bet on a horse. He didn’t expect Darlene Johnson to walk into his office with her chocolate box. And certainly didn’t expect what followed. . .
Once adjusted to the writing style Jupes is refreshingly different. Let’s see where he will take us next!
What links hairspray and a lighter? A case of mysterious and grizzly murders that’s what. The man on the case is Eckerly. The policeman is not the most put together of men – he has recently lost his partner, his other half, and a whole lot of money courtesy of gambling addiction. He may not be the best man for the job, but he is giving it a go and actually finds himself on the trail of the killer, but does he have what it takes to come out on top. ‘Hairspray and Lighter’ by J. Jupes is dark and gritty, full of tension and twisting plot lines, but there is also spots of humour to balance it all out. A great read and I am very much looking forward to finding out what will come next in the series.
The wonderful atmosphere of the book, the author is the master of the word, you feel like a participant in all the events. In this story, the main character Eckerly. He seemed funny, ridiculous and with a lot of problems. Eckerly works as a cop and investigates mysterious crimes related to hairspray and lighter. Thanks to a little luck and his efforts, he finds the way to finding the killers. A bit scary, gloomy, but there is also a bit of humor in the book, so not to be completely scared 🙂
The author has a brilliant sense of logic and imagination. Therefore, I enjoyed following the storyline and could not stop reading, because with each page I wanted to know what would happen next. I enjoyed reading and I recommend everyone.
To say that Hairspray and Lighter (The Detectives That Don’t Fit Book 1) by J. Jupes is an offbeat kind of book is an understatement. The format, the language, and most of all the story is unique and presents a reading challenge. This is a noir detective story featuring a hard boiled detective in Detective Eckerly, not your typical detective and not an ordinary character. The writing is fast paced, kind of crazy in spots, but deep under the surface of the clutter is a good story, a story which focuses on the modus operandi of you guessed it, hairspray and a lighter. A solid murder mystery with impressive, shocking language and writing that takes a bit of adjusting to, you will need to settle in and pay attention as this story unfolds. Not for the faint of heart, this tale is highly recommended for a unique and unsettling reading experience.
Hairspray and Lighter by J Jupes
This murder mystery thriller story is about a crime that was committed and how the dectectives go about solving who did it.
There are a lot of characters as they question a lot of people that were in the way of things that happened.
I found it super very materialistically descriptive-brnad names for everything then the story goes back to the details.
I don’t read gory, very graphically books and this I would classify as one. Did like parts of the story but they are overshadowed by the dark ones.
Appreciate hearing from others side to the story as well. Like how the guys get to play cards.
Author has quite the imagination with the story line-I can’t even fathom some of the events that take place.
Saw to cut one’s hand off, children beaten, raped, cut up into small pieces, slavery is just the tip of it all.
Foul language also, be forewarned but it fits in with the story and the events that take place.