Review by C.J. Bunce
Next week sees the release of cabdriver-turned writer Jack Clark’s novel Nobody’s Angel, originally released as 500 copies sold out of a cab for $5 by the veteran cabbie of 30 years himself, it’s now getting a reissue release from Hard Case Crime. Quentin Tarantino called it his favorite novel of the year and it’s no wonder–Clark’s years of driving cabs in Chicago arrives via his hero Eddie Miles, a voice with a rare authenticity in modern crime novels. A great readalike with Donald E. Westlake’s Call Me a Cab (reviewed here), the novel has all the grit and drama of Taxicab Confessions and the surprises of Cash Cab all rolled into 224 quick pages. It’s available for pre-order now here at Amazon, arriving in bookstores Tuesday, February 13.
The closest you’ll come to the realism in this story is that 1990s cable series Taxicab Confessions, which showcased the eerie nightlife of New York cabdrivers via hidden cameras in their cars. One ride might feature a couple on drugs, another a trio of drunks, another a sex worker teasing the driver, another a passenger wounded and needing hospital care. Clark does the same thing via his driver in a typical Chicago winter, only in the winter of this novel (which takes place in the early 1990s) a serial killer is picking off taxicab drivers.
Clark writes with some fantasy surprises–Eddie Miles does some daydreaming along the way and tries to sleuth out what kind of killer might be committing the crimes. Only Eddie has an entire city to work from, where it’s practically impossible to run into anyone you know when you’re crisscrossing a town with a 20-mile street. Clark makes it work, peppering Eddie’s days with some funny, random passengers, some rich, some poor, like you’d find in an episode of Cash Cab. Readers will see how the drivers communicate and meet up at their own version of Cheers–a pancake house–after a long day’s work.
Chicago is painted with a dark and grimy brush, not like someone who loves the city, but someone who loves how the city was in the 1960s and earlier. Many a good noir story shows a familiarity with the street map of Los Angeles, with about as many set in New York City, so it’s refreshing to give Chicago a good showing, all with insight into its history, economic classes, and races.
Who is killing prostitutes, and is it related to the killing of cab drivers? Where do all these cabbies hail from, and how do they differentiate the types of strangers that get into their cars thousands of times every day in the Windy City? Who is the “nobody’s angel” of the title? That’s Eddie, who stumbles upon a van dropping off a knifed young sex worker while he’s stopping to take what must have been a usual cabbie pit stop in an alleyway.
Clark incorporates the classic literary device of epigraphs at the front of each chapter, highlighting Chicago cabbie official city rules. Some epigraphs define the course of the coming chapter, others are humorously inapposite.
Initially sold in a traditionally published first edition by Hard Case Crime in 2010, the new edition features a cover by Claudia Caranfa. Especially if you missed it the first time around, you’ll want to read this great piece of pulp fiction. Pre-order Nobody’s Angel now here at Amazon, arriving in bookstores Tuesday, February 13, 2024.
Need more of a taxi fix? Don’t miss Donald E. Westlake’s brilliant Call Me a Cab (reviewed here). Cash Cab is streaming on Fubo, Philo, and Discovery+ but Taxicab Confessions is not currently streaming. Neither is the original Taxi with Judd Hirsch, but Taxi Driver is on Tubi.
