Back From the Dead by Peter Leonard

First published in the UK in 2013; published by The Story Plant on January 22, 2013 

Back From the Dead is a sequel to Voices of the Dead. The sequel is a better book, but that's small praise given the first novel's mediocrity.

Back From the Dead begins shortly after Voices of the Dead ends. Gerhard Braun wants to find Ernst Hess, although Braun has less interest in Hess than in artwork that Hess possesses. Braun hires Albin Zeller to track Hess down. The task should be impossible since Hess died at the end of the last novel, but given the title of this novel, it is no surprise to learn that Hess isn't dead after all. His improbable survival goes largely unexplained, one of many ways in which the novel strains credulity.

Hess is still a cartoon villain and an empty shell of a character. The notion that this celebrated political figure, who is also a wanted war criminal, can go jetting around the world, entering and leaving Germany undetected -- largely due to the happy coincidence that he's a dead ringer for someone whose passport he steals -- is just impossible to swallow. Of course, Hess wants to kill Harry Levin, the star of the last novel. Harry is becoming romantically entangled with Colette, the German reporter he met in that book. Before Harry can get too comfortable with Colette, however, Zeller kidnaps her from Harry's home. Harry rescues her, only to see her captured again. What passes for a plot is Harry's ongoing effort to keep Colette out of Hess' clutches and avoid death while Hess tries to recover artwork stolen by the Nazis so he can fund a new life. That Hess feels it necessary to risk his life and freedom to seek revenge against Harry instead of disappearing to some safe sanctuary is too absurd to merit belief.

As he did in the first novel, Leonard relies on stereotypes rather than giving his secondary characters authentic personalities. In this book, Columbians have oily hair and wear white suits, two characters from Tennessee are redneck hillbillies, and the black characters are criminals. Although Leonard reprises drug dealer Cordell Sims from Voices of the Dead, he at least tones down the offensive nature of his African American stereotyping.

If there is a point to Back From the Dead, I couldn't find it. It hardly seems worthwhile to bring back such a lackluster character as Harry Levin. The novel adds no depth to his shallow character. The story is a rehash of the first novel. There's a fair amount of action but none of it is compelling.

On a more positive note, the story is coherent, even if it lacks substance. Peter Leonard is no longer mimicking his father's writing style (there's only one Elmore Leonard and it isn't Peter). Leonard's decision to craft complete sentences improves the flow of his narrative, making Back From the Dead an easy, quick read. There just isn't much reason to read it.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Voices of the Dead by Peter Leonard

Published by The Story Plant on January 17, 2012

Harry Levin and his father were at Dachau in 1942. Harry escaped; his father was executed. In 1971, Harry is a scrap metal dealer living in Detroit. His daughter is killed in Washington D.C. by a drunk driver who is released from custody because he has diplomatic immunity. When the State Department refuses to identify the diplomat, Harry does some snooping. Assisted by a D.C. police detective named Taggart, Harry learns that the German diplomat is Ernest Hess. Rather coincidentally, Taggart is also investigating the murder of a Jewish dentist and his wife. The reader knows (but Taggart doesn't) that Hess is the murderer. He goes on to commit similar crimes in Germany as Harry trails behind him, looking for an opportunity to avenge his daughter's death.

If you can swallow the premise -- a respected member of the German parliament who is expected one day to run for the office of chancellor is visiting the United States for the purpose of committing murders -- the story that Peter Leonard constructs around it is moderately entertaining. The premise itself is so implausible -- and for the sake of avoiding spoilers I haven't mentioned its least credible aspect, a coincidence so unlikely it made me laugh out loud -- that I found it impossible to suspend my disbelief. Thrillers often skate on the edge of credibility but this one skates out of the rink.

The story has the feel-good quality of a revenge fantasy and if that's what floats your boat, this one will certainly be satisfying. My preference for thrillers to be at least slightly grounded in the real world didn't stop me from cheering for Levin. Of course, I still cheer for Bugs Bunny as he outwits Yosemite Sam -- a fair comparison in that Voices of the Dead has about the same degree of depth as a Warner Brothers cartoon, and an even sillier ending.

Unfortunately, the weak premise isn't redeemed by strong characters. Harry, Hess, and an American soldier (dishonorably discharged) who turns up in Munich to give Harry an assist are all caricatures, predictable personalities substituting for complex characterization. In fact, Hess and the soldier are such obvious (and offensive) stereotypes (Hess as the sadistic German, the soldier as the jive-talking, drug-dealing African American who wears pastel leisure suits, has multiple girlfriends, and orders fried chicken as soon as he returns home) that it is impossible to take the characters seriously. (Why Leonard thought it was important to emphasize the race of the African American judge who gives the soldier a "get out of jail free" card at the end of the novel is beyond me. If Leonard seriously thinks that black judges give breaks to black defendants, he needs to spend some time hanging around courthouses.)

There are promising moments in Voices of the Dead but not enough to merit a recommendation. A quick pace is the best feature of Peter Leonard's writing style. Leonard randomly omits pronouns, definite articles and other useful words from sentences in an apparent effort to achieve a punchy style. I found the incomplete sentences more annoying than punchy. An introduction by Elmore Leonard claims that Peter has found his own voice but it sounds to me like Peter is trying to find Elmore's voice. I haven't read Peter's other novels but nothing about Voices of the Dead encourages me to do so.

NOT RECOMMENDED