Miami Blues

I was a fan of the George Artimage film (1990) based on Charles Willeford's Hoke Moseley novel Miami Blues (1984) before reading it. This edition has an introduction written by Elmore Leonard. And, indeed, I see similarities between the two authors-they are both masters of the literary crime novel. I really enjoyed inhabiting the seedy 80s Miami in Willeford's novel. I like how Willeford uses Junior's introduction to Miami as a way to introduce the city to those of us who are also not familiar with it: the dimensions of the city with the Everglades, the distinctions of Miami proper with Miami Beach, Colombian murder squads, how Carter's offer of refugee status for Cubans in opposition to Castro destroyed the city when Castro emptied his prisons in Marioelito (referred by Moseley as Marielitos), and other aspects specific to Miami. Hoke Mosley is also a original crime fighting protagonist-like Kurosawa's Murakami in Stray Dog he loses his gun. However, that's not the worst of it, because he also is savagely beaten within an inch of his life and loses his badge in the bargain as well. He also has dentures that are a constant source of worry, but these do not detract from the fact that he is a first rate detective and completely devoted to his job. The perpetrator of this offense is one of the more memorable psychopaths in recent history as well-the musclebound Frederick J. Frenger, Jr.-known as Junior. A man who never even considered  going straight once released from prison. Instead he mugs three men and flies to his fate in Miami. He accidentally kills a Hare Krishna upon arrival at the airport after breaking his finger and coincidentally ends up in a relationship with the man's dim-witted sister. The movie follows the book very closely, but there is great pleasure in the details. I will definitely be reading more Willeford in the future.

Comments

[Matthew Bamberg]

I knew Charles Willeford (my mom's friend) as a kid. He was a jovial guy!

I wrote a novel about Miami, also at http://www.amazon.com/Bienvenido-Miami-Welcome-ebook/dp/B005I7MGPW