Book Review: “Black Art” by V. T. Davy

“Written in the hard-boiled, noir style of detective fiction from the 1940′s, Arty Shaw is the kind of investigator you want on your side. Transsexual and proud of it, with a moral code that means breaking the rules now and again, and a world weary cynicism that takes nothing at face value, Arty won’t stop until the truth is out. And, that can make you unpopular with the wrong sort of people.” Author: Vic Tanner Davy is a writer of historical fiction. Born in London, Vic now lives in the Channel Islands. Vic has been a writer and amateur historian for decades, with a special interest in British history between the wars, and the German occupation of the Channel Islands (1940-1945). Vic’s writing also examines issues of gender, an area in which Vic is interested, being transgender.

Reviewer: Meike

Within the past two months I was offered the opportunity to read and review a new novel written by Vic Tanner Davy, an English author and fellow trans man.  I typically do not gravitate toward mystery novels, and so it was with some trepidation that I began to read Davy’s noir style of writing.  However, I quickly found the elements so common to noir mysteries — namely, a dark and cynical sense of humor — to be quite to my liking.  It draws you further into the character a lot more rapidly than normal, making for a very enjoyable and relatable  protagonist.

Furthermore, the plot of the story surprisingly left me rapidly flipping the pages, eager to discover more about the mystery that was slowly being unraveled.  The novel follows a genealogist and amateur historian named Arty Shaw, who has undertaken a job for a well-known British actress.  His original goal was to uncover the story of her grandmother for an upcoming TV show appearance; however, the further he goes into her past, the more intricate the grandmother’s story starts to become.  A possible WWII casualty and a spy behind enemy lines is only the tip of the iceberg when Shaw travels to Dresden to determine the real fate of Kay Marett.

Despite the appearance of themes with which myself, as well as the general reader, may be unacquainted, Davy does quite well with explaining and expounding upon these myriad topics such as WWII resistance and entartete Kunst (or, for you non-German speakers, degenerate art).  While the amount of detail presented becomes easily overwhelming, Davy is able to bring subtle reminders into the narrative which ease the task of trying to remember everything when first explained.  Another theme, that of Arty Shaw’s past transition from female to male, is not as complex, and in fact remains unmentioned until at least thirty pages into the novel.  The cover blurb would have the reader believe otherwise, proclaiming Shaw to be “transsexual and proud of it”; however, it was only later in the story that Shaw’s status as trans became even remotely important, let alone mentioned.  Perhaps especially as a transgender reader, I found Shaw’s ultimate reveal of his gender identity to his gorgeous patron to be quite cliché, during a scene in which the actress tries to seduce our protagonist and realizes that certain attributes are missing.  That being said, Davy finds clever and downright inventive ways of integrating Shaw’s transsexuality into the action following his travels to Dresden.

Ultimately, I found Davy’s novel to be engaging and enjoyable.  While it became almost necessary to skim over the copious amount of detail, which at times confused the flow of the story, I enjoyed the topics addressed in the novel, as well as the way in which they were presented.  Davy created a unique protagonist that I had no trouble in relating to, or in choosing to follow on his sometimes harrowing journey to uncover the truth behind a brave WWII resistance operative.

Should anyone wish to receive a copy of Davy’s novel, feel free to e-mail Liberation Publishing at admin@liberationpublishing.co.uk.  Alternatively, you can comment on this post and provide your e-mail address to be sent an information file with contact and pricing information.  Happy reading!

Connect with V.T. Davy:

Website: http://www.liberationpublishing.co.uk
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/vtdavy
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/vtdavy
Blog: http://liberationpublishing.wordpress.com/