Once a Crooked Man

November 9, 2015
Actor McCallum, of NCIS and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. fame, makes his fiction debut with a suspense novel that opens promisingly with echoes of the classic Hitchcock film North by Northwest. Harry Murphy, a struggling New York City actor, is desperate to find a bathroom after an audition. When he’s denied entry at a restaurant, he goes to a nearby alley to urinate, only to overhear some men planning the murder of a man in London named Villiers. Without knowing exactly what’s going on or who the conspirators are, Harry impulsively decides to travel there to warn Villiers, after first trying to phone him. The proceeds from a new voice-over gig make the trip possible. Arriving in London just in time to foil the hit, Harry soon becomes the quarry of both good and bad guys, but he’s never plausible as a man of action in a story line that tends to the formulaic. Toward the end, the puzzling behavior of Det. Sgt. Lizzie Carswell, who befriends a mobster, may trouble some readers. Agent: Erica Silverman, Trident Media Group.

November 1, 2015
An actor plays it for real when he tries to prevent a mob family from eliminating their potential enemies in this comic thriller. Harry Murphy has had some success as a New York actor, but when his paychecks start coming from things like voice-overs in mayonnaise commercials, he figures it's time to consider a new line of work. Stepping into a Queens alley to relieve himself, Harry overhears the conversation of three gangster brothers who, like him, have decided it's time to leave their profession behind. First, though, there are loose ends to tie up--living ones. Too decent a guy to hear of a potential murder and not try to do anything about it, Harry flies to London, where he succeeds in averting murder but is mistaken for a mob enforcer and nearly killed himself. This debut novel by actor McCallum (NCIS, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) suggests the author has spent time enjoying the crime-and-espionage farces of Donald E. Westlake and the master of the genre, Ross Thomas. He's not embarrassed by good dumb jokes (the mobsters are named the Bruschettis) or by what ensues when Harry teams up with a flirtatious British agent whose purpose is more to be the hero's partner in backchat than in bed (though they're suited there as well). McCallum also loves plot. He has a farceur's taste for seeing how many complications he can bring to any situation. This good-natured debut gives the reader as good a time as it has plainly afforded its author.

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December 1, 2015

The first book from actor McCallum (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.; NCIS) is an entertaining mystery that begins in Queens, moves to West London, and then returns to New York City. Melding the adventures of bit-part actor Harry Murphy with the machinations of three elderly crime bosses, Sal, Max, and Enzo Bruschetti, McCallum pieces together a somewhat madcap tale in which Harry stumbles ever deeper into crazy circumstances. His first mistake involves overhearing the Bruschetti brothers discussing an assassination being planned in London. Harry compounds his troubles by acting on what he overhears, hoping to warn the intended victim by flying to London. If readers are willing to suspend their disbelief about such a far-fetched premise--that a good Samaritan would travel from New York to England based on an overheard conversation to save a complete stranger--then the rest of the novel becomes believable as well. Reminiscent of darkly comedic works in which heroes spiral continuously downward, this zany tale is oddly humorous at several junctures. VERDICT McCallum's characterizations are decent in this serviceable, competent thriller, and protagonist Harry is likable enough that readers would likely enjoy further adventures.--Jeffrey W. Hunter, Royal Oak, MI

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2016
McCallum is an actorThe Man from U.N.C.L.E. and, more recently, NCISand so is his hero, New Yorker Harry Murphy, who happens to be standing nearby when members of a crime family discuss the murder of one of their British associates. Things are slow for Harry, acting-wise, so he jets to London to warn the imperiled Brit. And so we're off on what is being promoted as a romp, with the requisite chases and shootouts. There's that, but there is also fascinating stuff beneath the surface. Yes, Harry has something of the movie action hero in him, scaling buildings like Spider-Man and scuttling boats like Bond. Meanwhile, though, McCallum gives us glimpses of tormented lives, such as the Wall Streeter with a secret and an Englishwoman crazed with vengeance for a slight done to her father. It's Harry's intrusion into their lives that provokes the horrors, adding some ambiguity to the usual formula, like the fact that cops can be fond of the people they track down. Even love them. This quirky novel will appeal to readers who like a bit of subtext with their thrillers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)