Book Review: 'Body Copy' by Michael Craven

By Meghan Nuckolls

Thursday, April 16, 2009

People write for themes or messages, but people read for characters. Michael Craven’s debut novel, Body Copy, introduces to the crime fiction scene Donald Tremaine, a classic 1950s private investigator in modern day.

The book begins much like the black and white movies do with a beautiful dame walking into a hard-bitten detective’s life. She’s got a problem, see, and there’s only one man who can work her mysteries out. Except Tremaine’s girl isn’t a helpless knockout, and instead of waltzing into his office, she shows up at his California trailer park to discuss the murder of her dead uncle, advertising mogul and genius Roger Gale.

Gale’s murder, a case even the police couldn’t solve, is as enigmatic as the man himself, but with a detective just as likely to tackle the killer as he is the case, some of the leads, and lies, start to unravel. Tremaine’s introspection about his past, the ever-present glimmer of vulnerability, make this tough guy the quintessential P.I.

Though Craven has a talent for plot twists and steadily paced narrative, he couldn’t quite shake off his trade: journalism. The dialogue feels attributed and the perfectly placed “Tremaine said” at every sentence’s end has the conversation sounding more like an article than a real life situation. Still, if you’d like a quick read that showcases the strange land of advertising, Body Copy should suffice.

Mangiaracina: Looking back as anniversary of murder ...

/news/2008/dec/04/mangiaracina_lennon/

Man wrongly convicted discusses struggle

Daryl Hunt shared his story with students and faculty Tuesday evening.

/news/2011/sep/13/man-wrongly-convicted-discusses-struggle/

Rose sentenced to 122 months in Boardwalk ...

Jason Rose was sentenced Monday to 122 months after being convicted last ...

/news/2007/jun/18/new_rose_sentenced_122_months_boardwalk_case/

Cosby: Fourth rescheduling of execution date shows ...

Troy Davis' case is clear representation of how flaws in the justice ...

/news/2011/sep/05/cosby-fourth-rescheduling-execution-date-shows-sys/

Movie Review: Cursed

/news/2005/mar/03/jayplay_movies_cursed/

Gale Sayers signs his book at Kansas ...

The former Jayhawk and NFL player signed copies of his book “Sayers: ...

/news/2008/mar/03/sayers_book/

Journey through the past

How my job helped put my life into perspective

/news/2009/sep/17/journey_through_past/

Moreland: Try reading to relieve stress

Five ways reading should be a priority for you.

/news/2012/mar/16/moreland-try-reading-relieve-stress/

KU student charged in delivery robbery testifies

Judge hears testimonials of defendants, victims and police in preliminary hearing in ...

/news/2009/nov/05/ku-student-charged-delivery-robbery-testifies/

Movie Review

The Number 23 // 1 out of 5 stars

/news/2007/mar/01/movie_review/

Learning about Lyme disease

Advocates and sufferers support education, early detection to prevent Lyme disease.

/news/2010/apr/23/learning-about-lyme-disease/

Movie review: 'The Lovely Bones'

Hollywood hits, indie flicks and everything in between.

/news/2010/jan/28/movie-review-lovely-bones/

Professor compiles reader's guide

A 501-page reader's guide titled "Reading Faulkner: Collected Stories" is the end ...

/news/2006/nov/13/faulkner/

Nowhere to run

Former KU running back June Henley couldn't adjust to life without football. ...

/news/2008/apr/25/henley/

Dykman: Vonnegut’s death has left void

The death of the famous author still hurts today but it is ...

/news/2007/apr/19/dykman/

Why aren’t people afraid of reading books ...

/news/2008/aug/21/books/

Malicious Intimacy

Four students' experiences with domestic violence.

/news/2011/may/04/malicious-intimacy/

Alone in the Dark

/news/2005/feb/03/jayplay_movies_alone/

Playing God doesn’t help in prolonging quality ...

/news/2005/apr/06/opinion_perspectives_caster/

Established scholar adds her experience to KU

Rowland answers several questions about why she loves to teach English and ...

/news/2008/feb/26/established_scholar/

A generation ablaze

Forty years ago today, the Kansas Union burned during one of the ...

/news/2010/apr/20/generation-ablaze/

Ghost world

As winter approaches, downtown Lawrence’s sizeable homeless population must deal with crowded ...

/news/2008/dec/10/ghost_world/

Living and laughing

KU senior refuses to let leukemia and a stem cell transplant crush ...

/news/2008/nov/20/living_and_laughing/

Lawrence man trains bomb dogs

/news/2005/nov/08/bomb_dogs/

Finding faith with James Naismith

Very few realize that James Naismith created basketball as a way to ...

/news/2012/may/02/finding-faith-james-naismith/

God's ad agents

/news/2005/mar/03/jayplay_notice_church/

New complex brings out the ‘whoa-factor’

From 58 TVs to an underground weight room, the football facility promises ...

/news/2008/jul/09/facility/

Editor's note

Jayplay editor's note

/news/2008/sep/11/editors_note_sept_11_2008/

People you love to hate

/news/2005/nov/03/people_you_love_hate/

Hawktopics

News you can use

/news/2007/oct/04/hawktopics/

Touching others’ lives

/news/2005/apr/21/sports_track_relays_timmons/

Alumnus author visits campus

Robert Day, founder of Cottonwood Magazine, will be speaking on campus today.

/news/2010/oct/11/alumnus-author-visits-campus/

Press Row: Kansas vs. Oklahoma

Kansas plays Oklahoma tonight in Norman, Okla., and the team is one ...

/news/2007/feb/26/press_row/

Love outlasts a lifetime

One Jayplay writer remembers her grandpa and his positive influence.

/news/2011/apr/21/Speak-personal-essay-love-outlasts-lifetime/

Morning Brew: Dreamers and achievers

Quadruple amputee swims the English Channel; 21-year-old tries to play youth football.

/news/2010/sep/27/morning-brew-dreamers-and-achievers/

Capital punishment: Death to the death penalty

/news/2005/nov/14/capital_punishment/

Letter to the Editor: Sex is sacred

So what does abstinence in a committed relationship look like? For my ...

/news/2007/may/01/letter_ed/

Dykman: Suggested reading

A walk through the drama section reconnects Kansan columnist Bryan Dykman with ...

/news/2007/feb/28/dykman/

A staggering tragedy

Friends and family look for answers while struggling to cope with an ...

/news/2009/apr/28/staggering_tragedy/

Here comes the sun

How a summer abroad helped free one Jayplay writer from the dark ...

/news/2011/may/12/speak-personal-essay-here-comes-sun-anxiety-london/

Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.

Sign in to comment

Or login with:

OpenID