GOOD TIMES WITH BAD PEOPLE: TOD GOLDBERG'S ONLY WAY OUT

Noir can often just be fun, providing a way to have base experiences in the safety of a book. Tod Goldberg executed a perfect understanding of that when he wrote Only Way Out. Filled with unscrupulous people, it keeps us wondering who is truly smart and too smart for their own good.

Jack Biddle, a compromised top cop in the run down beach town of Granite Shores, Oregon, is about to shake down a van driver for money to pat off some unsavory types. Before he can reach it, the vehicle skids off the road, killing the driver, shady lawyer Robert Green who just stole all of client safe deposit boxes in his firm, for both cash, jewelry, and evidence for extortion. Green plans to run away to South America with his sister Penny, a former celebrity child genius with criminal tendencies. Jack buries Green and and declares him a missing person to keep the stolen money without suspicion.

That was fifteen years ago,

In the present, Jack works as as the police chief of a now flouring Granite Shores, partly due to the extortion of many of the power players to do the right thing from a mysterious blackmailer believed to be a Robin Hood like Robert Green. It all seems well, until Penny comes back to town out of prison looking for answers and the money. If that wasn't enough, Mitch Diamond, a sharp and dangerous ex-con, also shows up, with knowledge of the cash and some of his bad men friends.

I can't help but wonder if Tod is related to Rube Goldberg in the way he intricately builds the plot based on the based on the decisions of his characters. Both Jack, and Mitch, Penny, especially the high IQ Penny, are smart and quick to react to a situation. and grab opportunities. The story organically grows tenser and alliances switch with Jack and Penny moving back and forth between frying pan and fire.

Goldberg keeps us locked in with our questionable characters. He knows humor goes a long way and uses it liberally in the dialogue and the way each person views their lives and situations. he also conveys the constrictive aspects of their lives, connecting it to the desperate acts that only screw the vice tighter. We may not cheer any of them on, but we're invested in discovering who ends up on top, that is if they all won't get buried.

Only Way Out is a good book that follows bad behavior. Tod Goldberg sticks to the devious fun side of noir, keeping the touch light, so it don't plummet into weighty darkness. I would not want to meet Jack, Penny, or Mitch in real life, but I enjoyed plotting with them on the page.