Jonny Numb

I love books from the Hard Case Crime imprint – I’m particularly fond of Max Allan Collins‘ unflappable, stone-stoic Quarry character. Collins is an example of a writer whose books serve as a sort of comfort food for the side of me that enjoys the sex, violence, gristle, and bone that marks many a hard-boiled crime saga.

That said, I’ve read enough Quarry adventures to know that, even in the event of Collins’ passing, the character will continue on. Sure, he’ll find himself in sticky situations (despite his best-laid plans) and incur some cuts and bruises along the way…but will ultimately come out the other end ready to tackle another assignment.

What I like about William D. Prystauk’s “Kink Noir” series – besides the consistency of the writing – is that it’s not content to rehash the same tired tropes in the manner of paid-by-the-word authors from the golden age of pulps.

With each new book, Prystauk sets out to subvert expectations by approaching the material in creative ways. The first novel in the series, Bloodletting, was a linear mystery that introduced us to P.I. Dennison “Denny” Bowie, and his lovers Erin and Penny. With echoes of William Friedkin’s Cruising running through its highly sexualized veins, the author successfully established the world of BDSM as a key component in his storytelling – not as a bit of throwaway shock value, but a lifestyle with its own physical and emotional complexities.

While the second book, Punishment, upped the ante in terms of shock, Prystauk maintained a fascination with the mystery at its core. Debauchery gave Bowie a “missing persons” case where the missing person didn’t want to be found, and contained a powerful sequence wherein Bowie – unlike the Quarries of the world – found himself in a place of physical despair and (near-)defeat.

A distinguishing factor of these books is Prystauk’s empathy for his characters. Hollywood has long presented denizens of the BDSM lifestyle as leather-wearing freaks who usually show up as cheap punchlines in desperate comedies (or striving-for-relevance stuff like Eight Millimeter). The Kink Noir series, however, is predicated on the ethos of BDSM: “safe, sane and consensual” is referenced throughout the books, and with it, the author evokes in his characters a distinct humanity.

With Bondage, this comes into play in the form of a leather family whose patriarch is found mysteriously dead on the night of a submissive’s birthday. Bowie is called in to solve the mystery, but the solution to the crime – in the tradition of many a “whodunit” (or your standard giallo) – involves a lot of blind alleys, dead ends, and head-banging frustration.

Prystauk – whose personal history in the Philadelphia and NYC BDSM culture engenders a feeling of authenticity to the scenarios and characters – likes to plumb the psychology of his suspects and protagonists alike. Whereas Quarry is a loner, the Kink Noir series has the feel of an ensemble piece. The Bowie-Erin-Penny love triangle grows more complicated in this entry, and the book ends on one hell of a cliffhanger. (Prystauk also performs a particularly insidious – but narratively daring – trick by making the highly likable Erin evasive and distant for much of the novel.)

Kink Noir series author William D. Prystauk.

And this is something that keeps me coming back to these books, and always anxious to see where the next one goes: while I may not always agree with or like Denny, Penny, or Erin, I am a big fan of the camaraderie they share. The nuances of thought expressed in Denny’s internal asides speak volumes for his clarity and frustration toward the unavoidable curveballs of his partners’ emotional states. This adds a richness – and sensitivity – to the narrative that goes missing in a lot of nuts-and-bolts Noir.

Particular to Bondage, I like Prystauk’s exploration of the “leather family” conceit, showing the fetishes of a unified group that nonetheless has a guilty party at its core. While the activities on display may chafe certain readers (though at this point in the series, you should know what to expect), they are presented in a three-dimensional manner. And, furthermore, the author simply weaves a well-written, satisfying mystery that will keep you guessing up until the third-act revelation.

4 out of 5 stars

(Bondage and other books in the Kink Noir series can be found in paperback and ebook form on Amazon. For more from William D. Prystauk, check out the Crash Palace Productions website and Twitter.)