‘Past Imperfect’ is noir tale of Cleveland | Book Talk

“Past Imperfect” is second in Joshua Cohen’s noir series about 1950s Cleveland private detective Benjamin Gold.

In the first book, “The Best Assassination in the Nation,” set in 1952, Gold was still struggling with mental issues that arose from the horrors he saw while liberating concentration camps at the end of World War II. He was hired to investigate the death of another lawyer, which led into the Red Scare, FBI surveillance and antisemitism.

In “Past,” set in 1957, Gold gets a phone call from his lifetime friend Herb, now a rabbi. Gold expects that Herb is calling to reproach him for missing temple on Yom Kippur, but the rabbi has a bigger problem. During the service, Mendel Kahn, a real estate heavyweight, was approached by a man who accused him of war crimes under another name, including abuse of prisoners he had been assigned to oversee in a concentration camp. Kahn is chairman of the temple’s building committee, and if the accusation is true, the rabbi needs to know.

Gold talks to the man who made the allegations, but there is no evidence. He has to come up with some creative ideas to identify Mendel Kahn as Yitzhak Fried, the supposed Nazi collaborator; the challenge is deepened by the fact that Kahn is a bully who sics a thug to work over Gold. Though he owns several posh apartment buildings, he also has some crowded inner-city units that are barely habitable, with broken sewage pipes and no heat.

When Kahn’s efforts to get Gold to drop the case don’t pay off, he turns to persecute Gold’s family, specifically his girlfriend Sylvia. Sylvia has been waiting for years for a proposal, but Gold has commitment issues and continues to drink too much.

“Past Imperfect” includes many Cleveland locations and references. Mobster Shondor Birns is a supporting character, acting as a reluctant source.

“Past Imperfect” (312 pages, softcover) costs $14.95 from Kasva Press. Cohen is a lawyer in Cleveland.

‘Soldier’s Heart’

It certainly seems that Evin Walker has her life together. Three years after losing half her right leg in Afghanistan, she’s working as a Cleveland bus driver and running 3 miles a day. Look deeper, and you’ll see that she’s in a spiral, with alcohol and nightmares bringing her to the edge of a breakdown. In “Soldier’s Heart,” a solid thriller by Vance Voyles of Canton, Evin needs to reconcile her past.

While Evin rides the bus as a passenger, a teenager tries to skip paying the fare and behaves aggressively toward the driver. Evin steps up and intimidates the boy, which has repercussions. Worse, her relationship with her best friend and fellow veteran, which has been inching toward romance, is suffering because of her bullheadedness. She hopes to take up work as a tattoo artist, but she can’t keep her hands from shaking.

Evin crosses paths with a disgraced member of an extremist group who is trying to exceed expectations to win his way back into the group’s good graces. The “If you see something, say something” adage complicates her life further.

Evin is an authentic character, flawed but sympathetic, and the plot is entirely realistic. “Soldier’s heart” is a former term for what is now known as post-traumatic stress disorder, also once called shell shock.

“Soldier’s Heart” (305 pages, softcover) costs $16.99 from online retailers. A sequel, “Darker Forces at Play,” has been announced, with no date. Vance Voyles earned an MFA in creative writing from the University of Central Florida and works as a police officer at Kent State University.

Events

Mentor Public Library (8215 Mentor Ave.): Scott Longert talks about “Victory on Two Fronts: The Cleveland Indians and Baseball through the World War II Era,” 6:30 to 8 p.m. Monday. Register at mentorpl.org.

Cleveland Jewish Book Festival: Isabel Vincent talks about “Overture of Hope: Two Sisters’ Daring Plan That Saved Opera’s Jewish Stars from the Third Reich” in a virtual event at 1 p.m. Tuesday; at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Marjorie Margolies talks about “And How Are the Children? Timeless Lessons from the Frontlines of Motherhood.” Register at mandeljcc.org.

Warren-Trumbull County Public Library (Warren branch, 444 Mahoning Ave. NW): Philip Suarez talks about his detective novels set in Ohio in the early late 1950s and 1960s, 2 to 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Cuyahoga County Public Library: Roger Stark and Betsy Hill discuss “Your Child Learns Differently, Now What?” in a Zoom event from 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.

Hudson Library & Historical Society: Charlie Baker, former Massachusetts governor and incoming president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, talks about “Results: Getting Beyond Politics to Get Important Work Done,” which he wrote with his chief of staff Steve Kadish, in a Zoom event at 7 p.m. Wednesday. At 2 p.m. Saturday, art historian Franny Moyle talks about “The King’s Painter: The Life of Hans Holbein.” Register at hudsonlibrary.org.

Cleveland Public Library: Helaine Mario talks about “Shadow Music” in a Facebook Live and YouTube event, 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. Go to cpl.org.

Cuyahoga County Public Library (Brook Park branch, 6155 Engle Road): Eric Sandy discusses “Speak in Tongues: An Oral History of Cleveland’s Legendary DIY Punk Venue,” 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.

Cuyahoga County Public Library (Beachwood branch, 25501 Shaker Blvd.): Adam Gopnik discusses “The Real Work: On the Mystery of Mastery,” 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.

Wadsworth Public Library (132 Broad St.): New Franklin resident Clarence Bechter, author of “The Time of My Life with Bubba’s Pampered Pedalers: 3000 Miles from San Diego, California, to St. Augustine, Florida,” talks about a bicycle trip he took at age 67, 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library (Coventry Village branch, 1925 Coventry Road, Cleveland Heights): Cleveland Heights city planner Robert N. Brown signs “LUV for COV — The Coventry Village Neighborhood: A Cleveland Heights Photo Essay,” 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday. Register at heightslibrary.org.

Suburban Temple Kol Ami (22401 Chagrin Blvd., Cleveland): The Cleveland Jewish Book Festival continues with Jane Rosen, author of “A Shoe Story.” Register at mandeljcc.org.

Massillon Library (208 Lincoln Way E.): A local author book fair will be 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. See massillonlibrary.libnet.info/events for names.

Cuyahoga County Public Library (North Royalton branch, 5071 Wallings Road): Fox-8 TV anchor Wayne Dawson discusses “The Seeds of Greatness Are Within You: A Memoir,” 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.

Mandel Jewish Community Center of Cleveland (Stonehill Auditorium, 26001 S. Woodland Road, Beachwood): The Cleveland Jewish Book Festival continues with Kids Day, featuring Arianna Brooks, author of “My Mushy Matzah Ball,” 10 to 11:30 a.m. March 19. Register at mandeljcc.org.

Email information about books of local interest, and event notices at least two weeks in advance to BeaconBookTalk@gmail.com and bjnews@thebeaconjournal.com. Barbara McIntyre tweets at @BarbaraMcI.

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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland author Joshua Cohen writes detective novel ‘Past Imperfect’