The Last Songbird is grounded noir storytelling at its most compelling. Putting the spotlight on a simple man trying to use commonly available resources to seek justice, it doesn’t take too long before you start seeing yourself in the protagonist.
A struggling songwriter, Adam Zantz, coasts the Californian roads as a Lyft driver. His sad demeanor changes when he accepts a ride request in Malibu for the 1970s music icon Annie Linden. Sharing a love of music, they become good friends and he becomes her exclusive driver over the next three years as she imparts her lyrical wisdom on him. It all comes tumbling down when she’s found murdered one day and Adam is charged as an accomplice-after-the-fact. Rather than going off the rails with unbelievable expose and action, Daniel Weizmann presents a thrilling, down-to-earth, relatable story of the depths of hell a man like Adam will go to, not just to clear his name, but for all that is worth everything to him.
The narrative is marked with sincere tones of regret and humility as Adam digs deep into the secrets of Annie Linden. A person he thought he knew. Even though the storyline is set in present day, Weizmann takes readers and Adam on a lovely but dark stroll through the 70’s in LA, not through flashbacks, but through stories with a grand story, a marvelous technique that leaves you longing for connection to a time you may not have even been born in.
The noir theme is brilliantly executed in all its glory, harkening to the cinematic quality of masterpieces like Taxi Driver and Drive. Even with a slower than usual pace of crime solving, given the unofficial nature of the protagonist, there is a sense of urgency that simmers throughout the narrative, beckoning readers to stay connected with Adam in his mission to unearth dark secrets about Annie’s murder. All unfolds in due time, not one page sooner and not one line later than it is supposed to. The twists and turns pump up the enthusiasm in the gloomiest of settings.
With an oceanic backdrop catering to a happening city with all-too-real skeletons in closets, The Last Songbird is an apt example of a thriller done right where the protagonist is so relatable that it feels unsettling. Daniel Weizmann nails it!
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