I’ve been working on this one for a little over two months, and I kept deleting draft after draft after draft. I’m still not wholly satisfied with this one–but it’s close enough. Also, the book was released last weekend, so this is so overdue it’s causing heartburn. TL;DR version: This is an unsettling, brutal look at law enforcement with people on both sides of the Law.
Scratching the Flint
by Vern Smith
DETAILS: Publisher: Run Amok Crime Publication Date: April 15, 2023 Format: ARC Length: 228 pg. Read Date: February 7-9, 2023
What’s Scratching the Flint About?
Detectives Alex Johnson and Cecil Bolan are part of the Toronto PD’s anti-fraud division. They’re in the midst of trying to take down a vintage car theft ring. Sadly, their witnesses are being targeted by the head of this ring–they’re being mocked and murdered in a way that sends a very loud message to quiet anyone else who might be thinking of coming forward.
One of these witnesses is an old high school friend/basketball teammate of Cecil’s. He reacts badly to this, but his commanding officer and his partner are doing their best to keep him from interfering with the homicide investigations and to focus on the ring (as much as they can without interfering with homicide) or other anti-fraud work.
It’s not long before the pair are given an involuntary vacation–in lieu of a suspension–leaving Cecil with too much time on his hands and not much opportunity for Alex to keep him reined in. And that’s where things have the opportunity to go from bad to worse–to potentially much, much worse–in this noir examination of crime and policing at the turn of the century.
2001
Smith is very careful throughout the book to locate the book in 2001 and captures the feel of it so well. At least, the way I’d imagine it’d feel in that part of Canada. The use of specific games of the Toronto Blue Jays really helped ground that.
Smith has some very specific aims for that–and most of the reason I struggled with this post comes from trying to interact with those aims but I don’t think I can without spoiling a good deal of the book. So let me just say this when it comes to the chronological setting–enjoy the flashback (for those who can remember the year) and just know it’ll give you plenty to chew on as the book goes along.
The Thin Blue Line
This is hard to write about–and frequently difficult to read. Crime Fiction writers (and TV/Movie viewers) are used to cops that color outside the lines–and we frequently root for them. We’re even used to rogue cops who go to extremes to get the job done. Or bent cops who are the villains of the piece.
Striking the Flint gives us none of those–or maybe all of those. Ian Patrick’s Sam Batford series comes to mind as a comparison (although this feels less like fiction and more like thinly disguised true crime). Our protagonists are detectives who seem intent on making their cases, on making arrests. But when push comes to shove, I’m not entirely convinced it’s about enforcing the law all the time with them–it’s getting a win, coming out on top over some of them. (I’m trying to behave here when it comes to spoilers, so I have to stay vague).
Their superiors–and other police officers–are just as involved. Skirting regulations, finding dirt on people who might have legitimate complaints about police treatment, supporting clearly unethical/illegal behavior, and so on. There are outright crimes committed by these two (usually independently) that depending on the outcome and motive would be used for comic relief or in a way that would be justified in other novels. But Smith doesn’t let the reader find the humor or rationalization for them here–sometimes they get away with them because of the badge. Sometimes, they just get away with them.
One only minorly-spoilery example: neither of these detectives owns a car. Alex’s ex-wife lets him borrow hers at the beginning of the novel. But partway through it, she takes the car back–leaving them without the means to do their jobs. So, Alex “borrows” it again without her knowledge–and gets away with it through a combination of police solidarity and misogyny. A lot of times, that would be played for laughs. I can see that being funny in a Stephanie Plum-like novel. Or someone like Bosch or Rebus would do it while feeling conflicted and have to face the music about it later. I initially took it as a lighter moment before realizing that Smith isn’t in that business.
The back of the book promises that this book examines “the lowest common denominators of policing.” And it delivers on that and will make you rethink a lot of what you read and watch in the fictional realm in light of what we see on the news.
Dialogue
There is a distinctive way that these characters talk to one another–at least Alex, Cecil, and most (if not all) of the criminals. I think if I wanted to take the time, I could come up with a more definitive list of exceptions (and that might prove interesting). Perhaps it’s a time-specific Toronto-area affectation. But I don’t think so, I think it’s a Vern Smith-thing. Like every David Milch or Aaron Sorkin series shows a specific kind of speech pattern (this is far more Milch than Sorkin, it should be noted).
It was a little odd at first, but an oddness I could appreciate. Then I got used to the rhythm and enjoyed it. By the end of the book, I don’t even think I noticed it anymore, it’d just become part of the novel’s world.
I don’t think I see this kind of thing too often in fiction, but when I do, I just love it. It’s not flashy like some people are with dialogue, just distinctive.
So, what did I think about Scratching the Flint?
This was an intense read. I was wholly immersed in it and really didn’t want to come up for air.
At the same time…these are not good people, at all. I think the characters I felt the most empathy for were Cecil’s wife (who seems utterly clueless about what he gets up to) and the lieutenant of the car theft ring’s head. He doesn’t show a lot of interest in going straight, but he doesn’t want anything to do with what his boss is involved in.
Smith captured the time, captured the psychology of the characters (or at least what you think these kinds of “cops and robbers” would think like), and delivers one of the grittiest, most realistic works you’re going to run into. Canadian noir, whodathunk it?
I cannot say I enjoyed Scratching the Flint (and I wonder a little bit about anyone who does), but it’s a powerhouse of a novel that will leave you thinking. It’s been more than two months since I read it, and I’ve chewed on bits and pieces of it almost every day since.* It’s an audacious work that will stick with you and one that will make you want more.
* And not just because I was trying to figure out how to write about it.
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