‘Viper’s Dream’ by Jake Lamar

Published by No Exit Press,
20 April 2023.
ISBN: 978-0-85730549-7 (PBO)

This extremely enjoyable novel is set in the jazz world of Harlem between 1936 and 1961. It follows the career of Clyde ‘The Viper’ Morton as he goes from failed trumpeter to become one of the most feared gangsters in America. As well as cameos from real-life jazzers such as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonius Monk, The Viper  mixes with a range of vivid characters such as his Jewish boss Abraham ‘Mr O’ Orlinsky, the chauffeur-turned-gangster Peewee Robinson and violent enforcer Randall ‘Country’ Johnson, as well as a bent policeman, heroin dealers and pimps. But the central and defining relationship is between The Viper and the novel’s femme fatale Yolanda ‘Yo-Yo’ DeVray, an aspiring singer with, like most of the characters, her own destructive demons. It is a complicated and turbulent relationship, and they are apart for lengthy periods.

Drug dealing dominates the plot. There is a curious morality about this from The Viper and his immediate associates. Selling marijuana is fine, but dealing in heroin is not; one encourages jazz musicians whilst the other destroys them (Charlie Parker’s brief yet memorable appearance demonstrates the latter). Those that sell heroin are dealt with violently and summarily.

And there is a good deal of violence (and sex) in the novel. One thing it is not, though, is a murder mystery story because we know exactly who commits the murders. Instead, we are tantalised in the opening passages by what The Viper has just done (this is 1961), his regrets, and what is going to happen to him at the end of the following three hours, but we have to go back through his life and wait until the very end, including a couple of extremely late and convincing plot twists, to find out the truth. The publisher’s blurb is no exaggeration when it says ‘the climax bears an element of Greek tragedy’.

This is a fast-paced, dramatic, brutal, at times shocking, yet always engrossing novel (hard-boiled is the inevitable description that comes to mind), but it is leavened by glimpses of humour. It is also an encompassingly vivid glimpse into the dysfunctional jazz world of Harlem. Some years ago I read and enjoyed the Evan Horne mysteries by Bill Moody, set in a more contemporary jazz world. Viper’s Dream is another delight for lovers of jazz, but one that can and should be enjoyed by anyone. It is highly recommended.

Coda
If you want to get in the mood for reading the novel, the author has given a playlist of 50 of the tracks he listened to most whilst writing it, and the publishers have provided a QR code to go to that playlist. And just in case you’re wondering why Morton is known as The Viper, it was Harlem slang for marijuana users because of the hissing sound made by drawing on a joint.
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Reviewer: David Whittle

Jake Lamar was born in 1961 in The Bronx, New York City. He is an African-American writer, novelist, playwright, and cultural critic living in Paris. After Graduating from Harvard University, Lamar spent six years writing for Time Mgazine. He haslived in Paris since 1993 and teaches creative writing.

David Whittle is firstly a musician (he is an organist and was Director of Music at Leicester Grammar School for over 30 years) but has always enjoyed crime fiction. This led him to write a biography of the composer Bruce Montgomery who is better known to lovers of crime fiction as Edmund Crispin, about whom he gives talks now and then. He is currently convenor of the Midlands Chapter of the Crime Writers’ Association.