Noir books do not need to be thick and, at 211 pages, Melbourne author Mark Brandi’s Eden, his fifth novel, is perfectly sized. When Tom Blackburn hits the streets of town after a long spell in prison, life seems bleak, sprinkled with morsels of hope. When he lucks upon a dream job at a heart-of-the-city cemetery, it seems he might finally face a better future. But rosy futures are not noir futures, and Tom stumbles into a mire of personal, moral quandaries. The author adopts a pared down, present-tense style that reflects the simple character of his protagonist, a style dotted with evocative descriptions that bring inner Melbourne to life, and Tom quickly wriggles into the reader’s heart. Foreboding quickly appears and swells, and the plot is excellent. If the climax offers few resolutions, Eden is a taut, atmospheric noir tale that this reader, for one, will remember for a long time.
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