Coastside Detectives The Grand View
GENRE
ACTION DETECTIVE MYSTERY SUSPENSE/THRILLER
Core Theme
DETECTIVE INVESTIGATION, ART SMUGGLERS
TIME PERIOD
2000s
COMPARABLE TITLES
PHILIP MARLOWE, PRIVATE EYE, MALTESE FALCON, CHINATOWN
CHARACTER LIST
MIKE MASON. 40S. LEAD PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR. HARDEN. CYNICAL, EMPATHETIC. LOYAL
LAURA GRANDVIEWER. 30S. ANTAGONIST. CHARMING. GORGEOUS, RICH, MASON’S CLIENT.
JOE BALLARD. 55. FRIENDLY AND LOYAL. OWNER OF THE PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR AGENCY WHERE MASON WORKS.
KELLY. 20S. PROSTITUTE FROM TENDERLOIN. FRIENDLY. SHE HELPS MASON DOING SURVEILLANCE.
HAMID AFSAR. PERSIAN. ART GALLERY OWNER. MASON INVESTIGATES HIM AT LAURA'S REQUEST.
RAY FOSTER. EX-MARINE. ART SMUGGLER. HE TRIED TO GET RID OF THE INVESTIGATORS.
Logline
The views of San Francisco, so well known from dozens of film noir tales and classic novels, are the backdrop to a tale rooted in the smart-bombed skyline of present-day Baghdad, with results in San Francisco just as deadly.
Target Audiences
Age: 35-54
Target Gender: Universal
Setting
San Francisco and the coast
Based on a True Story
No
Publishing Details
Status: Yes: self-published
Publisher: Authorhouse
Year Published: 2011
Starting Description
Detective Mike Mason now lives in Pacifica, a small coastal town just south of San Francisco, but is drawn back to the rough streets of the city's Tenderloin District by a new client, Laura Grandviewer, who is as beautiful as she is untrustworthy.
Ending Description
Lies and half-truths send Mike upon a crooked path, and before he can unsnarl all of the loose ends Laura has set waving in the criminal winds, a growing body count will work to unnerve this hardened detective and end in a climactic splash of blood..
Group Specific
Information not completed
Hard Copy Available
No
ISBN
Information not completed
Mature Audience Themes
Language/Profanity,Extreme Violence
Plot - Other Elements
Twist
Plot - Premise
Overcoming Monster/Villain
Main Character Details
Name: Mike Mason
Age: 40's
Gender: Male
Role: Protagonist
Key Traits: Masculine,Empathetic,Decisive,Confident,Adventurous,Engaging,Seductive,Strong Moral Code,Unapologetic
Additional Character Details
Name: Laura Grandviewer
Age: 40's
Gender: Female
Role: Antagonist
Key Traits: Adventurous,Charming,Complex,Confident,Criminal,Sexy,Engaging,Skillful,Seductive,Sophisticated,Unapologetic
Additional Character Details
Name: Joe Ballard
Age: late 60's
Gender: Male
Role: mentor
Key Traits: Masculine,Confident,Blunt,Decisive,Faithful,Outspoken,Honorable,Unapologetic
Additional Character Details
The author has not yet written this
Genre
ACTION, SUSPENSE, THRILLER, MATURE AUDIENCE
Brief
Mike Mason and Joe Ballard are business partners in a private investigator agency in San Francisco. They have two offices: one in a good area (Marina on Union Street) and the other in a bad area (Tenderloin District). Laura Grandviewer, a new client, hires Mike to find a man she had been engaged with but was abandoned without explanation. Mike is drawn into a web of lies and half-truths, uncovering international smugglers, art dealers, and murders.
Overall Rating
FAIR
Narrative Elements
Authors Writing Style: FAIR
Characterization: EXCELLENT
Commerciality: GOOD
Franchise Potential: GOOD
Pace: GOOD
Premise: GOOD
Structure: GOOD
Theme: GOOD
Accuracy of Book Profile
Yes, it is accurate.
Draw of Story
At first glance, Laura hired Mason to track down a man she was engaged in and who left her without explanation. Next, we learn that Laura is lying: she isn't who she says she is. The mystery around her is fascinating and follows in a thriller full of fast action.
Possible Drawbacks
The story plants false clues to steer the audience in the wrong direction, but Mike Mason is constantly able to decipher what is about to happen since it is told in the first person. As the story progresses, it becomes a bit clunky and predictable, letting the momentum slow down after the twists. Adding more unexpected elements might be a good way to shake things up.
Use of Special Effects
THE STORY DOES NOT RELY ON SPECIAL EFFECTS
Primary Hook of Story
This is a modern noir detective adventure, told in the first person, with diverse characters and an intriguing plot. The mystery around Laura is exciting and follows in a thriller full of fast action. The plot of art smugglers from the Middle East involving a network of dealers is also fascinating.
Fanbase Potential
There is the potential to build a fanbase around the main character since the series features more books, like Sherlock Holmes or Phillip Marlowe. The narrative around the Mike Mason cases allows different perspectives to emerge.
Awards Potential
It’s rare to see crime films or detective story thrillers receiving attention in the Awards. They’re usually hybrids, considered dramas. However, mysteries and especially film noirs tend to do particularly well in the artistic performance categories (acting, writing, and directing).
Envisioned Budget
LOW BUDGET
Similar Films/TV Series
PHILIP MARLOWE, PRIVATE EYE, MALTESE FALCON, CHINATOWN
What’s New About the Story
It’s a detective story told in the first person, full of small details about the real-life of a private investigator. Mike Mason navigates the complexities of a criminal operation as his emotions and past come to light. The plot of art smugglers from the Middle East involving a network of dealers is also compelling and worth exploring in more depth.
Lead Characters
The characters are authentic as they go about their daily activities, trying to piece together the clues as they come across them. Mike Mason is an old-fashioned detective set in the modern world, empathetic and somewhat cynical, which adds a unique flavor to his character. There is a lot of mystery surrounding Laura, and she is a fascinating antagonist, quite like a James Bond femme fatale villain.
Uniqueness of Story
Although this is a classic detective narrative, the plot of art smugglers from the Middle East involving a network of dealers is interesting and worth exploring in more depth, such as looking at transaction details. Also, the characters and their motivations could be more fully develop; it would be interesting to know more about Laura’s background.
Possible Formats
Film: Studio, Indie, Streaming TV Series: Network, Cable, Limited Run / Mini-Series, Streaming
Analyst Recommendation
WORK IN PROGRESS
Justification
This story has an intriguing plot, good characters, and great potential for development. Yet, it needs improvement in how it subverts the expectations of the audience. While the story plants false clues, Mike Mason constantly hints at what will happen, preventing the reader from drawing its own conclusions. It becomes predictable since the main character is always guiding far too obviously towards a certain outcome.
Tips for Improvement
Adding more unexpected elements or subplots might be a good way to shake things up, bringing depth to Laura's story, for example. It would also be interesting exploring subtle foreshadowing to improve the dramatic tension throughout the narrative.
Brief
Mike Mason and Joe Ballard are business partners in a private investigator agency in San Francisco. They have two offices: one in a good area (Marina on Union Street) and the other in a bad area (Tenderloin District). Laura Grandviewer, a new client, hires Mason to find a man with whom she had been engaged, but was abandoned without explanation. Mason is drawn into a web of lies and half-truths, uncovering international smugglers, art dealers, and murders. As Mason works to meet the demands of his client, he seeks to discover the truth behind her false identity at the same time he finds himself attracted to her beauty.
What We Liked
This is a modern noir detective adventure, told in the first person, with various characters and an intriguing plot. The mystery around Laura is exciting and follows in a thriller full of fast action. The plot of art smugglers from the Middle East involving a network of dealers is also fascinating. The characters and places are well described, and there are great dialogue lines.
Film: As a movie, the story offers great insight into the real-life of a private investigator, and there are good thrills and action scenes to explore. As Mason goes back and forth between the city and the quiet beauty of his relatively new home, it's interesting to see how he balances his time between the two different scenarios and dealing with a variety of unique characters who take center stage in the story.
TV: For a TV series, this narrative can be developed over several episodes, each focusing on a different character or a case that Mike Mason has been working on. Alternatively, this story could be treated as a whole season (there are more books in the series to become several seasons). There are also good action-packed scenes to explore.
Key points:
1. Plot twists
2. Murder mystery
3. Pretty and untrustworthy female antagonist
4. International art smugglers
5. Low budget
Synopsis
Joe Ballard manages a private detective agency started by his father. In his semi-retired state, he'd made Mike Mason, a longtime employee and friend, his business partner. Mike now ran the Pacifica branch, a wealthy area, unlike the Tenderloin District where he'd first worked, and their office is still located.
A mysterious phone call led Mike to an address in the Spite Building, a tower with spectacular views over Russia Hill and San Francisco. Laura Grandviewer, a new client, lives there. She hires Mike to find a man called Hamid and photograph him over the next few days. Laura tells Mike that they had been engaged, but he had left her without explanation. One of the strangest things about the assignment was she could not tell the man's last name. Mike found it suspicious, but she was willing to pay, she was gorgeous, and something about her attracted him.
He started the investigation. To assist him in the case, Mike hires Steve, a part-time nerd employee, and Kelly, a street girl, for surveillance help and soon discovers that Hamid owned an art gallery. As Mike speaks with Joe on the phone at a restaurant, he tells him that he is watching Hamid. He didn't notice the man sitting right behind him. When Mike confronts Hamid at his art gallery, things got shaken. As soon as Mike tells Laura, she calls him “idiot.” It seems odd.
Mike got a call from the hospital: someone had beaten Joe. It's unclear who did it. The same thing happened to Laura, and when Mike confronts her, she admits her fake identity and gives him her real name: Laura Naumann. She claims to be a reporter for the Associated Press, tracking smuggled goods out of Iraq's museums. According to her, Ray Foster caused her bruises.
While pursuing Rays, he discovers goods and statues as well as valuable artifacts in his warehouse. He beats Ray as an alert. Mike later discovered that Laura lied again and gave him the name of someone else. She is surrounded by mystery.
He watches the news on TV and sees that Hamid was found dead in his apartment. A tax fraud investigation was underway. He learns later that Kelly accidentally killed Hamid, and she was arrested. After that, Laura calls Mike to come over to her apartment: she tells him Ray attempted to rape her there, and she killed him in the bathroom. Mike doesn't want to help her hide the body, so she hits him with a bottle of gin.
A fast-action sequence follows, starting with bus chasing, car racing, and cross-fire in the streets. Finally, Laura, who dealt with stolen goods from the Middle East, tried to escape in Ray's private plane. Mike fire four shots, and two got her in the chest.