Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed by Marc Blatte

Debut Mystery and Hip-Hop Noir Novel

Sep 22, 2009 Sandra Williams

Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed is written in a unique voice that is fast, dangerous, disturbing and hilarious at the same time. It's like a hip-hop version of Sin City.

Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed is Marc Blatte’s first mystery novel that’s also dubbed as hip-hop noir.

There are hip-hop artists struggling throughout the book that show the seedy side of New York. It takes a bit to get used to the street talk, but it has a certain rhythm that grabs a reader’s attention.

It becomes an entertaining and page turning crime novel with struggles between races, thugs and the rich and poor. Greed and drugs definitely evens out the playing field, because someone’s going to get hurt, regardless of how much money they make.

Characters in Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed

Most of the characters in Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed have inventive nicknames like the dark detective “Black Sallie Blue Eyes”. He’s an experienced and street-smart detective who doesn’t scare easy in the mean streets of New York. Biz is introduced as a producer who writes for a successful record label, but is being bullied and haunted by ghetto thugs like his cousin Scholar and his band.

Scholar wants his money the easy way and thinks he can get it through threats of violence and stealing. The fact that he’s already been to prison doesn’t deter him or his band of thugs. Mix that with drug addiction and it’s a combination that leads to deadly consequences.

A likeable immigrant named Vooko, who also dreams of being successful gets caught in the dangerous culture of crime, drugs and hip hoppers thanks to his job bouncing at a famous club. After witnessing a murder and being shot at, Vooko decides to track down the killer himself.

Several corpses later, thugs are scattering to defend themselves or beat murder raps while the determined detective Sal attempts to unravel the murderers and bring them to justice.

• Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed offers a fresh, sharp new style to the mystery genre that will attract crime novel buffs as well as hip-hop fans. Blatte’s descriptions of certain scenes are vivid, but the speed of which the characters switch points of view is sometimes dizzying. It's still an exciting whodunit book that’s hard to put down because Marc Blatte skillfully keeps the suspense going until the end.

About Marc Blatte

Marc is from New York, which lends authenticity to Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed (Schaffner Press, 2009, ISBN: 9780980139419). He also has experience mingling with hip-hop artists because he spent years writing songs and getting a record label going.

Blatte has composed music for famous artists and was nominated for a Grammy Award for best R&B song. His song writing days may be over, but he’s found another outlet, and his creativity explodes in Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed. Since "Black Sallie Blue Eyes" is one of the most memorable characters, readers will be happy to hear there’s another mystery about him on the way.

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The copyright of the article Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed by Marc Blatte in Mystery/Crime Fiction is owned by Sandra Williams. Permission to republish Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed by Marc Blatte in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed