Nick Archer is a private detective. He isn't much of one, but he does have a pretty decent gig: to watch a rich client's wife and prove that she is (or isn't) faithful. And of course Nick has struck up a relationship with the wife and they share many interesting evenings together. But all of it comes crashing down when the client turns up dead, the wife is the prime suspect, and Nick has to clear her. But not everything is as it appears to be with Nick and he has his own agenda in this case.

The story is patterned off the classic old style PI novels (think a lesser version of the Maltese Falcon or Casablanca) complete with the world weary PI, the cheating--but beautiful wife, the put upon assistant, the poor relationship with the local cops, and of course the Murder. The majority of the story is decent---not great, and not bad either. But it really doesn't add much new to the genre and is traditional of these types of stories...up until the ending that is. The ending packs a real punch and I just wish they had laid some of that out in the rest of the story instead of just the last 30 pages. It would have made the story more enjoyable.

The artwork is different. It's drawn all in black and white and current events are drawn with pen and ink in a lose/sketchy feel that captures the bare bones of the characters, the lines in the faces, the movements that their eyes make, etc. It reminds me of some of the stuff that the Hernandez brothers have put out. It took a while for it to grow on me, but it's a nice change of pace from a lot of the more traditional styles out there. What's also different in this novel is how past events are depicted. Past events are down in black and white traditional watercolors and you can pick out more detail of the characters and the scenes and they seem to have more depth to them and more feeling. I actually prefer the artwork done in this manner to the pen and ink, but I think if the entire novel had been done that way it wouldn't stand out as much.

I recommend reading this book to the ending, even if the story doesn't hold your attention in the beginning because the ending will make it worthwhile. ( )

Liar’s Kiss is everything you could want from a graphic novel noir. It is classic, edgy, and is filled with intrigue. I took a chance on it because I love graphic novels and I figure that even if it is bad, at least I can be amused by the illustrations. I wasn’t let down AT ALL by this novel. From the first page, I was hooked.

The plot is like that of any film noir. A private investigator, Nick, is having an affair with his client’s wife Abbey. One night, Nick gets a call from Abbey saying that her husband has been killed...and she’s the main suspect! She hires Nick to find her an alibi that will not place her at the scene of the crime. This assignment gets Nick into a bit more trouble than he had bargained for. Consequently, he finds himself facing demons from his past and putting his fate in another’s hands.

I thought this was superb. It is written in the traditional black and white “comic book” style. Where it could come off as being cliche, it actually sets the perfect tone and atmosphere for the story. When reading the book, you feel as if you’re watching an old fashioned noir. Including, the classic noir twist.

If I had to voice any complaints, it would be that the story is a little thin and the dialog is a bit stilted. Yet, I can’t really get update about it because most noir is thin on the plot and big on the intrigue. Still, as a first book I think he did a great job. I look forward to his future works.

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