If you're a fan of the ubiquitous Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, you already know the author, Richard Belzer. On the television program, he plays Detective John Munch, known for his dry humor and being often misunderstood. I can relate. Belzer has almost assumed the identity of this character he has portrayed in ten different television series, including The Wire, Arrested Development, X-Files, and Homicide: Life on the Street. The new mystery I Am Not a Cop! is little different from a storyline for Munch on television and, probably, Belzer in real life, described by Robin Williams as, "The Marquis de Sade as a game-show host."
Belzer has written or coauthored two other books, How to Be a Stand-Up Comic and UFOs, JFK, and Elvis: Conspiracies You Don't Have to Be C razy to Believe. In I Am Not a Cop!, his first foray into fiction, Belzer involves himself, detective work, the Russian mob, professional boxing, paparazzi, and diamond smuggling in a fast-paced, non-stop roller coaster ride of quips and bodies instead of cops and robbers. Well, O.K., cops are involved a little. Minimally.
The notions of blood diamonds and Russian border politics make the book so timely, you'd think Belzer had a hand in directing tanks into Georgia. Maybe he did. How unique is it for an author to write himself into the starring role in a fictional portrayal of his fictional role in real life? Makes the head spin. And he makes his hero, himself, say, "I am not a cop. Really. I've just been playing one on television so long that people get a little confused sometimes."
Maybe it's his long history with the entertainment media that enabled him to concoct a story that reads like a film noir of crime looks. See if you can find the echoes of classics like The Thirty Nine Steps, The French Connection, and Rope.
Article comments
1 - Beth
Thanks, Georganna. I will wait for the movie of the week.