Crime Season

    Part of his success is his ability to appeal to different crowds at the same time – like a songwriter who knows how to work intelligent lyrics into a catchy pop single. Loomis’ literary chops help him write with fast-reading clarity, punchy dialogue, and a plot with plenty of curveballs to keep the reader turning pages into the night. Add cool descriptions and characters with real depth, and the book ends up being something both his colleagues and beach readers can enjoy.

    The main character, aging detective Frank Coffin, is strung out from seeing one too many dead bodies on the job in Baltimore and returns home to Provincetown in hopes of leaving the violent crimes behind. There, Coffin ends up in the middle of a body count, reluctantly trying to solve murders in this formerly peaceful town. With Provincetown’s many drag queens and free-spirited eccentrics, trying to sort through murder leads is like wandering through Twin Peaks with the Cohen Brothers. 

    Both books actually read very cinematically; it’s easy to imagine these events on the big screen, tagged with strong R rating. A movie adaptation is the ultimate monetary payoff for an author – something his agent is currently shopping around. When asked about a dream cast, Loomis laughs and admits resistance at naming actors. “You end up embarrassing yourself,” he says. “It ends up saying more about you than it does the book.” But after minor prodding, he throws out a few names. Interestingly, for the part of Frank Coffin, he offers the same actor I imagined playing the role:  George Clooney (with 40 extra pounds and a bald spot). Clooney has shown he can be both comical and serious, much like the characters in Mating Season, and the author who created them. 

    Having already surpassed his publisher’s expectations – not to mention his own – Loomis knows Frank Coffin has quite a few miles left in him. His publishers say that if they continue the series they’d want a new book every 18 months.

    This all leads to a question. With all of this momentum, how have Loomis and his books stayed largely under the radar in the Chippewa Valley? That, book fans, is a mystery.

    Mating Season is available at Crossroad Books, 301 S Barstow St., Eau Claire.