Born a Ramblin’ Man is the debut anthology of crime fiction from Pennsylvania noir author Michel Lee Garrett, who bursts onto the literary scene with an intensity worthy of Jennifer Egan. Lee Garrett’s goon squad is led by the inimitable Raymond Reynolds, a hard-drinking, country-singing rambler, who eventually becomes a small-town crime reporter and amateur detective. Ray is a noir protagonist par excellence. It’s especially rewarding to follow his character growth over the seven stories that feature him in this anthology. Born a Ramblin’ Man extends well beyond Ray Reynolds, with several other well-realized protagonists, including the vibrant young con artist, Cera Dieben, who brings her rambunctious charm to three interconnected stories from Las Vegas to Philadelphia.
The anthology opens with the titular “Born a Ramblin’ Man,” providing our first introduction to Ray Reynolds, a Navy veteran traveling with a stolen guitar from Nashville. Bidding farewell to the Music City, Ray works his way southward toward New Orleans as a stowaway with unsuspecting truck drivers. His travels take a decidedly darker turn as he stumbles upon two young victims of human trafficking locked in a cage in a tractor trailer. Can Ray overcome his own apathy to help two people in desperate need?
The action shifts to Las Vegas in “Never Take the First Offer,” which centers on a pair of young women, Cera Dieben and her friend Lucy, who are dipping their toes in a world of petty crime. But their foray into the seedier side of Sin City may prove too much to handle as they become entangled with gangsters.
Ray returns in “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys,” now working as a country singer at the Lazee Cowboy Ranch and Resort. Ray’s otherwise tedious existence at the dude ranch is spiced up by a series of mysterious carjacking events that lead to a dangerous encounter.
The next story, “Passing,” features a trans girl, Lilly, whose parents discover her secret hormone therapy regimen. Still referring to her as their son, Billy, Lilly’s parents are both physically and psychologically abusive, blaming her gender affirming treatment on mental illness. “Passing” is the hardest hitting story of the anthology, as Lilly’s devastating experience has played out all too often in the lives of young trans people.
“Passing” is followed by “Railroad Blues,” the shortest story in the volume which serves as a brief vignette of Ray riding a train with other stowaways. The train becomes a microcosm of life and death as one of his travel companions ends up murdered, leading Ray to reflect on his own impermanence.
“Keep Your Fingers Crossed” is another devastating tale, this time focusing on a mother-son relationship between Sylvia and her grown son, Blake, whom she had saved from a near fatal drug overdose. Mistakes from the past come back to haunt the pair as they try to forge a path forward.
“Once I Was Stoned” finds Ray Reynolds on the staff of a small-town newspaper covering crime, courts, and local government proceedings. Ray discovers that even small towns are no strangers to political corruption.
The next story, “The Internship,” revisits Sin City and the gregarious Cera from “Never Take the First Offer.” Officially in Las Vegas on an unpaid internship, Cera must find other ways to make ends meet. The ensuing series of unfortunate events ends up making a compelling argument for why all interns should be paid a living wage.
There are religious allusions scattered throughout Born a Ramblin’ Man, but faith becomes a central focus in “…And Satan Came With Them” when a series of deaths seem to correlate with the assignments of a parish priest. The story builds up to an incendiary confession, but is reconciliation even possible?
Small-town newspaper reporter Ray Reynolds is back in “Twenty Column Inches,” working with an anonymous source to expose a case of local corruption. But will his editor appreciate the importance of his story and the amount of work put into his investigative journalism?
“Down to the Knuckle” is probably the most conventional crime story in Born a Ramblin’ Man, focusing on a drug dealer paranoid about being caught by a plainclothes police detective. Lee Garrett maintains peak levels of tension in this story all the way to its final line.
Our friend Ray is back in “Wolf in Wolf’s Clothing,” now finding himself in the middle of a furry convention in Philadelphia. It’s not all fun and games, as an undercurrent of fascism pervades what should be a lighthearted event. This story brings new meaning to a “murder of crows.”
The action remains in Philadelphia in “Real Magic” as the perspective shifts to Robert Falsch, a magician looking to make a fresh start with his partner, Cera (yes, that Cera). In this highly entertaining story, Robert and Cera prove to be a match made in perdition.
The anthology concludes with “Inquire at Johnny’s Diner.” Ray enjoys a hearty breakfast as he secures the first client for his new amateur detective agency. It’s a delight to see Ray’s character grow over the course of the anthology, from an apathetic bystander to someone who proactively finds ways to help others.
Born a Ramblin’ Man is an exhilarating debut that delivers fast-paced action while shining a light on the often invisible suffering of social outcasts in our own communities. Beyond this anthology, Michel Lee Garrett has also served as editor of Burning Down The House: Crime Fiction Incited by the Songs of the Talking Heads and the non-fiction collection Transcendent Love: True Stories of Trans-for-Trans Relationships.
5/5
