Scratching the Flint by Vern Smith
Run Amok Crime (April 15, 2023)
242 pages; $17.99 paperback
Reviewed by Blu Gilliand
Vern Smith’s Scratching the Flint is a street-level look at crime and punishment revolving around a small-time auto theft ring and the two detectives tasked with busting it up.
Alex Johnson, a veteran of the Toronto police force, is teamed up with — some might say burdened with — Cecil Bolan, a hot-headed detective who often bucks against the obstacles that bureaucracy and politics place in the path of police work. When an old buddy Cecil uses as an informant is murdered, followed closely by a prostitute Cecil has befriended, he sets his sights on the crew of car thieves and their nervous, paranormal leader.
Smith delights in exposing how easily investigations such as this get bogged down and sidetracked. Cecil stays in trouble, whether it’s for mistakenly arresting a city councilor or repeatedly calling a superior officer “Teddy.” These infractions eventually result in a week-long “vacation” for both Cecil and Alex, just as their investigation is heating up. Cecil refuses to take the week off, however, and soon sees that it’s easier to work the case — and dispense judgement — when he’s working outside the system.
Smith tells the story in a gruff, street-wise voice, pulling readers right down into the grime with his characters. There are a few instances where the banter about Ricky Martin’s music, or about a certain nickname they are forbidden to use, treads the same ground a little too often, but I think that plays into Smith’s point about the banality and the grinding nature of this kind of work — sometimes you see the same things over and over, so it’s easy to take the inappropriate way out, even if it’s just so you can do/see/feel something different.
Scratching the Flint is a scathing indictment of the way failed leadership and jaded foot soldiers lead to a brand of justice that, in the end, leads to very little justice at all.
