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It took a TWoP rec to remind me of this mid-sized read. It’s an AU, first person Lex PoV, that does a nice job of emulating a noir/old style detective story. Lex is the detective. Martha Kent is the beautiful redhead who comes to him for help. Clark is the missing son who took off after a tragic accident caused his mom to miscarry.
I quite enjoyed the fic, but then, I always did have a fondness for the genre. Lex’s world weary characterization worked for me, and the story has a sparse style that moves quickly and fits this type of story. The read is a bit detached at the start, but I liked it. I also liked how it managed to stay close to canon with regard to most of the relationships. One of the reasons I tend to be drawn to a fandom has to do with the circumstances surrounding the characters. This means AU’s tend to be ‘hit and miss’ for me - it’s not merely a matter of characterization, but the extent to which they play on the same dynamics that I love in canon. One thing I love about Smallville’s Lex is the way he measures himself against his father. That element holds true in this fic, even if it is a background detail:
I was weak. I wanted to fuck him. It would be so easy. But that’s what my father would do. And I’m not my father.
Clark- well, he’s a little on the weepy side, but the author doesn’t go overboard with it and it makes sense in the context of what’s happening. This is very much the 16 year-old Clark who is trying to escape the pain of what he’s done.
Overall, this isn’t a massively complex story, but I dug the style, the way the plot unfolded, and the characterizations (Lex’s growing understanding of Martha’s cleverness and strength was a particularly nice detail). Good read, with some nice smutty bits for those who want them and an interesting take on the detective genre for fans of the style.
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