"Candy from Strangers," the movie

"If Candy from Strangers were made into a movie, the key casting decision would be who to put in the role of jazz bass-playing private eye August Riordan," writes author Mark Coggins in the current feature at "My Book, The Movie":

[L]et’s review the requirements for the character. Riordan narrates most of the novels himself, so the reader only gets a few hints about his physical appearance. However, Vulture Capital is told in an objective third person point of view, and there is a description of him in the scene where he meets venture capitalist Ted Valmont:

He was over six feet tall, but his heavy musculature made him appear shorter — especially in contrast to Ted Valmont’s willowy stature. His forehead and jaw were square and his mouth was a crooked line that seemed fixed in a sardonic grin. A crookeder scar traced a route from the corner of his mouth to the edge of his jaw. He had brown eyes and tousled brown hair that he had not invested over $10 to have cut. His suit — with puckered seams and lapels that would not lay flat — was poorly made and its fit on his heavy frame was bad. His nose had been broken at least once.

As far as personality goes, he is pretty much of a wiseacre, although he is more of a counter-puncher: while quick with a comeback line, he doesn’t go out of his way to antagonize people upon first meeting — at least in the later books. And in the intelligence department, he’s not dumb, but he’s not a genius either.

So who would you cast for the role? See who Coggins -- and some Hollywood-types -- came up with.

--Marshal Zeringue