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rocketiza's review against another edition
3.0
This isn't a terrible book, but extremely disappointing in how none of the style or tone from Lange's short stories is present here. Basically, its a very mediocre and un-noteworthy novel.
liberrydude's review against another edition
4.0
A story of redemption with many pauses and detours. Fast paced, riveting read. Author skillfully takes disparate and ordinary individuals and brings them together in a violent but satisfying finale. Boone, the protagonist, is a noble and selfless character who even when he does the right thing seems to suffer adverse consequences- but still he soldiers on and you, the reader, just want good things to happen for him.
candy_ah's review against another edition
3.0
Not as gritty and colorful as Michael Connelly or Raymond Chandler. But it seems like he's trying to achieve those heights. Promising set up but the end seems contrived.
rosseroo's review
4.0
I really liked Lange's short-story collection, "Dead Boys", so I was curious to see whether or not his writing would translate to a full novel, so I picked this up. In many ways, this is a very typical crime novel -- the protagonist is an ex-Marine who had a good life as an elite bodyguard and messed it all up in one impulsive act (albeit one based on a noble motive). He's now out on parole and eking out a living as the live-in super of a small set of apartments and night job as a Hollywood bartender. When the doorman at the bar asks for his help with a kind of "street detective" investigation, he goes along partly as payback for a favor, partly for some extra cash, and partially because he's bored.
Their job is to look into the death of a young Guatemalan migrant who died of infected wounds from dog bites. This eventually leads them to a aging gangster living out in the desert who has a hand in all kinds of illegal activity, including dog fighting. (Speaking of which -- there are some very detailed and nasty descriptions of dog fighting in the book, which some readers will find very upsetting.) Eventually, the hero, his doorman buddy, and his old friend from bodyguarding days are up against a motley crew of dangerous men, with a desperate brother and sister as wild cards, all of which leads up to a climactic shootout in a ghost town with yet more men with guns.
None of this is particularly remarkable, except that Lange does a really excellent job of placing the reader deep in each LA scene, vividly describing the locations, from fetid migrant flophouse, to Compton corner bar, to MacArthur Park, to the sketchy ranch in the desert, and so forth. The characters are all completely believable in their flaws and dialogue, and the plot races along propulsively. There's also a romantic subplot that is mostly believable and doesn't detract from the main story. There are a few quibbles to be had for sure -- the setup for the final shootout is to obviously fishy, the hero is too noble, etc... but at the end of the day, it's a great LA crime novel -- perfect for fans of the film Heat and similar.
Their job is to look into the death of a young Guatemalan migrant who died of infected wounds from dog bites. This eventually leads them to a aging gangster living out in the desert who has a hand in all kinds of illegal activity, including dog fighting. (Speaking of which -- there are some very detailed and nasty descriptions of dog fighting in the book, which some readers will find very upsetting.) Eventually, the hero, his doorman buddy, and his old friend from bodyguarding days are up against a motley crew of dangerous men, with a desperate brother and sister as wild cards, all of which leads up to a climactic shootout in a ghost town with yet more men with guns.
None of this is particularly remarkable, except that Lange does a really excellent job of placing the reader deep in each LA scene, vividly describing the locations, from fetid migrant flophouse, to Compton corner bar, to MacArthur Park, to the sketchy ranch in the desert, and so forth. The characters are all completely believable in their flaws and dialogue, and the plot races along propulsively. There's also a romantic subplot that is mostly believable and doesn't detract from the main story. There are a few quibbles to be had for sure -- the setup for the final shootout is to obviously fishy, the hero is too noble, etc... but at the end of the day, it's a great LA crime novel -- perfect for fans of the film Heat and similar.
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