A review by judyward
Lush Life by Richard Price

4.0

The Lower East Side of New York City has multiple faces. Two are explored in this book. "Bohemers" live in pricy apartments surrounded by popular bars and trendy restaurants where the night life draws in a wealthy crowd looking for some excitement. The poor live in run-down projects just a few blocks away where crime and drug-dealing is part of a normal day and where it seems almost impossible to break out of the poverty cycle. These worlds collide late one night when a drunk, young white man who is walking with two friends from bar to bar is shot and killed on the street by a kid from the projects in a robbery that went horribly wrong. While this book is the story of the investigation of this crime, it is so much more. Readers are introduced to all of the people who are impacted by this crime--the police detectives, the family of the victim, the friends, the young men involved in the shooting and their families and each individual is given such a full story that the reader can identify and sympathize with each. A slow moving account that reflects the reality of life, the writing in this book keeps the reader totally involved as the story unfolds.