Being new to this list I can't lay claim to having been
turned on to anything new here yet, but I thought I'd pass
along a recommendation all my own: Jake Arnott's
"The Long Firm" (Soho, 1999). Simply put: an original. The
book is broken down into five long chapters. Each chapter
from a different character's voice depicting its specific
association with criminal mastermind, Harry Starks. Starks is
a hoodlum of the organized variety. Runs a rival "firm" to
that of the infamous (and very real) Kray Twins, 1960's
London. Starks' capacity for benevolence and
kindheartedness--a mostly thin veil of camouflage concealing
his hidden agendas--is the expansive equal to Starks'
sadistic tendencies, both physical and psychological. That
Starks is gay may put some folks off, but his orientation,
though predominantly secondary to the crimes at hand,
strengthens the weight of character, his quarries, and his
quandries. A deft portrayal of amoral character. A pretty
brilliant book. True hardboiled fans should not pass on this
one.
Peter Davis Your Flesh Magazine
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