jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
I need to start with the good because there’s a lot of goodwill built in this book or else I wouldn’t have been able to stomach it for 20 pages.
Rob Hart knows New York City. Knows it. Not in a way a smarmy lifer traipsing through endless aristocratic watering holes knows it. But the way a native does. Favorite bars, corner stores, slice stops…he brings it alive in a real way. I could see and feel the city, one I’m missing right now with everything shut down due to COVID. I read a lot of novels just for the Manhattan tourism and this is one of the better ones. That he picks the Lower East Side to set most of the book is all the better.
And that’s the only thing that got me through. Because this book is a reminder of why I rarely start mystery series with alcoholic male PIs anymore: tough guy dialogue, lots of fighting scenes, obnoxious expressions of masculinity. I couldn’t stand Ash McKenna. He’s an insufferable knucklehead who, of course, can’t let go of his past and thus must take his anger out on the world. Hart does a great job building up interesting characters around him only to have Ash go stumbling through their respective worlds like a bull in a glass shop. I couldn’t stand it, couldn’t stand his connection to the murder victim (an attractive young woman slashed to ribbons because of course), couldn’t stand the try hard-y nature of McKenna trying to be Philip Marlowe (there’s a Long Goodbye reference here that made me audibly groan). I thought the resolution was going to go one way that I would’ve liked but of course, it didn’t.
So yeah, I love the New York-ness of this book. And Hart is a talented enough writer that I may pick up book two in spite of itself. But man, this should have been so much better.
Rob Hart knows New York City. Knows it. Not in a way a smarmy lifer traipsing through endless aristocratic watering holes knows it. But the way a native does. Favorite bars, corner stores, slice stops…he brings it alive in a real way. I could see and feel the city, one I’m missing right now with everything shut down due to COVID. I read a lot of novels just for the Manhattan tourism and this is one of the better ones. That he picks the Lower East Side to set most of the book is all the better.
And that’s the only thing that got me through. Because this book is a reminder of why I rarely start mystery series with alcoholic male PIs anymore: tough guy dialogue, lots of fighting scenes, obnoxious expressions of masculinity. I couldn’t stand Ash McKenna. He’s an insufferable knucklehead who, of course, can’t let go of his past and thus must take his anger out on the world. Hart does a great job building up interesting characters around him only to have Ash go stumbling through their respective worlds like a bull in a glass shop. I couldn’t stand it, couldn’t stand his connection to the murder victim (an attractive young woman slashed to ribbons because of course), couldn’t stand the try hard-y nature of McKenna trying to be Philip Marlowe (there’s a Long Goodbye reference here that made me audibly groan). I thought the resolution was going to go one way that I would’ve liked but of course, it didn’t.
So yeah, I love the New York-ness of this book. And Hart is a talented enough writer that I may pick up book two in spite of itself. But man, this should have been so much better.
trenton_ross's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
clambook's review against another edition
1.0
Not really my bag. I gave it a whirl based on some good reviews and the author's connection to Mysterious Press. But found I don't like the protagonist, the circles he travels in or what I consider the book's overly imitative plot and concept. DNF.
weirdtea's review against another edition
4.0
One of the keys to a satisfying noir is voice--and New Yorked has a great one. There are so many solid lines and observations throughout the book. I laughed, teared up, nodded along, and shook my head. The protagonist, Ash, occupies the gray areas and is all the more interesting for it. I appreciated that this liminality felt natural--not contrived. That's handy because so many thematic elements in the book touch on questions of authenticity, identity, and honesty. I love that kind of thing and it's one of the reasons I dig noir in the first place.
It isn't perfect. The first few instances of the second person sections didn't grab me...but they grew on me and eventually I came around. The mystery isn't all that deep, but that's fine because the mystery isn't the primary focus anyway. It's more about character and setting. And that's the thing. I expect if you are from New York, this book is going to really speak to your heart. If you're like me--a Great Lakes Midwesterner a bit tired of the whole love letter to NY thing because you know, WE GET IT--well, this story still has something to say. I could connect to the ideas, its feelings, and yes--because of media exposure I could picture the locations. If all that doesn't show skill, I don't know what does.
Finally, weaponized umbrella. If nothing else, read the story for that. It's awesome.
It isn't perfect. The first few instances of the second person sections didn't grab me...but they grew on me and eventually I came around. The mystery isn't all that deep, but that's fine because the mystery isn't the primary focus anyway. It's more about character and setting. And that's the thing. I expect if you are from New York, this book is going to really speak to your heart. If you're like me--a Great Lakes Midwesterner a bit tired of the whole love letter to NY thing because you know, WE GET IT--well, this story still has something to say. I could connect to the ideas, its feelings, and yes--because of media exposure I could picture the locations. If all that doesn't show skill, I don't know what does.
Finally, weaponized umbrella. If nothing else, read the story for that. It's awesome.
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