Review: An extremely entertaining tale of the 1920s USA.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 23, 2012
When I first saw the cover of this novel, I expected nothing less than wild scenes of mayhem - something akin to the movie, The Cotton Club - but I was surprised and delighted to get so much more. The history associated with the time was interesting, if a little long, thereby drawing my focus away from the main plot. However, where the scam is explained my interest was held.The story opens with the horrific murder by drowning of Danny Kincaid, conman extraordinaire, who manipulates the wrong person this time. Matt Hudson, rum runner and bootlegger to the stars of 1920s Hollywood, has two driving ambitions - to make a full length talking movie and to find Danny's killer.Matt - "Hud" - is an interesting and likeable character. Deceptively calm, a man wise enough to stay alive in spite of a rival's best effort to kill him, Matt has a streak of humanity not often found among those with whom he associates. Murderous though he undoubtedly is, Hud comes across as a likeable rogue and one cannot regard his crookedness as serious in the way of Menotti and his henchmen. Hud's violence flares from emotion, and from necessity within the environment in which he operates. His regards his relationship with movie stars as business, unlike his society girlfriend Sylvia, who is a starry-eyed fan.In spite of the subject matter, this novel for me was a moral tale. Prohibition was - in my opinion - the most damaging piece of legislation enacted after World War 2 and brought out the worse in humanity. It provided an "excuse" for violence which was carried out mostly without conscience or second thought. In order to operate, rum runners and bootleggers were obliged to make pay-offs to officials, including the police. Hence, Danny's death is passed off as a accident while drunk, officialdom carefully ignoring the obvious signs of the torture which he endured before his death.Hud, on the warpath, performs acts of violence which shock the reader and when his horrified society girlfriend, Sylvia, questions his motives, she is echoing the readers moral dilemma. Is Hud a product of his time and is he justified in taking revenge for his friend's murder when the police have clearly been bribed to overlook it? Could the same scenario be enacted in 2012, in view of the fact that corruption does exis?  Would modern day forensics and scrutiny of police behaviour prevent this happening? Maybe a book club would come up with some answers.This well-written and engaging novel will stay with me for a long time. This author can only go from strength to strength!