Review: Neo-Noir
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 18, 2013
Books you can really get your teeth into don’t explore one theme, they deal with several that weave together in a magic carpet that takes you flying high into the sky where you have a bird’s eye view of the dilemmas mere mortals have to deal with down below. For a moment, you are suspended, God-like, in that privileged position if being outside the herd looking in.Garrard Hayes does that in Bourbon & Blood. With a fine brush he paints a portrait of war hero Bill Conlin until we can see ever wrinkle and tic, ever doubt and hope, every busted dream and lost tomorrow. Bill’s an Afghan vet. He’s done his tours. Now he wants a life. And he wants love in the shapely shape of Dana, the diner waitress. She deserves better than that. Can he give it to her. Not without a decent job. Good pay. A future.Trouble is, Bill Conlin has only one real skill – a special forces skill for weapons, combat, survival. His cousin introduces him to crime boss Frank Sullivan, but that’s not what he’s looking for. Until it comes looking for him. From downtown to uptown. From rags to silk ties and tailored suits. From the poverty tracks to the 24/7 murky money-making machines of drugs, slavery, prostitution, organized crime and moral ambiguity. This is neo-noir, totally compulsive, one man who may seem like he his taking on the world but is, in the final analysis, taking on himself.