Review: Gritty and Exciting
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 21, 2013
This story reminded me of some of the mobster movies that were made in the 1903s and it even reminded me of James Cagney's White Heat, for some reason.  Mostly because in that movie Cagney plays a ruthless criminal who cares only about power and money; very similar to Martin's character in the book.  Martin grows up in a poor neighborhood.  From the get go he is ruthless, ambitious, power hungry, he wants money and the influence it gives him.  But though his character is cold-hearted, he doesn't lie about who he is or what he wants.  The one thing I did like about the author's portrayal of Martin is that he brings out a bit of humanity in the  guy through Veronica.  Veronica and her baby are the only two people he cares about.  I love how when he realized they were in danger, Martin left everything to save them.  Then he hunts down the people who try to harm her and get revenge.  And I found myself rooting for him as he did so.This book is very well written.  You find yourself immediately connecting with Martin even though he is a cold-hearted person.  The narrative is very descriptive and manages to illustrate the action and each scene in the story very well.  I had no difficulty imaging the action.  I love the grittiness of the novel and the mafia type setting.  Very well done in my opinion.