Review: Great, gritty tale scores knockout
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 2, 2013
I've enjoyed JD Mader's spare, punchy writing voice and strong characters since I first stumbled into Joe Café. So I had been eagerly anticipating this book, the second in Matt Stark series. Hannigan's Fight finds Matt, Maria, and Striker living a quiet, humble existence in Mexico. Until Hannigan, still in San Francisco, gets himself in the middle of trouble and calls on Matt and his friends for help. This journey contains some unsavory characters and Mader doesn't pull punches, but he paints his villains with empathy and makes us, well, not love them but root for them to climb out into the light. We understand them, and that's an art. I especially liked the friendship between Matt and Striker: both strong guys, loyal as the day is long, and who aren't too cool to be vulnerable. It's a great, gritty story, tautly edited, and I loved going along for the ride.