A melancholy, blues-loving criminal called The Alligator and his crew hunt a murderous snitch, and take on sex traffickers, in Massimo Carlotto's Blues for Outlaw Hearts and Old Whores.
Carlotto is an Italian author who writes very hard-boiled novels, as the title of this one might suggest. I like his style and find his writing, though uncompromising, enjoyable and often surprising in its twists and turns.
The Alligator lives in a world where the criminals have honor and a code, and the cops and prosecutors can't be trusted.
At the outset, his crew becomes outraged when they are framed and then blackmailed by the cops to hunt a killer they can't reach, even though his crew justifiably belongs in prison and they wanted to kill the person anyway.
A globe-trotting chase ensues, with a pretty downbeat ending.
This is part of the World Noir line that I have enjoyed for a long time. World Noir sent me an advanced copy of Carlotto's latest, and I will look forward to his next adventure with The Alligator.
Carlotto is an Italian author who writes very hard-boiled novels, as the title of this one might suggest. I like his style and find his writing, though uncompromising, enjoyable and often surprising in its twists and turns.
The Alligator lives in a world where the criminals have honor and a code, and the cops and prosecutors can't be trusted.
At the outset, his crew becomes outraged when they are framed and then blackmailed by the cops to hunt a killer they can't reach, even though his crew justifiably belongs in prison and they wanted to kill the person anyway.
A globe-trotting chase ensues, with a pretty downbeat ending.
This is part of the World Noir line that I have enjoyed for a long time. World Noir sent me an advanced copy of Carlotto's latest, and I will look forward to his next adventure with The Alligator.
