tiny pink books

A Dangerous Man by Chalie Huston
Ballantine Books, 2006

The final installment in Charlie Huston’s modern noir Henry Thompson trilogy, A Dangerous Man is another page turning adventure with Huston’s anti-hero, Henry Thompson. Through each chapter of Huston’s trilogy, Henry has grown tougher and a little less hopeful and this is no exception. Henry is at the bitter end of his saga of murder, mafia, and running for his life.

In this chapter, Henry is working for David, a Russian mafia boss, committing murders, beatings, and other dirty work in exchange for his parents’ safety. It’s an interesting arrangement. Of course, Henry’s past (and his 4 million dollars) catches up to him, leading to a mad scramble of Henry, once again, running for his life. Toughened by his experiences throughout the trilogy, Henry is no longer the regular guy of Caught Stealing–he’s a strong, savvy character with a dangerous criminal mind.

Huston does something new this time and plays around with the narrative structure of the story, creating flash forwards and flashbacks that are a little disorienting, though not too problematic. One thing that struck me about A Dangerous Man is that, while it is sadder than the other books, it is less bitter and less violent than Six Bad Things in a refreshing way. While Caught Stealing remains to be the standout among the series, A Dangerous Man is a satisfying conclusion that is well worth the read. I recommend this one for mystery and action readers who enjoyed the previous book(s). In my case, I was enthusiastic about Caught Stealing, but lukewarm for Six Bad Things…I still found A Dangerous Man to be a satisfying and quick read.

Caught Stealing
by Charlie Huston
Ballantine Books, 2005

Okay, I admit it. I liked the “Vampyre” book by Charlie Houston (Already Dead, mentioned previously) that I was quite pleased when my dad handed me a copy of Caught Stealing to read on a plane. Caught Stealing is a fast paced mystery that’s as pulpy and fun as it is dark. Hank Thompson, the narrator and hero of Caught Stealing, is an everyman who gets unwittingly sucked into a world of crime and violence as one situation seamlessly snowballs into another. Hank is just a normal guy. He’s a bartender in New York, a baseball fan, and a respected and friendly neighborhood do-gooder. His life may not be glamorous and he may be scarred from his tragic past, but he manages and appears to have things under control…until one day, he agrees to watch his neighbors cat. One event leads to another and pretty soon, gangsters, good cops turned bad, professional criminals and the Russian mafia are all after Hank, dragging him into a violent struggle that he was never meant to be apart of.
The best thing about Caught Stealing is the hero, Hank. He’s not so much a hero as an every day kind of guy who has no choice buy to toughen up. He thinks logical thoughts and seems, well, normal, even though the world has gone crazy around him. He is not a one dimensional tough guy from a bad action film–he reacts to these situations with a great range of fear, adrenaline, and sobriety. The plot of Caught Stealing might be generic noir, but the characters, especially Hank, give it an interesting twist that makes it so much more, well, identifiable.
I think Caught Stealing is a great selection for anyone who is not quite into hardcore mystery thrillers, but enjoys a good bit of pulp. It’s faced paced and hard to put down, which made it the perfect companion to an airplane flight. Older young adult reluctant readers, especially boys, might appreciate the Pulp Fiction-like qualities of this book, though I advise them to only do so if they can handle the firmly R-rated subject matter. This book has violence. It has bad words. It has drug and alcohol use. If any of these things offend you, you probably shouldn’t read it.

Already Dead
by Charlie Huston
Del Rey, 2005

My sister gave me a copy of Already Dead as a birthday gift. I’m glad she did because I probably would not have picked up this book if not for that. Already Dead is a part horror and part mystery novel chronicling Joe Pitt, a mystery solving private eye and a vampire…except in Already Dead it’s spelled “vampyre.” Joe Pitt is an interesting character. He is, in part, a typical pulpy mystery novel sleuth. He’s a hard boiled loner with street smarts a tough guy exterior. He’s also, however, a vampyre who drinks blood, deals with a variety of mafia-like vampyre clans who run the city, and kills zombies. Oh yeah, that’s something worth mentioning. Already Dead has vampyres AND zombies.

I liked the way Already Dead used the horror genre to recreate the mystery genre. The situations are typical mystery novel situation, filled with interesting characters and plot twists, but the bloodthirsty, undead twist makes them even more entertaining.

Call me a snob, but normally, I tend to avoid vampire books (and “vampyre” books even more so) and modern day mysteries. They’ve just never been my thing. The combination of these two genres in Already Dead however, has opened my eyes. I truly enjoyed the book. It’s pulpy and silly and fun.