Shane Stevens (1941–2007)

"Hot tickets?"
"You know. Tits."

Just like the previous book, "Jersey Tomatoes", the crisp banter between Cooper and any/every one had me hooked hard again! Really, the dialogue throughout was just superb and the highlight of this book too! A detective novel, rat-a-tat-tat dialogue, a stripper that wants to be a priest, Samson and Delilah, professional wrestling and Jersey - what more could a guy like me ask for? Actually, what I could ask for is: MORE MALONE BOOKS!!! After all, on the inside back fold of the dust jacket, it does read, "J.W. Rider is at work on his next Malone thriller." That was 1987. Come on Mr. Rider, how about another one next year for the 30th anniversary??? Please?!?!… (mehr)

opening line - "When they sank the Holland Tunnel eighty feet into the Hudson River back in 1926, everybody saw a golden age for New York and Jersey City on opposite ends." 4th and 5th line - "What happened was New York got all the gold and left Jersey City only the age. It just got older."

Well, those lines sank me right in to this book! And the crisp banter between Cooper and Jarrett immediately following had me hooked hard! Really, the dialogue throughout was just superb and the highlight of the book! A detective novel, rat-a-tat-tat dialogue, and Jersey - what more could a guy like me ask for?

"Jersey tomatoes was mob talk for dynamite...", Christians Anonymous, and homosexual hitmen, make this a book to add to your must read list!… (mehr)

I feel like this book started strong, starting with the main character's life in Mississippi and the struggles he and his family faced being black at that place in that time. And I think it still was a good read when they moved on to Carolina and then New York. But I felt like the book started slipping when Marcus visited Florida, and it never did recover. Lots of good stuff about race relations, black vs. white in Harlem, the role of the po-lice and some of the ideas some African American groups had the time. It just wasn't a good "story" to read. Interesting, but not entertaining.… (mehr)