Devil's Redhead, The [Import] [Hardcover]

David; FGC (editor) Corbett (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Orion (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd ) (2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0752860089
• ISBN-13: 978-0752860084
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)

More About the Author

David Corbett is the author of three critically acclaimed novels: "The Devil's Redhead," "Done for a Dime" (a New York Times Notable Book), and "Blood of Paradise," which was nominated for numerous awards, including the Edgar, and named both one of the Top Ten Mysteries and Thrillers of 2007 by the Washington Post and a San Francisco Chronicle Notable Book; it was also selected for the US Southern Command Reading List by Admiral James Stavridis.

His fourth novel, "Do They Know I'm Running?," will be published in March 2010, and has earned the following praise from John Lescroart:

"This is not just a thriller, but an elegant novel, full of heart, soul, music, food, cruelty, betrayal, poverty and love. The line runs through Ernest Hemingway and Graham Greene, straight on to David Corbett. I'm not kidding. He's that good."

David's short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies, including "San Francisco Noir" and "Phoenix Noir," and his story "Pretty Little Parasite" (from "Las Vegas Noir") was selected for inclusion in "Best American Mystery Stories 2009."

David has also contributed a chapter to the world's first serial audio thriller, "The Chopin Manuscript"--which won an Audie Award for Best Audio Book of 2008--and also to its follow-up, "The Copper Bracelet."

For more, go to www.davidcorbett.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An epic character rich novel, March 5, 2004

By 

Larry Gandle (Tampa, Florida) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Devil's Redhead (Hardcover)

Dan Abatangelo is a drug dealer who smuggles marijuana into the country from Asia. While on a jaunt to Las Vegas, he meets Shel Beaudry, a card dealer in one of the casinos. They run off together, fall in love and live happily ever after until they both get busted for the drug smuggling. Ten years later, Dan is released from prison and searches for Shel who has gotten herself involved in a relationship with a mentally imbalanced man and a criminal organization. Dan must try to rescue her from this complicated living arrangement while trying to keep both of them alive. It proves to be a near impossible task.
David Corbet has written an epic novel rich in characterizations. However, I question the need for the sheer size of this volume. It is 370 pages long, yet, reads like a work of much greater length. True, we get to know the main characters very, very well. But nothing happens for many pages as we concentrate on detail after detail in almost every scene. The pacing is, therefore, lethargic. Nonetheless, the writing is strong and sure, as well as, the characters so realistic that these positives outweigh the negatives thereby allowing for a rewarding reading experience.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A violent tale, beautifully told, October 12, 2003

By 

Pat Browning "Author of ABSINTHEOF MALICE" (Yukon, OK USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Devil's Redhead (Hardcover)

THE DEVIL'S REDHEAD is a violent tale, beautifully told.
The writing flows. The pace never falters. At its tender
heart, this is a story of love, loss and reconciliation.

Opening line: "He blew into Las Vegas the first week of
spring, primed to hit the tables, sniff the wildlife and,
basically, cat around."

That's Danny Abatangelo, freelance photographer and
wildcat smuggler of Thai marijuana since college days. His
motto: "No guns, no gangsters, it's only money." Then he

meets Shel, a knockout redhead, and they slam together
like a couple of magnets.

Danny wants out of the drug trade. Everybody's moving in
-- Cubans, Marielitos, Vietnamese, Colombians, Mexicans,
the Mob. No more room for someone like Danny, who's in it
for kicks. End of an era.

He sets up one last job as a nest egg for retirement. What
follows is a harrowing sequence of events, resulting in
near-total destruction of everything Danny and Shel hoped
for.

This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Until Corbett came along,the only crime writer who could guide me through such violent material without setting me up for nightmares was James Lee Burke. Good company, those two!

For information about Corbett and his novels, check out his website:www.davidcorbettauthor.com.

Pat Browning, author of FULL CIRCLE

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great new noir, September 3, 2002

By 

John Shannon "John Shannon" (Culver City, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Devil's Redhead (Hardcover)

A great noir in the tradition of David Goodis and the masters. Here is a writer who knows just what he is talking about, presumably based on his years as a genuine PI in the Bay area. His dialogue is superb, tough, surprising and unsentimental, and his convoluted revenge and counter-revenge tale reminds you of Elmore Leonard at his best, except you have a feeling any of Corbett's characters could have had Leonard's for lunch. His characters do surprising things, just like real people, and you desperately want them to get past their own blind spots and weaknesses, as they get swept up into a Central California Delta drug war with racial overtones--rednecks vs. Mexicans. You desperately want the couple to get back together after their separate ordeals, worthy of Odysseus. It's a book you can learn from, about Spanish slang, about the changes that have taken the drug trade down several notches in viciousness, about the whole fascinating industrial Delta region itself--I read the book with a map by my side. It was compulsive and fun and ought to get a nod or two as best first novel.