Customer Reviews

Dope Thief

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The other five-star reviewers have all made wonderful points in their assessment of this book, points that I would not have been able to make, which is the neat thing about allowing readers to write reviews (whether favorable or unfavorable). As for me, one of the most impressive aspects of Dope Thief is that I found myself truly caring about the characters, especially Ray, but also his doomed-to-the-lifestyle partner-in-crime, Manny, his step-mom, Theresa, and even his father, Bart. I can't tell you how many books I have read, even highly acclaimed ones, where I stopped halfway through as I came to realize that (1) I didn't care one bit about the characters, non even the main one(s) and (2) I didn't care how the book ended. I simply lost interest--or never had much interest to begin with--and stopped reading. That wasn't the case with Dope Thief.

Dope Thief is one that I read slowly and savored, because I sensed that I had something special in my hands. The dialogue is perfect, the plot flows smoothly, and the inner workings of Ray and his life story are wonderful. As I said, you really come to care about Ray, the hurts he has suffered, the poor choices he has made, and his attempt at redemption. And when he and Manny rip off the wrong meth-cookers/dealers, I can almost guarantee you that you will feel scared.

My only concern is that the title of the book may turn off potential readers, yet at the same time, it is a perfect title. Hopefully word of mouth will spread like wildfire so that other readers, even ones who don't typically read this genre or who may dismiss it because of the title, will be able to enjoy this wonderful book. Actually, I have one more concern, and that is for the author. How on earth will he be able to write a comparable second book when his first one is this good? I hope he will try, and I suspect that he will succeed, because he definitely has the writing chops. He is a truly gifted author and I am glad that he wrote Dope Thief. It is compelling, scary at times, very touching and tender, and always, always credible.

I never thought I'd be recommending a book about low-life (as they describe themselves) criminals who are involved in one act of bloody violence after another, but this is a brilliant novel by a new writer who is starting at the top of the form. Yes, it's hard to put down -- not simply because of the brisk and visual and even poetic writing style, but also because it has characters delineated with great delicacy and honesty. I can't wait for Tafoya's next book.

Dope Thief is easily one of the best books I've read this year, a remarkable combination of action and dread, brains and heart, with everything I look for in great crime fiction, and more. While the "mystery" on the cover is certainly a misnomer, there is mystery within it, as well as a great plot and characters that live and breathe and suffer and change and stay with you long after you have put the book down.

It's not often that you come across a crime novel that manages to be funny, poignant, and well-written, but Dope Thief does all that and more. Ray and Manny are well-rounded characters that don't conform to stereotypes, and seem very much like people you might really know. It's great to read a thriller that doesn't involve high tech gadgets and government agencies, and Ray's struggle to make better choices will ring true to all readers. You don't need to be a criminal to ID with these characters.

This is one outstanding read. Action scenes are mesmerizing and the plot is as hard-edged and purposeful as a gunshot at close range. The novel also stands as a literary piece: the reader experiences through the author's excellent narrative the impact that environment and circumstance can have in the making of a criminal and, ultimately, his struggle to stay alive while he attempts to un-make himself.

This starts so well, it does everything you hope the 'literary thriller' genre will do, it's as good as Richard Lange's award-winning story in DEAD BOYS which is as good as this sort of thing -- these days the preferred route for young male authors -- ever gets. However, it does slow down some about 70% of the way through, but only out of the evident ambition to work out real life consequences of the hardboiled plot rather than take the route of those who are only referring to in their minds to movies they've seen in which a climactic shootout wraps everything up.

Tafoya is more ambitious than say Charlie Huston or Duane Swierczynski, whose novels tend to bleed into each other and share that trashy quality summed up by "I couldn't put it down -- because I never wanted to pick it up again!" Tafoya's better and hopefully he'll develop; certainly I will buy anything he writes until and unless he repeatedly lets me down.

Don't be fooled by the words "A Mystery" on the front cover, or the adjectives "noir" and "fast-paced" on the back. This is as tender and subtle a portrait of a criminal mind I've ever seen. Effortlessly beautiful and heartfelt, even as the bullets fly and the wounds open. If In Cold Blood was set in a meth lab, and written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, you'd have DopeThief.

Ray and Manny met as tweeners at a juvenile detention center. They became pals and remain so two decades later in spite of both spending time in prison. Each has a long rap sheet that is loaded with burglaries.

The pair managed to come up with DEA badges and DEA windbreakers. For the past year in Philadelphia they have raided two bit illegal drug operations pretending to be Federal agents; they especially like hitting meth labs. Their scheme is brilliant as those they rob from cannot call the cops or afford to hunt them down. However, they make a big error when they accidentally steal from someone holding a few hundred grand. They know he and his cohorts are coming after them as Ray concludes their crime spree is over and wants out if he survives, but doubts Manny or the mark chasing them will allow him to just leave alive.

In many ways this character study focuses on the nurturing vs. naturing debate as Ray's father insists he cannot overcome generations of criminal activity that flows in his blood while a woman he likes insists he can if he truly wants to. The story line is packed with plenty of action, but is more a character study than a crime tale as the audience sees deeply what makes Ray tick especially while he looks back at his past and considers his future while in the hospital. Dennis Tafoya provides a fascinating glimpse at a young man whose life has been criminal and whose future looks short.

Harriet Klausner

Ray and Manny have stumbled across a sweet deal in the mean streets of Philadelphia. Staking out small-time drug dealers, the two petty criminals (and addicts) have methodically knocked over one drug dealer after another. Armed with DEA-marked jackets and reasonable facsimiles of badges hung around their necks on chains, the pair moves in on small operations, making off with drugs and cash by the time the players realize they have been played. Friends since they first met in juvie, Ray and Manny are already marred by the narrow expectations of the criminal drug culture, both happy to enjoy the fruits of their labor until the drugs and the money run out and its time for another score. But Ray is haunted by the tragic death of a young woman he loved and the repercussions he suffered after the accident that took her life. Sometimes, in the haze of his drug-slogged brain, those few happy memories surface and Ray wonders what might have been.

Tafoya sets his drama in a bleak atmosphere of dead end lives caught in a vicious cycle of rampant drug use and the seductive profit that flows from illegal enterprise, his protagonist blindly stumbling from one score to another until the partners happen upon an unbelievable amount of money and drugs in a farmhouse meth lab. By the time they settle down to count the booty, Ray and Manny realize they have raided a large operation sure to lead to serious-even deadly- consequences. Before long, both men are the object of an intense search to recover the thousands they have stolen. On the run and under the gun, things quickly get very ugly, Ray and Manny temporarily removing their loved ones from the line of fire as the pressure builds. On the edge of panic, Ray barely maneuvers from one brush with danger to another with little hope of survival.

Yet sometime during this chaotic nightmare, Ray stops to question the direction of his life, the utter stupidity of a lifestyle that can only lead to further incarceration or death: "Old feelings and resentments are just beneath the surface of his skin, like barbs he [can't] get out." Caught in a downhill spiral, this deeply troubled character experiences an epiphany, an unexpected journey from despair to hope. Whether he can survive the violence around the theft at the farmhouse is another matter; but in his sordid tale Tafoya suggests that there is hope even for the most deeply mired in a life of crime, his protagonist reaching out in spite of circumstances to embrace a different life. Bodies litter a brutal landscape in this gritty drama, Ray staring into the abyss, desperate to reclaim the future. Luan Gaines/2009.

DOPE THIEF is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It has a rare combination of taut action, gritty detail, and poignant heart that I found addictive. I read it over very quickly, and I'm planning to read it again soon to really savor the beauty of Dennis Tafoya's writing (I was a little too caught up in the story to do that fully the first time around). I can't wait to read his second novel, THE WOLVES OF FAIRMOUNT PARK.