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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gruesome great read, July 16, 2002
Charlie Swift is one of old Stan's gun monkeys. He is killer, protector, enforcer for Stan, the head of the Orlando crime syndicate. When Miami crime boss, Beggar Johnson, decides that Stan has grown too old to milk Orlando crime for all its worth, a territorial battle begins. When Stan disappears and the rest of the gun monkeys are killed off or turned to the dark[er] side, Swift has to go it alone to fend off Beggar's goons, renegade FBI agents and others. The body count mounts chapter by chapter, and as ruthless a killer as Swift is, the reader begins to root for him due to his loyalty to his boss, family and new girl friend, as well as his sheer skill as a "detective" and vengeful killer. This is indeed a noir novel of the first ilk. It's a fast, exciting, easy read and holds the reader's interest until the inevitable showdown between Swift and Mercury (his counterpart as Beggar Johnson's head gun monkey). If you are squeamish about descriptions of bloody violence or about raw language, stay away from this one. Otherwise, it's a really entertaining romp of a pulp novel.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tough as shoe leather with powder burns, September 17, 2003
This guy Vic Gischler knows how to write prose that makes you keep reading, even when his main character's a professional killer. Let's say instead, especially when he's a professional killer. Charlie Swift is loyal to his boss, Stan, his mother, and his younger brother Danny and, as well, to his taxidermist girlfriend Marcie who also happens to be the widow of a guy Charlie had to put on ice. Seems like Charlie's boss goes missing. Seems like other guys in Charlie's crew are getting wasted, as in permanently. Seems like another guy, Beggar Johnson, wants to take over Stan's turf. Charlie manages to miss getting wiped out himself and goes after the guys who killed his compadre Bob. He's got friends--Lou the New Guy and Jimmy the Fix principally. And he's got his wits. Which are pretty sharp judging by the story here. OK, here's some sacrilege. Gischler claims to have read a lot of John McDonald and been heavily influenced by him, but for my money, he writes better than McDonald who in my opinion a lot of the time is hard to get through--clunky prose that's dated now. But VG's writing is smooth as silk and tough as shoe leather with powder burns. Nice job.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gun Monkey Speaking, January 21, 2003
Gischler hasn't written detective fiction here, but criminal fiction. This is the kind of book neo-noir fans like, with its muscular prose, language of the day, and unadulterated violence. Charlie Swift is so tough he's not ashamed to take care of his mother or be loyal to his boss. So he lives out of a suitcase and works out of a tin box trailer called the Monkey Cage, Charlie's got a bulging safe deposit box and he owes it all to one man: Stan the Man. The opening sentence: "I turned the Chrysler onto the Florida Turnpike with Rollo Kramer's headless body in the trunk, and all the time I'm thinking I should've put some plastic down." Charlie Swift, gun monkey, speaking.
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