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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wild ride, November 3, 2011
This review is from: Hard Knocks (Hardcover)
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After about three chapters of Hard Knocks, I was having serious doubts about whether I was going to like this book. The lingo, the characters, the half truths and the double crosses were already making my head spin. You get Knocko, who's The Man, and then there's The Speaker who's also The Man. You've got Slip and Jiggs and Bucky, and Tommy Miami and a host of other guys who are mob bosses, ward chiefs, chairmen, councilors, and feds. Finally, we have our hero, Jack Reilly - disgraced former cop turned PI. He's now a master at finding the dirt on anybody who's anybody, and when his brother recommends his services to a certain bank robber who promptly gets whacked, well off we go on a journey of crooked cops, crooked politicians, organized crime, and one guy with a crooked past who's just trying to do the right thing. Make no mistake, this is a story where you really have to pay attention. I am not familiar with Boston, their politics, or their criminals, however once I got everybody straightened out, this book really took off for me. The author has a wonderful talent for dialogue and it wasn't long before I had fallen into the groove of the lingo and could really hear these guys speaking to me. The story is full of twists and turns, hard language and brutal choices. I had no idea through most of the book how Jack was going to get himself out of the mess he landed in, and even when I thought I had it figured out, the author wasn't quite done yet. There were more surprises to come. This is a great read for fans of crime fiction, and I hope we see more of Jack Reilly. He's an ideal hero for a city full of crooked, power hungry cops and politicians. He's far from perfect, but seems to be developing a fondness for justice and also for a certain intrepid reporter. We learn a lot about Jack and what he stands for in this book, and I look forward to seeing what the author might have in store for this character in the future. Fans of Dennis Lehane will find much to appreciate here. If you are like me and a newbie to the world of organized crime and Boston politics, don't despair. If you hang with this tale of corruption and justice, you will be treated to a story that is tightly plotted, is rich in suspense, and has dialogue that really pops. The characters are unforgettable and will no doubt provide readers with the most fun they've had since The Soprano's left the air. Don't miss it, or who knows, you might get a visit from Knocko. Believe me, you don't want that.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"There's no arguing with him, if his pistol misses fire, he knocks you down with the but end." Oliver Goldsmith, January 8, 2012
This review is from: Hard Knocks (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I was drawn to the South End of Boston setting and the Irish ex-cop who is the protagonist in "Hard Knocks." Jack Reilly's brother, Marty, is in jail and Jack is trying to live down the shame of his brother's imprisonment and make a living as a P.I. As the story opens, a friend of Marty's calls Jack and asks him to meet at an Irish bar and cop hangout called Foley's. He gives Jack a small retainer and asks for his help with some information he has on the mob but is gunned down soon after leaving Foley's. One of Jack's former academy classmates, Plain View Evans, leads the investigation and doesn't mind letting it show that he believes that Jack is mixed up in a crime, possilby involving the mob. Jack Reilly had been a driver for the mayor and is retired from the P.D. on a stress related disability. As he begins investigating, the reader can't help but be reminded of another Boston P.I., Robert Parker's wonderful character, Spencer. The author also seems influenced by Mickey Spillane and, in Reilly, we see a new, and improved, Mike Hammer. While Reilly is searching for the information that the mob wants-or doesn't want anyone else to have, he's helped by an attractive reporter, Katy Bemis. The humorous but complicated plot eventually comes together nicely and the reader is drawn to the action. I was impressed with the realistic dialogue and setting of the Boston area filled with politicians on the take and corrupt lawmen. The author is a columnist for the "Boston Herald" and has given his readers an interesting vision of the hard streets of Boston and a modern P.I. who knows how to survive within those mean streets. 3 1/2 stars moving up to 4.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fast-Paced and Full of Action, November 6, 2011
This review is from: Hard Knocks (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Fans of Raymond Chandler and Dashiel Hammet will be right at home with Howie Carr's 'Hard Knocks.' Set in Boston with forays to Springfield, Mass.,this story of political dirty tricks and corruption is written in a cynical style that is as crisp and tart as a good apple. I got so involved in the story that I read the book in a day! The author is a long-time journalist and radio icon in Boston and he seems to know very well what he writes about. Carr's protagonist, Jack Reilly, is Boston born and bred. He is a former policeman (third generation)whose intelligence brings him to the attention of one of Boston's Irish-American mayors, who employs him as a driver and 'problem solver.' We quickly learn his 'back story:' Reilly's adeptness at political 'dirty tricks' led him to be set up for a sting operation. Years ago, he was forced out of the police force and into the 'private sector.' His current activities read like those of a private investigator but his specialty is still fishing up unsavory bits from people's pasts to use in 'taking out' his clients' political opponents. I have had a fair amount of experience in a state legislature and in municipal government and most of the story rings true, perhaps with some exaggeration. The personal brand of political manuevering Carr describes merits the title of 'Hard Knocks' and even 'sharp elbows.' The story in this book tautly describes the worldview of a middle-aged contemporary Irish-Italian American in a demographically changing Boston. As with Archie Bunker, political correctness is not on the menu unless it is scorned or satirized. The seamy side of modern culture ('sex, drugs and rock-n-roll')provides a subtext for angst over fading traditions. There are murders involved in the story--our hero is concerned with settling the score for one of them and he is actively engaged it not becoming a victim of the next one. Past murders tie into the story, mainly to give a sense of the continuity of the symbosis between crime and ward-level politics in the city over its modern history. There is a pretty and much-younger woman reporter to be rescued and her 'elbows' are just as sharp as anyone's in her desire to be first with a story and to get her own column in a larger paper. All of these elements move along unsentimentally and at a fine pace. While we believe the hero may come out right in the end (in most books they do), the outcome is seriously in doubt at every turn. Does he, in fact survive this time? Either way, this is a cracking good story and, while some scenes may be familiar, the writing is fresh and there is no sense of a cliche anywhere in the authorship.
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