Customer Reviews

Wicked City

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

WICKED CITY continues Ace Atkins's practice --- inaugurated in his last book, WHITE SHADOW --- of crafting a novel by basing it upon real world events visualized through a fictional prism. It concerns Phenix City, Alabama, in the early 1950s, a small town where corruption, graft and vice had taken root to the degree that, like the kudzu native to the region, it appeared to be impossible to uproot.

The relative complacency of the townspeople to the extent and degree of the wickedness --- there is no other word for it --- is shattered by the cold-blooded murder of Albert Patterson, a crime-fighting attorney who had campaigned on a promise to clean up Phenix City. Fresh off a primary victory that all but assures him of being elected the Attorney General of Alabama, Patterson is gunned down in a downtown alley. His son, John, vows to take his place, and not only to see that the killers are brought to justice but also to fulfill his campaign promise. Among John's early recruits is Lamar Murphy, a quietly upright and decent soul whose former career as a boxer has given way to a married life that involves nothing more complicated than operating a service station by day and spending time with family in the evening.

At first, Murphy is underestimated by the entrenched vice lords of the city, referred to derisively as a "palooka" and a "grease monkey." When they realize, however, that he is a serious opponent to be reckoned with, Murphy soon has a price on his head, one that will not be easy to escape. But as time passes, Murphy's example leads others to stand up as well, including witnesses to Patterson's murder who previously had been reticent to speak up. Armed with truth, a righteous indignation and firepower, Murphy and John take what is sure to be their one and only shot at cleaning up Phenix City and avenging the murder of Albert Patterson.

Atkins has done yeoman's work researching Phenix City, and the results show that. It turns out that the author had relatives who were intimately familiar --- and involved --- with the goings-on in Phenix City; indeed, one of the characters here is based on a composite of Atkins's grandfathers. Atkins met and interviewed Murphy's direct descendents as well, so that, combined with other extensive research, one feels at times while reading the book that one is in the process of actually witnessing the events. One example of many: Murphy, at one point, leads a raid on what is referred to as the "Rabbit Farm." Atkins's description of what follows, and of the premises itself, does not border on genius; it stakes the term out and marks it as posted.

So how good is WICKED CITY? As I was reading, I experienced the high that readers seek, that of total immersion, where your immediate reality is limited to what is between the covers of the book at any given moment. There were also times when I thought I was going to jump out of my skin. And right to the end, Atkins lobs subtle surprises at the reader, never letting up for a moment. You will read and re-read it, copy passages from it, jealously guard it, and run back into a burning building just to rescue your copy.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Having grown up in Phenix City, Alabama during the 1940s and 1950s, and witnessed the city's cleanup in 1954, I was amazed at the historcal accuracy of the events portrayed by Mr. Atkins. Many readers express surprise at how and why Phenix City acquired its reputation as "Sin City U.S.A." One must recognize that the city was relatively poor with a work force mainly comprised of workers in the cotton mills of Columbus, Georgia just across the Chattahootchie river. There was little by way of legitimate business in the city comprising a tax base. For many years, until the 1954 cleanup, the local mob had convinced most of the people that the city, including its churches and schools, could not survive without the mob's financial support. The beneficiaries didn't complain. There was also an understandable reluctance by so-called "law-abiding citizens" to complain for fear of making themselves the target of mob retribution. And, reacting like ordinary folks usually do in any circumstance, some just "didn't want to get involved."

As Mr. Atkins writes, there were a handful of principled, determined, and couragous citizens who took on the mob and helped overthrow the lawless regime. Sheriff Lamar Murphy was certainly one of those individuals. Among other things, Sheriff Murphy identified the eye witness to the murder of Albert Patterson, the Democrat nominee for Alabama Attorney General, and this witness' testimony was instrumental in convicting the triggerman in the murder. Some commenters expressed surprise that a fellow who pumped gas for a living could take on the job of sheriff and perform it so well. Mr. Atkins' book shows that it can and did happen in Phenix City, Alabama.

Ace Atkins has proven his worth---he's done it again, another fine piece of work by a talented and gifted writer. (Sure am glad he got out of newspaper journalism to concentrate on this type writing.)

Ace weaves fact and fiction together nicely in this story of Phenix City, Alabama, near where Ace lifed most of his young life. Using facts and real personalities, he has set the stage for what truly was one of America's most wicked cities. His real life characters set the stage and his fictional characters help explain just how wicked the city, the criminals and the times were.

A fast moving, enthralling read.

One Note: For those even vaguely with the Phenix City story, it might be--definitely would be--of help to go online and get some information, even pictures, of the real life characters in Ace's book. A good place to go would be the site for movie "Phenix City Confidential." It has outstanding pictures and bios of Ace's true characters and really adds to the enjoyment of the book. In fact, that site has what may be the actual photgraph of the arrest of Art Ferrell as Ace describes it in the book, National Guard troops and all.

A good book, very good. Hope he will do one on Birmingham in the same vein. Now that would be a great one!!!

Atkins is establishing himself as a master when it comes to historical fiction. The genre is demanding, because readers expect factual accuracy though not at the expense of the delights of a novel. There must be the authority that results from hours of painstaking research, getting every detail right, and yet at the same time all this must be conveyed with novelistic power. Atkins does it sublimely. He drops down into the psyche of character after character, creating a compelling world that is framed by thorough research. Wicked City is a triumph. There is grit and poetry here aplenty. And Atkins provides a knowing take on the evil that humans are capable of (and the evil in this book is fierce), yet he also offers something much more difficult to pull off: a vivid portrait of those who risk their lives to see goodness prevail.

I've been a fan of Ace Atkins since his first book, CROSSROAD BLUES. The whole idea of his series, a blues scholar/former New Orleans Saint, was inspired and the plots and evocative descriptions remain brilliant. With WHITE SHADOW and WICKED CITY, though, Atkins has shifted his muse to historical crime fiction. The former was amazing -- but Atkins really shines on WICKED CITY. It's a sensational topic about a piece of American history I didn't know even existed, and Atkins is perfectly nuanced in dealing with a stunning array of characters. An amazing book by one of the best crime writers in America.

"Wicked City" is Ace Atkins' second attempt at historical true crime fiction following "White Shadow". This genre niche presents an interesting recreation of historical eras and figures wrapped in a fictionalized version designed to hold the reader's interest level while suggesting reasons, motives, and insider-thinking. While it can be effective for what it is, I am often left with a feeling that I just finished dinner and am still hungry. This fictionalized true crime genre is more like reading newspaper recreations with the writer attempting to fill in the gaps as to why things happened; ultimately, there is little below the surface...the reader gets a snapshot of history rather than an understanding of the deeper nuances and characterizations needed to flesh out the real story and present true substance.

"Wicked City" refers to Phenix City, Alabama so named by Look Magazine which referred to PC as "The Wickedest City in America". Decades of rule by the so-called "Redneck Mafia" had created a city with two faces. One was a normal city with stores, movie houses, and everyday working people. The other was a depraved, evil, crime ridden series of bars, gambling parlors, and clip joints populated by thugs, gangsters, and prostitutes who were all seemingly impervious to law and order thanks to huge payoffs and intimidation that reached all the way to the governor's office.

In 1954, Albert Patterson, a crime-fighting attorney running for state office, is assassinated in gangstyle fashion. This dastardly act galvanizes the Russell County Betterment Association, a local voice for reform and law and order, and Lamar Murphy, former filling station worker turned sheriff, into taking action that ultimately brings down the Phenix City crime machine and, consequently, affects history.

Murphy is a determined "everyman" who is undeterred in seeking justice. Along the way, the reader meets a large cast of characters who move the storyline but with little investment from this reader. Characterizations are shallow which I beleive is a corollary of this style of true crime fiction. Most are painted in splachs of black or white with very little gray to add texture.

"Wicked City" is a fast clean read that interested me mostly for the details of such a sleazy depraved city operating with impunity in our great nation and the feel-good story of the common men who rise up to overthrow the depravity. Ultimately, the novel is a good versus evil western morality play carried out in the middle 1900's right under the presence of the US Government at nearby armed forces bases etc. I felt "Wicked City" to be a more complete and satisfying novel than "White Shadow"...and while I am still not a devoted subscriber to this narrow genre, I can recommend the book on its considerable merits.

As a southerner familar with Phenix City, Alabama, I had high hopes for this book since the true story it's based upon is fascinating. Unfortunately, the book read more like a wrapup of a newspaper expose with thinly developed characters. Every other bad guy was a fat, sweaty, white man and even the good guys weren't well drawn enough for me to feel something, anything, for their plight.

Phenix City, Alabama was corrupt for decades, a center of gambling, prostitution, and raw power, just across the river from Ft Benning, Georgia. Killing a local hero was the beginning of the end for the filth of Phenix City. A good novel tracing the real facts of the case.

this was my first time reading an ace atkins novel,and I was not disappointed. I learned about this book while reading the story of the stateline mob, the dixie mafia and misissippi mud. though it was a novel it was solidly based in the history of Phenix city 1954. The characters and atmosphere brings that period in history to life

I really wasn't expecting too much when I listened to this on my MP3, but Ace Atkins knows how to really draw you into Wicked City and by the time you finish you know you have been in the dirtiest town in the USA. The main character reminds me of Clint Eastwood being caught up in trying to clean up the town and what a job he has. It is ride for him and you get to ride shotgun. I even bought my husband the book for Christmas and he can't put it down.