From Publishers Weekly
Just when it seemed Christian publishers had explored every possible fiction niche, enter this debut contemporary gangster novel that occasionally falters but still tells an engaging story. When a Kansas City coalition of local churches tries to break the grip of organized crime, a mobster flies in cold-blooded hit man Solomon Long (aka "Solo") to knock off influential members. After one of Solo's dying victims forgives him, he is overcome with guilt and unable to complete the assigned serial murders. Well makes Solo a believable and fully rounded character, a killer plagued with obsessive-compulsive disorder and haunted by a fundamentalist childhood. Another compelling figure is Det. Tom Griggs, a workaholic who spends his sessions at the marriage counselor mentally working through a case rather than shoring up his faltering relationship. There's plenty of unexpected humor, including gunmen who play chess and a whiz-kid detective who likes Fruit Loops in his coffee. The snappy dialogue and occasional KER-CHUNK or BLAM, BLAM show evidence of Well's background as a comic book and radio series author, as do some short scenes and tight prose. There are a few trouble spots, including an unbelievable concluding chase scene and at least one unfortunate insider joke (a rapper named for a Harvest House editor). However, Well's fresh voice makes this an enjoyable addition to faith fiction.
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*Starred Review* Clergy and storeowners have banded together to force out Kansas City's last crime boss, Frank "Fat Cat" Catalano, and Fat Cat isn't happy. He brings in hit-man Soloman Long, aka Solo, to kill ministers and priests, but one such has the temerity, even as he dies, to forgive Solo. Solo, who had a terrible childhood in a fundamentalist home, falls apart. Meanwhile, Detective Tom Griggs, a likable workaholic who mulls over his cases even as he sits in sessions with his wife and a marriage counselor, closes in on Fat Cat. This sounds like an unlikely story line for Christian fiction, but Kansas City was once a major hub of organized crime, and Well knows his way around the neighborhoods. He also serves up brisk dialogue and interjects references to pop culture into even his most violent scenes. This is Christian fiction, but Quentin Tarantino's
Pulp Fiction comes to mind.
John MortCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
by Chris Well
by Chris Well
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