- Hardcover: 384 pages
- Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson; First UK edition edition (9 Oct 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0297847309
- ISBN-13: 978-0297847304
- Product Dimensions: 22 x 14.8 x 4.2 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,236,342 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Rackets
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Product Description
Review
'This is tough-guy prose in overdrive, which moves effortlessly from union halls to the morally ambiguous world of Irish racketeers, Italian mobsters and Russian mafia hitmen, from the concrete and steel horizon of Manhattan's half-built skyscrapers to a twilight world familiar to fans of Martin Scorsese movies. This is a stylish, innovative thriller that shines like a dark sun over the often repetitive landscape of today's crime fiction.' (Maxim Jakubowski THE GUARDIAN (8.11.03) )
'...the flowerless, stark prose also works in a female cop, a gun nut and a richly drawn parade of hoodlums and hardcases to lend this restless, churning story a beating, if poisoned, heart.' (Andrew Emery JACK (November) )
'For any Raymond Chandler fans, there are several great Chandleresque moments...THE RACKETS is a fine thriller.' (Dan MacCarthy IRISH EXAMINER (25.10.03) )
'Jimmy Dolan's adventure certainly treads a path familiar to the author...He [Kelly] knows the territory well and some of the novel's set pieces present the strongest sections of the book.' (Frank Shouldice IRISH INDEPENDENT (1.11.03) )
'Stylish, pacey thriller.' (The Bookseller )
'Kelly does a nice job of blending a violent thriller with the mixed emotions that accompany a disappearing way of life.' (SUNDAY MERCURY (Birmingham, 12.10.03) )
'Muscular retro-fiction, which last made waves stylistically in the late Thirties and early Forties, is brought rousingly up to date with this appraisal of mobsters and corrupt union bosses mauling the construction industry in present-day New York...Inspirational when you least expect it and all the better for its bare-knuckled prose. Reminiscent of Aben Kandel's fine Forties novel, City for Conquest. Is social realism gearing up for a revival?' (LITERARY REVIEW (December 2003) )
'...the flowerless, stark prose also works in a female cop, a gun nut and a richly drawn parade of hoodlums and hardcases to lend this restless, churning story a beating, if poisoned, heart.' (Andrew Emery JACK (November) )
'For any Raymond Chandler fans, there are several great Chandleresque moments...THE RACKETS is a fine thriller.' (Dan MacCarthy IRISH EXAMINER (25.10.03) )
'Jimmy Dolan's adventure certainly treads a path familiar to the author...He [Kelly] knows the territory well and some of the novel's set pieces present the strongest sections of the book.' (Frank Shouldice IRISH INDEPENDENT (1.11.03) )
'Stylish, pacey thriller.' (The Bookseller )
'Kelly does a nice job of blending a violent thriller with the mixed emotions that accompany a disappearing way of life.' (SUNDAY MERCURY (Birmingham, 12.10.03) )
'Muscular retro-fiction, which last made waves stylistically in the late Thirties and early Forties, is brought rousingly up to date with this appraisal of mobsters and corrupt union bosses mauling the construction industry in present-day New York...Inspirational when you least expect it and all the better for its bare-knuckled prose. Reminiscent of Aben Kandel's fine Forties novel, City for Conquest. Is social realism gearing up for a revival?' (LITERARY REVIEW (December 2003) )
Dan MacCarthy, IRISH EXAMINER (25.10.03)
'For any Raymond Chandler fans, there are several great Chandleresque moments...THE RACKETS is a fine thriller.'
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Days like this Jimmy Dolan figured he had the best job in the world. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Days like this Jimmy Dolan figured he had the best job in the world. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.9 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
this books rocks., 16 July 2001
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Racketsaradise (Hardcover)
From Salon.com 7/16/01:Set in the Giuliani era, "The Rackets" takes you behind the scenes of New York politics to reveal a city rich in simmering cultural conflicts. It's got everything you could want in a quick urban crime read: engaging characters from both sides of the tracks running classic scams and struggling not to get taken down by an endemic corruption. Kelly invokes dozens of classic portrayals of the same turf -- everything from "The Godfather" through "Donnie Brasco" -- in this story of people chasing their lost immigrant roots.
Set during mayoral and union elections, "The Rackets" begins as the mayor's advance man, Jimmy Dolan, gets in a dust-up with Frank Keefe, the head of the local Teamsters. Jimmy's given his walking papers and is forced to return to Inwood, his old neighborhood on the northern tip of Manhattan. Since Jimmy pisses off Keefe and Jimmy's dad, Mike, is running against Keefe to lead the union, there's plenty of tension between the two men, and it only gets worse when a local mafioso, Franky Magic, enters the scene. He's afraid that Keefe will lose the Teamsters election and figures a return to the old code of violence would be a necessary -- and exciting -- way to get everyone back in line. From there on out, it's two trains screaming toward a collision.
The plot line is clear within the first 20 pages, but Kelly makes the book an engaging read by developing a varied cast of characters who transcend the typical crime novel figures. The pages he devotes to each major player's passing thoughts and emotional quirks gives you glimpses into every corner of a New York constantly preoccupied with power, class and personal legitimacy. The only thing that all of Kelly's people can agree on is the importance of reclaiming the simpler traditions of their Irish heritage and their distaste for the cultural changes that have swallowed their old neighborhoods and upended the familiar social order. Kelly uses the peculiar slang of their milieu -- guys are "skels," you "take" a heart attack instead of having one -- to reinforce the sense of a cohesive neighborhood culture. Hell, even Jimmy Breslin makes a guest appearance and the blessing is well deserved.
-- Max Garrone salon.com
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Real characters, real life, 15 July 2001
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Racketsaradise (Hardcover)
Having grown up in Inwood, where the majority of Kelly's book takes place, I am awed by how accurately he is able to re-create the essence of the neighborhood and the attitude of the people. Some critics of his book claim that Kelly is overly Irish-centric. Come spend a day in Inwood, even now, and you can see those ideas mirrored in the personalities of the old timers still living there. Rather than being criticized for being narrow minded in his views, Kelly should be lauded for so perfectly nailing a particular way of life. In addition to how real his characters seem, his descriptive writing is at times breath-taking. Thank you Thomas Kelly, for taking me back to the old neighborhood.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing Second Novel From New York Writer, 17 Sep 2001
By Ron Frankl - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Racketsaradise (Hardcover)
Frankly, I was disappointed by "The Rackets". Thomas Kelly is an engaging writer with a fairly unique view of New York City and its social components, with an easy-to-read style and a healthy sense of social commentary. Unfortunately, he has major difficulty in resolving his plotlines; Kelly's means of wrapping things up is to start eliminating major characters, and not peacefully, either. This "last man standing" approach to writing was also evident in his previous work "Payback", another engrossing novel that falls apart towards the end.Kelly is clearly an ambitious novelist, and we could sorely use a great urban novel for our time. "The Rackets" is not that book. One hopes that Kelly continues to grow as a writer because he certainly possesses an interesting voice. He seems to know and understand the world of which he writes, and his characters are engaging and believable. If only he could figure out where to take them in his stories.
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