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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best British crime novel I've ever read, 8 Feb 2002
I first came across Connolly through a short story of his I quite liked in the Britpulp! anthology. With his fist full novel he delivers on that early promise with the best British crime novel I've ever read. While I often enjoy traditional procedurals like John Harvey's Charlie Resnik series, have been known to enjoy Agatha Christie in my younger days, Jake Arnott's The Long Firm and He Kills Coppers, and quite like a lot of the pulpy/noirish stuff put out by The Do Not Press these days-this leaves them all in the dust. The book follows an unnamed narrator over two weeks in 1997 as he plots to end his criminal days and retire on his thirtieth birthday-of course there's just that one last job to take care of...The thing you notice right away is the language. Nonstop patter, stories, and more slang than you can shake a stick at. The rhythms of the language, both descriptive and dialogue, is perfect and unique. The best comparison I can make is with some of Irvine Welsh's stuff-it's English, but unlike any English you or I speak. And like Welsh's stuff, it can be hard to follow for those not up on the argot (especially cockney rhyming slang), so be warned. But if you like the language, you fall in love with the characters. Finally, some honest to god smart criminals who understand that being low-key is the smoothest path to riches. There must be at least fifty characters in the novel and Connolly gives each one a distinctive voice, even if they're only around for a page. Once you've absorbed the amazing language and characterization, you'll be swept away by the authenticity. The entire book takes place in the criminal underworlds of London and Liverpool, with details on international drug trafficking, porn shops, killings, and on and on. The book immerses the reader in that world more so than any crime novel I've come across, and you have to wonder what Connolly's been up to in his life to be able to conjure such a setting from his head. It's not a world for the faint of heart, but one that's compelling to read about-more like The Long Good Friday than Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. Finally, there's the expert plotting. Built on that classic premise of a gangster looking to get out of the game, Connolly's plot twists and turns with complications that keep boxing in the narrator until the inevitable climax. From start to finish, it's the best novel about British organized crime around.
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