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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Journey Through the Past, 26 Sep 2005
Danny Cassidy's life is in a mess. He walked out on his wife for no good reason, his only daughter doesn't want to know him, and his job is on the line due to the fact he's not getting any younger. On top of that, there's the crime he's been running from for thirty odd years, a burden grating at his skull, the root of ALL his problems.Back in the Brooklyn neighbourhood of his youth, a corrupt cop was murdered, shot repeatedly in a local park. Evidence was lacking but clues pointed strongly to Danny - out of his head on LSD at the time, and suffering from a blackout of the night ever since. As the main suspect, he took off, hit the west coast, never came back. But the mystery of that night back in the drug-drenched dead end of the 60's has has preyed on him ever since, not least by the sporadic phonecalls from 'Ankles' the old Brooklyn cop who refuse to 'let this one go', promising that one day he will be hauled back and forced to face his conscience and the truth of that deadly night. The book opens with Danny receiving a random message from the unrelenting old cop, this time informing him of his estranged father's death. Danny knows his three-decade 'hideout' ends here: he has to return to the neighbourhood and bury him. And by doing so, square up to the demons of his past. It's here that Denis Hamill excells in describing a present-day Brooklyn
still physically intact, yet changed beyond recognition. The dirty boulevards of Danny's youth cleaned up, gentrified, inhabited by a different class. The neighbourhood resembles Manhattan and has lost its "film noir beauty to the bright high-gloss slickness of a Mercedes commercial". Hamill describes his part of the city with honesty and feeling. The story develops into an explorative account of the past as Danny turns Private Eye to discover the truth of his supposed guilt. He revisits the old haunts, meets an array of old faces who turn up for his father's wake and funeral, and dicovers a conspiratorial web of intrigue that unfurls a world of festering corruption, greed and evil. With Danny now rocking the boat, just staying alive becomes tricky business. Hamill ensures his tale reads like an historical account of the Prospect Park area of Brooklyn - and the late 60's era in general - flashing from the past to the present, namechecking and fact-revealing along the way. The plot twists and turns - the less revealed the better, but DO expect surprises. The writing resonates with a Doors/Dylan soundtrack (never has Mr Tabourine Man sounded so haunting!). And the issue of 'Vietnam' is covered brilliantly: fathers and sons torn apart by the warring sides of patriotism and peace sloganeering, highlighting the boiling anger and violence of that contentious time. Close renderings of family relationships, first love, nostalgia and failure - along with an expansive plot - make this book so much more than a simple story that you read and forget. Like a well-written piece of investigative journalism, this book is not only highly engaging but will also make you THINK. Hamill at his best.
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