Pick Up A Pulp [25]: BABY MOLL by John Farris

Former mob enforcer Peter Mallory is lured back to the mob by his former boss who is being targeted by a killer hell bent on revenge. Not only is there an omnipresent threat of an assassination looming over the head of the mob boss, his once powerful empire is crumbling before his eyes. The sharks smell blood in the water and are making moves to take a bigger piece of the illegal pie.

Baby Moll isn't so much about the mob related crime and underworld antics that accompany such illegal endeavors, rather, it’s a story about Peter Mallory and his wanting to rid himself of the life so badly, that he comes out of retirement one last time before transitioning into the straight and narrow.

As with any pulp there’s a couple of dames to die for and this one's also got some that’ll do plenty of killing themselves; their bodies as dangerous as bullets. Peter takes full advantage of the wanton women despite his proclamations of love for his fiancee; the one he left behind to take this last job and ends up on both sides of the equation; equal parts lust and danger. 

Baby Moll is a pretty decent pulp and I'm happy Hard Case Crime published this as part of the imprint. I've now read it twice and enjoyed it equally both times. Opening chapter aside, Baby Moll is near pitch perfect pulp with a sprinkling of quasi PI thrown in for good measure. 

My rating: 4/5 stars - pick up this pulp.       

Pick of the Month [September 2017]

September was a record reading month for 2017, somehow I managed to read/listen to a whopping 19 books! Granted, quite a few of these were a lot shorter than books I typically read so the stats are a little padded. 

Despite getting through so much print, this is the first month where my pick of the bunch has been clear cut and it's yet another audio book, goes to show I'm loving this medium of storytelling this year (being my first year of giving it a try). 

Phasma by Delilah S. Dawson is a must read for fans of the new Star Wars canon of books. It gives the character from The Force Awakens a hardened edge and depth that was lacking from the movie and builds the anticipation for her portrayal in the upcoming movie The Last Jedi. The audio production was cinematic-like in its quality, very happy I took the plunge and bought the audio rather than print edition, I think it added so much more to the atmosphere of the book (which is damn good to being with). 

You can read my review of Phasma by Delilah S. Dawson here.

Other books I read in September which I rated 5 stars on Goodreads are as follows:

Peepland by Christa Faust and Garry Phillips - gritty crime fiction on the Deuce 

Green Hell by Ken Bruen - the 11th book in the Jack Taylor series 

Killer Tease by Danny Hogan - (reread) pulp/crime fiction

Recent Reads Round-Up: Crime Time!

I've been catching up on some crime fiction which has been sitting in my TBR pile for far too long. The below continues the great trend of 2017 reads in the genre for me.

Shakedown by Charlie Stella - 4/5 stars

Charlie Stella is near the top of the list when it comes to writing colorful characters with great dialogue; as good as Elmore Leonard as you can get. Shakedown is another top notch ride through mafia land, this time featuring a recently released (and reformed?) bookkeeper who is the victim of a shakedown courtesy of the new brass. The book is fast paced and loaded with great moments and memorable characters.   

A Walk Among The Tombstones by Lawrence Block 4/5 stars

While A Walk Among The Tombstones is the tenth book in the Matt Scudder series, this reads perfectly well as a standalone (which is great as I've only dabbled with this series intermittently). The darker side of crime fiction is on display here as Scudder becomes involved in kidnapping case which has left a drug trafficker a widower and another underworld type minus a beloved daughter. Not for the faint of heart, Block writes with a poisoned pen positioning Scudder in the thick of a grisly case which leads to some memorable and pulse pounding moments.  

Soho Sins by Richard Vine 5 stars

Soho Sins is not what I was expecting - in a good way. The art world is full of danger darting behind dark corners ready to pounce on the young and vulnerable; there’s a deceptively deadly undercurrent of menace for the means to accumulate wealth through exploitation and extermination. Narrated through art dealer and property mogul Jackson Wyeth’s viewpoint, Soho Sins showcases something a little different from other books in the Hard Case Crime series which continues to diversity its range of books. There’s a sense that the narrator isn't entirely truthful nor as clear cut as he’s portrayed with some cut scenes of him dabbling in debauchery and thinking impure thoughts of which he should not conjure; it’s a far more involved mystery than the synopsis lets on.