That’s a lame headline, but I couldn’t come up with anything short of 40 words that I was satisfied with. Also, I really should’ve devoted a couple of sentences to that cover, one of my favorites of the year.
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by Ian Patrick
Kindle Edition, 293 pg.
2020
Read: June 22-25, 2020 |
In my world you’re always looking over your shoulder. Evade and escape is the game. To remain still makes you a target. A sitting or standing one doesn’t matter. Always be on the move until you’re sure it’s safe to stop. The training I’ve had was for a reason: survival.
London is a war zone. My battleground is the street. My unit is on a hearts and minds campaign to keep control and maintain law and order through gathering intelligence.
There are two point-of-view protagonists in this book, the first is DS Ed Hunter. He recruits and handles informants—excuse me, Covert Human Intelligence Sources. He’s been at it quite some time now—it’s in his blood, he’d have a hard time leaving for another assignment at this point. He has a number of sources, but we only see and track his involvement with one in this novel. Ed’s a solid detective, dedicated (would be the polite way to say it, Mrs. Hunter might have other words), but isn’t opposed to coloring just a bit outside the lines.
I started dealin’ young. I was nine years old when I got into this game. I’d move anythin’ they asked me. They knew that because of my age I wouldn’t get charged. Apparently at nine you don’t know nothin’ so can’t know what you’re doin’ is against the law. Screw that! I knew everythin’ I was doin’ were wrong. That’s why I did it!
The source the book focuses on is the other POV protagonist, Ben. Ben’s recently out of a short stint in prison and is looking to get back to the things that landed him in prison in the first place. Primarily robbery and miscellaneous tasks for a local gang leader, Troy*.
* As far as notorious, or would-be notorious, criminals go, Troy seems like an unlikely name. It really doesn’t command respect or fear. It’s mundane enough that it comes across as verisimilitude
With Ben freshly out of prison and re-establishing his criminal contacts and career, this is the prime time for Ed to use him. So he leans hard on Ben, looking for intelligence that he can use immediately as well as information on larger, future activities. Troy has a special combination of ambition and ruthlessness that makes this an advantageous time for both Ed and Ben.
These two men are really two sides of the same coin. Ed works Ben and the system to his benefit (and occasionally Ben’s), Ben works Ed, Troy, Ghost, and others for his benefit (and occasionally Ed’s). Both Ed and Ben seem trapped by circumstances, trapped by their association, but only one of them really has a shot at getting out, if he wanted it.
Theirs is not a partnership, a friendship, or anything really. Ed is using Ben to satisfy his superiors, to get some information that can lead to bigger arrests, or to prevent something major from happening (a large concern as London prepares for the Olympics). He may show flashes of concern for Ben or his soon-to-be-born child. But those flashes are quickly gone. Ben isn’t in this out of some ethical consideration, either. He’s not trying to go straight—he’s using Ed to get a little extra money, to take out a rival, and to keep at least some of the police off his back.
The cycle of Ed pressuring Ben for some intelligence, Ben giving him something largely true, the police using that information, Ben having to scramble to prove he didn’t inform and to take advantage of whatever the police have done for his own benefit. Ben knows (and is angered by) Ed using him like this. Ed knows he’s not getting the whole truth (but isn’t sure how much he is getting), and is angered when he can prove the lie, and is aware Ben’s at least trying to use him, too. This is the core of the book, and probably the majority of what does on in the book—and I could easily have easily read at least another 50-70 pages of this without growing impatient.
We get a little time with Ed’s superior and some detectives in other offices, using and supplementing what he’s gathered, and we get a little insight into Ed’s home life and wife. But largely, it’s his partner, DC Sienna Myles (“Smiles”) that we see Ed interacting with. She’s not as invested in Ben, Ed’s problems, or Troy as Ed is. She might actually care more for Ben’s welfare, but she’s also clear about Ben’s place in the world, and his priorities. Of all the secondary characters, she’s the one I wanted more of—I think she could carry a novel by herself (and would like to see something like this with her and her new source)
On the flip side, we see a few other people in Troy’s circle of influence, but we primarily see Ben interacting with Troy or his friend, Ghost. Ghost is the only person in the world that Ben truly trusts (and even then, that falters), they’re friends that go way back. I’m honestly not sure how to describe Troy—because Ben keeps vacillating in his estimation of him. He’s either an up-and-coming criminal near-genius, or he’s just some guy with enough lucky breaks and inherent meanness to take advantage of those breaks. It is clear that the streets and many, many lives would benefit from his being ousted from power and put somewhere he can’t inflict his poison or presence on more of the public more than he has.
One more similarity between the two that I want to focus on—impending fatherhood. One of the first things that Ben learns upon his release is that he’s going to be a father, he’d impregnated someone just before going away. Meanwhile, Ed and his wife can’t conceive—they’ve gone through fertility treatments but they don’t seem to be doing anything. Ed bewails the injustice in how easily someone who doesn’t want to be a father can become, while he and his wife want it so much. Both men’s reactions to future fatherhood, as well as the way they think of their own fathers (or lack thereof), says a lot about the two characters—and the office of Father in general.
Ed’s an interesting character, and I definitely felt invested in his story. But outside of a job that you don’t often see in Crime Fiction, I’m not sure there was much to make him stand out. Ben, on the other hand? I’ve seen similar characters before and were either annoyed or indifferent to them. But Patrick shaped him and used him in such a way that not only did I want to see him succeed (if he went straight or otherwise), but I cared about what happened to him. He reminded me of Dewey Crowe from Justified (or Leonard’s Raylan or any number of similar characters penned by Leonard), not that bright, overly impressed with their own criminal aptitudes, but you can’t help pity, like and wish the best for him (although Dewey was generally comic relief, and Ben’s not at all). He got under my skin, and will likely stay there for a while.
Most of this book isn’t that fast-paced—it’s well-paced, but there’s a lot of time spent establishing the characters and setting up the endgame. But there’s an energy to the narration—particularly Ben’s chapters—that makes you feel like you’re reading something at a breakneck pace. Ben’s character shines through so much, I could practically hear him as I read (in my mind he sounds suspiciously like a Kobna Holdbrook-Smith character). I should probably add that once, the plot starts moving—it matches the feel that you’d gotten from earlier when less was happening.
That ending? Perfection. That’s all I can safely say.
The difference in characters, voice, and the way the story plays out demonstrates Patrick’s skill and underlines the fact that he’s not a one-trick pony (not that many should’ve suspected that). It’d be easy for him to coast on the Sam Batford train for a while, but Patrick doesn’t do that, instead, he gives us this fascinating glimpse into another area of policing.
I’m tempted to keep going, but I’ve probably said too much. This is different, more intimate, more powerful, than Patrick’s DS Sam Batford books. If you’ve read those, you should enjoy seeing this other side of the author. If you haven’t, you should go grab them after this one. Patrick captured something special here in How the Wired Weep and I strongly encourage you to go grab it.
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