From the massive archive… you are also
reminded that author Graham Powell will be reading at Noir At The Bar Dallas
this Sunday evening at The Wild
Detectives.
Bad Men by
Graham Powell delivers the goods. The cover mentions the fact this collection
is filled with “crime stories.” They definitely are crime stories. There are
plenty of crimes, some mayhem, and a number of mysteries at work in these seven
short stories. Short stories where people do what they do to survive and deal
with the world as they see it.
“Grace, Period”
opens the book where Tommy Roccaforte is being forced to relocate to an
apartment far from where he used to live in Staten Island. Forced to give up
his heavy oak and Italian leather furniture along with his old life to move to
Tucson, all he has left is his wife Marie. That, a new job in a book store, and
his old habits and urges which were not left behind when the Feds relocated him
to save his life.
The man known to
many as “Duke” for reasons that become clear was tending bar when Steven came
in to talk that Wednesday night. Steven is just a college kid and out of place
in the biker bar. But, he wants a job done and his money is good in “Payday.”
A job is also a
major point in the next story titled “Cold Storage.” Dave Dewberry has a job in
mind and wants Al to be involved. It involves a bank, a guy named Eugene Bosco,
and the city of New York in its winter time glory.
The setting
moves to Kentucky in “The Leap.” Specifically, the Kentucky State Correctional
Center at Paintsville where new inmate Kenneth Pennywell has just arrived as
the story opens. Assigned to the third room in dorm four, Pennywell has a plan
for a certain inmate. The reason why is based on recent events told through
flashbacks.
The truck may
not be real and the narrator may not be stable in “The Ins And Outs.” Then again, they really could be after him.
He takes his medication and waits knowing if they find him they won’t make him
wait long.
Crime Boss Bobby
Gianetti was nabbed with a suitcase of money destined for one Tony Lambrusco.
How the cops found out and what his bodyguards are going to do about it are a
couple of things at work in “Cutting Diamonds.”
“Ken Bruen Is
Dead, Alas” is the closing story of the book. A story that has its own story
according to the preface. It is all best explained by reading it in the book.
This is an incredibly funny read and a real highlight of the book.
Bad Men by
Graham Powell is filled with plenty of crime, mystery, and certainly the
possibility of bad men. Ignoring the
whole nature/nurture argument, these are seven short tales where the guys
involved are doing what comes naturally. Whether or not they are truly bad men
really depends on your moral compass …. assuming you have one.
Material was purchased to read and review using
funds in my Amazon Associate Account.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2015, 2023
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