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East of A |
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 East of A byRussell Atwood Fawcett Suspense 240 pages, April 2000 ISBN 1345427785 Reviewed by Susan McBride If you saw three bald tough guys going after a streetwise girl barely old enough to be called a woman, would you intervene? Would you hear her cries for help and actually do something other than step to the other side of the street? In this urban thriller set in New York City's Lower East Side, fledgling private investigator Payton Sherwood finds himself in that very predicament. So he goes up against the "three Curlys" armed with only a pack of cigarettes, a box of Cheerios and a gallon of milk. And gets creamed. Left on the street in a bloodied lump, the girl he rescues actually steals the gold Rolex from his wrist and takes off. But she drops a crumb in her wake: a beeper found beneath a parked car under which she'd taken refuge. Payton wants to find her and wants his Rolex back. And, even more, he wants to know why these three tough guys are so intent on finding the mysterious woman-child named Gloria. The beeper numbers lead him into some dark areas: to underground nightclubs where "Rhinos" are the drug of choice -"it keeps you charging all night, then turns around and gores you"- and right on the heels of a trio of murders. Atwood writes with an engaging sense of urgency and humor. Payton's desperate trek to find his watch and to catch up with Gloria take him East of A, over to Brooklyn and all around the town, and we go right along with him. The descriptions of the City's street life and nightlife are vibrant, despite being seen through an urban dweller's cynical eye. East of A is a fast read and an engrossing one. I can't wait to see what Atwood has up his sleeve next. |
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