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Mobtown: A Novel
This new page-turner from the author of Line of Sight is packed with great writing, complex characters, a shocker of an ending, and a dose of pure attitude. Writing with the deft skill of Elmore Leonard and James Ellroy, but adding a hip, noirish twist all his own, Jack Kelly packs a punch in this new novel set in the deceptively quiet neighborhoods of 1950s Rochester, New York. Ike Van Savage's latest case starts out simply a threatening husband and a beleaguered wife. But before he knows it, he's pulled into a serpentine mystery that involves the town's most notorious gangster, a dead heiress, and one too many "accidents." Mobtown seethes with undercurrents of passion, drips with moody detail, and brims over with proof that Jack Kelly deserves an honored place among writers of suspense and detective fiction.
271 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1900
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 17, 2010
The time is 1959, Ike Van Savage, P.I. is hired by Vicky Petrone, wife of mobster, Joe Petrone. Vicky tells Ike that her husband plans to kill her. Her husband knows that she does't love him anymore and his first two wives died under questionable circumstances.
In this noir novel, Rochester, New York is described as a town run by the mob. We learn quite a bit about Rochester in the 50's, the politics, the parties by the lake and the way police look the other way when the mob is at work.
Intersecting stories involve, Paddy Doyle, a slum landlord who owns buildings downtown and refuses to sell his buildings to the mob. Then he sees his buildings burn down, one by one. Paddy asks Ike's help in bringing the arsonist to justice or Paddy will have to do it himself.
While the arsonist investigation is in progress, Ike is asked to check into the activities of businessman Eddie Gill. Eddie's wife is suspicious and wants him followed. Ike confirms her suspicions as he sees Eddie take a sixteen-year-old girl who worked for him, to a night club and then to a motel.
As Ike is working on these cases he describes the happenings of the city.
I enjoy this type of story with good action and seeing what is taking place on the page is more important than the psychological reasons for the character's actions.
The dialogue is excellent and reading about Ike's exploits reminds me of the gread Raymond Chandler's character, Philip Marlowe. Neither Marlowe nor Van Savage take a back seat to threats, they are both hard on the outside toward women while inside they can be tender.
It is easy to visualize what is happening when the reader is given words like this:
"We looked at each other, she tightened her eyes, and I knew she was talking the truth. Whatever it was between us was roaring down the tracks and it knocked my bitterness out of the way like so much horse feathers."
Yeah, baby!
In this noir novel, Rochester, New York is described as a town run by the mob. We learn quite a bit about Rochester in the 50's, the politics, the parties by the lake and the way police look the other way when the mob is at work.
Intersecting stories involve, Paddy Doyle, a slum landlord who owns buildings downtown and refuses to sell his buildings to the mob. Then he sees his buildings burn down, one by one. Paddy asks Ike's help in bringing the arsonist to justice or Paddy will have to do it himself.
While the arsonist investigation is in progress, Ike is asked to check into the activities of businessman Eddie Gill. Eddie's wife is suspicious and wants him followed. Ike confirms her suspicions as he sees Eddie take a sixteen-year-old girl who worked for him, to a night club and then to a motel.
As Ike is working on these cases he describes the happenings of the city.
I enjoy this type of story with good action and seeing what is taking place on the page is more important than the psychological reasons for the character's actions.
The dialogue is excellent and reading about Ike's exploits reminds me of the gread Raymond Chandler's character, Philip Marlowe. Neither Marlowe nor Van Savage take a back seat to threats, they are both hard on the outside toward women while inside they can be tender.
It is easy to visualize what is happening when the reader is given words like this:
"We looked at each other, she tightened her eyes, and I knew she was talking the truth. Whatever it was between us was roaring down the tracks and it knocked my bitterness out of the way like so much horse feathers."
Yeah, baby!
September 25, 2020
I picked this book off my Dad’s bookshelf many years ago and I didn’t open it until recently. I was a little confused as to why it was there. It didn’t really fit with my Dad’s usual reading choices. When I finally opened it, I discovered it is set in our hometown of Rochester, New York.
The story is inspired by the very real mob war in Rochester that happened from about 1958 to 1964. Although I was young, I do remember hearing about a couple of the more spectacular hits.
I enjoyed reading all the references to Rochester locations, but the overall story didn’t interest me that much. The main character is a complete caricature of a film noir private eye, and most of the supporting characters are stereotypical as well. The story is full of subplots which coalesce all too conveniently in the end.
The story is inspired by the very real mob war in Rochester that happened from about 1958 to 1964. Although I was young, I do remember hearing about a couple of the more spectacular hits.
I enjoyed reading all the references to Rochester locations, but the overall story didn’t interest me that much. The main character is a complete caricature of a film noir private eye, and most of the supporting characters are stereotypical as well. The story is full of subplots which coalesce all too conveniently in the end.
November 30, 2010
Max Allen Collins, James Ellroy, Loren D. Estleman--If you like any of these authors, you may also enjoy this.
Jack Kelly creates an image of Rotchester NY in the late 1950s-early 1960s. I do not know how accurate it is, but it is definetly vivid. He appears to convey the time/place but without hitting the reader over the head with references to the time--if you ever watch Mad Men you know what I mean "See! It's 1960 so every otehr comment will be about Kennedy-Nixon!" Similar to the authors I mentioned, the novel is a throwback to classic private eye noir.
One criticism of the book is the plot (or it is possibly done purpose to mirror many private eye stories). The plot relies on a series of coincidences to tie the main character to seemingly disparate stories and the resolution is somewhat forced and not completely credible/explained. This and the main character's love interest (this subplot is also oddly paced, left alone and then felt rushed at the end) could have been great if there had been a little more time in developing it. The story does also breath some new life into the cynical PI, as the author uses the main character's relationship with his daughter and now ex-wife to show the character to be more than just one dimenion.
But overall a good read.
Jack Kelly creates an image of Rotchester NY in the late 1950s-early 1960s. I do not know how accurate it is, but it is definetly vivid. He appears to convey the time/place but without hitting the reader over the head with references to the time--if you ever watch Mad Men you know what I mean "See! It's 1960 so every otehr comment will be about Kennedy-Nixon!" Similar to the authors I mentioned, the novel is a throwback to classic private eye noir.
One criticism of the book is the plot (or it is possibly done purpose to mirror many private eye stories). The plot relies on a series of coincidences to tie the main character to seemingly disparate stories and the resolution is somewhat forced and not completely credible/explained. This and the main character's love interest (this subplot is also oddly paced, left alone and then felt rushed at the end) could have been great if there had been a little more time in developing it. The story does also breath some new life into the cynical PI, as the author uses the main character's relationship with his daughter and now ex-wife to show the character to be more than just one dimenion.
But overall a good read.
August 17, 2015
After devouring Ellroy's novels, full of intricate connections and puzzling knots to try and unwork, I'm a little spoiled when I read less in-depth crime books. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed Mobtown. Being from Upstate NY, I spent quite a bit of time in Rochester as a kid visiting family, so the setting of the book appealed to me. Kelly captures the noir feeling in his own way with the requisite private dick with is own shady past (which, I hope, will be explored in possible future novels featuring Ike Van Savage) and an interesting cast of characters. Angela's death left me feeling like I had been punched in the gut, but I wish there had been a little more reflection on Van Savage's part after her death. This book was a fun read, and I will certainly check out more of Kelly's work and keep my fingers crossed for another Ike Van Savage novel!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2011
A friend of mine said it was an ok book & thought i would probably like it.
Gave it a try...Why give a daughter of a character such a huge introduction & then have nothin to do with the plot...
Cool cover tho... kinda has the back to the future font.
Gave it a try...Why give a daughter of a character such a huge introduction & then have nothin to do with the plot...
Cool cover tho... kinda has the back to the future font.
October 15, 2012
"You don't judge in this business. You judge, you climb aboard the emotional roller coaster. It takes you up and down and around and around and leaves you right where you started... Trouble was, I did judge."
Read my review here:
http://mostlyfiction.com/sleuths/kell...
Read my review here:
http://mostlyfiction.com/sleuths/kell...
March 6, 2011
Did Not Finish
Just wasn't drawing me in by page 50.
Just wasn't drawing me in by page 50.
Want to read
March 10, 2013Rochester 1959
November 20, 2015
It wasn't terribly interesting. minimal character development, but it wasn't awful. If I could have been more invested in the characters, this might have been a much more enjoyable book.
May 2, 2010
Brilliant thriller
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews