This Wicked World

Richard Lange can write. Try starting this at 10 in the evening and see if your head ever hits the pillow - unlikely. Lange is a beautiful writer who knows how to tell an imaginative, compelling story. M-O-R-E, please!

What a wicked world. Richard Lange's first novel is a firecracker of human interest as Jimmy Boone, fresh out of prison, tries to live life on the upside despite numerous bad guys trying to change his path. Boone meets Amy, an ex-cop with a story of her own, and its his interest in her that propels him to deal with the bad guys, yet in his own way. We travel to the desert to meet dog fighters and their pals, and Boone eventually goes head to head to with them in a violent confrontation. As likable as the story is, as much as we root for Boone, the fact remains that this is indeed a wicked world, and Lange takes you right into it, game or not.

I am 35 pages in and couldn't wait to weigh in. This thing takes off like a rocket ship off the launch pad. The author is a great talent. Oscar the Guatamalan immigrant wakes up in death throes after a losing battle with a dog. His dog bites are severely infected. During his death march on the streets and buses of L.A. his head plays his version of THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER. Scratch creeps after him on his cloven hoofs, with his pointy black beard and carrying a flaming sword. Oscar stops in to a Botanica to pray for his salvation to the pre Columbian San Simon. His prayers are not answered. Boone is an ex-marine, ex-con on probation. He is on a tight leash tending bar at the Tick Tock Bar on the Sunset strip. Robo is the 350 pound bouncer with too many mouths to feed. Robo takes petty Raymond Chandler gigs to try to put food in those mouths. Boone should stay as clean as a choir boy but Robo guilts him over the sweet Oldsmobile Cutlass he turned Boone on to for $500. You can feel trouble coming like a freight train on the tracks. Checking in on page 160. This book has more low life characters than a Tom Waits album. The narrative becomes slightly fractured. A punk drug dealer named Virgil is used to transition the action from downtown L.A. out to rural Twenty Nine Palms desert where snakes, scorpions and buzzards both avian and human abound. This is where the pit bull farm is. It could be Michael Vick's place. Our man Boone who has been adrift since he was framed and served a stretch is about to bathe in the heavenly halo of a mission which will secure for him salvation and redemption. Well the mission gets twisted and a bit contrived (like some disingenuous Carl Hiaassen action). About this time the plot makes the book feel more like a 3 to 4 star work. But the writing is so beautiful and artful that I am maintaining my 5 star rating as a gift and good luck present to Richard Lange-- an author of great talent.

This Wicked World is a fast-paced thriller with good writing and interesting characters. The descriptions of the action and the situations presented were fairly realistic and kept the pages turning. I highly recommend this novel for readers who like crime fiction and I will look forward to reading Lange's next book.

Jimmie Boone is a former Marine... ex-con... and current bartender on Hollywood Boulevard... who tries to uncover who was responsible for the horrible dog mauling death of Oscar Rosales. Jimmie is on parole after a stint in Corcoran State Prison... so the use of guns... drugs... and associating with people who do... would violate his parole. So of course this entire story involves the aforementioned illicit activities. First time novelist Richard Lange... paints Jimmie as being a good hearted soul... who had the wrong friends... and made bad decisions... and was terribly mislead... in to what appears to have been a setup. Before Jimmie went to prison he was part of a body guard company. His last job was protecting a rich family. He was duped by the money grubbing wife... to believe her rich husband was molesting their young daughter. Jimmie beat the hell out of the husband and wound up in prison. Upon his release his lawyer helped get him this bartending job... and Jimmie was simply keeping to himself... getting by... and trying to slowly rebuild his life. Then Robo... the doorman at the bar he works at... who is six feet tall and weighs about 350 pounds... asks him a favor. "ROBO DOES HERO-FOR-HIRE GIGS FOR PEOPLE WHO CAN'T GO TO THE POLICE FOR THIS REASON OR THAT." He'll evict crack-heads who don't pay the rent... get rid of undesirable men that you don't want your daughter dating... find out if your wife is screwing anyone on the side, etc. He will perform these services for cash or trade. On the pivotal day of this story he offers Jimmie a few extra bucks if he will put on a suit coat and pretend he's a cop when he makes a call on one of these potential clients. Oscar Rosales's Grandfather is a poor immigrant who works as a janitor in a Los Angeles sweatshop. He wants to hire Robo to find out how his grandson died. After Robo does some preliminary investigation that doesn't get too far... or... it goes as far as Robo thinks the money he's been paid warrants... he drops the case. Jimmie can't let it go. It's the innate goodness within him... that the outside world can't see. All they can see... is an ex-con. And here's where this well paced thriller picks up speed. Jimmie tracks down his few leads until he winds up sneaking around out in the desert night spying on an illegal dog fighting location. Potential readers should be warned that the dog fighting sequences described here in detail... reinforce why so many people were... and are... appalled... by former NFL player Michael Vick's involvement in organized dog fighting. The author is first-rate in his character descriptions of murderous criminals... and he also paints an absolute accurate picture of downtown Los Angeles and surrounding areas such as Vernon. Jimmie calls on his old body guard friend Carl... as well as re-enlisting Robo... as the plot encompasses murderers... dog killers... sluts... drugs... kidnapping... counterfeiting... a non-licensed doctor from Russia... and anything el