Twisted City

In TWISTED CITY, Starr does what he has done in a few of his other books--paricularly Hard Feelings and Cold Caller--inviting readers into the mind of a seemingly ordinarily protagonist with dark secrets, and making us care about the character's fate because of great writing and storytelling. But what I admire most about Starr as a writer is he never writes the same book twice--he constantly pushes the envelope and comes up with provocative ideas and new ways to tell his crime stories. In Twisted City, there is a new Starr twist, so to speak. Unlike the protagonists of Hard Feelings and Cold Caller, David Miller is not an instigator. In fact if the events of the first chapter didn't happen, Miller probably would have continued to live an average, uneventful life. And the sub plot of Miller's relationship with his dead sister is truly inspired...But go into this book like I did, without knowing many of the plot details, and get ready for an adrenaline-filled, all-night read...This is quite simply the best novel I've read all year.

The mark of a great writer is to move the reader. The emotion can be positive of negative. This story of a financial writer drawn into the dark underbelly of New York and into schemes that out of his league kept me up at night. Jason Starr shows he is an outstanding writer with this gripping, terrifying ride into an odd and uncomfortable place. He makes you care about the poor guy whose luck goes from bad to worse. I highly recommend this and any other book by Jason Starr.

To hear David Miller tell it, he's just a normal guy seeking a normal life. A new place in the country, a new girl, maybe a hobby like wine tasting, and things will start to right themselves. But you shouldn't trust the speaker, he's not to be trusted, since he doesn't even know himself. Jason Starr's dandy little noir, "Twisted City," is probably the closest thing I've read to a Jim Thompson novel yet. A short time back, I ran across a similarly impressive Thompson-like effort in Andrew Vachss's "The Getaway Man." The one distinction there however, was the voice of Eddie, criminal that he is, also something of a sweet victim. You don't see many of those in Thompson land. And it is in that sense that Starr is truer to the master. "Twisted City" is dark through and through, but leavened with comic (if black) humor and dialogue. Miller, the speaker, is on surface a journalist coming off the loss of his sister. Like so many modern day city types, Miller compartmentalizes his life. But boy, what he sticks away in those hidden compartments (and wallet)! And don't push this seemingly rational man too far. He is capable of messing you up. But pressures are mounting in David's life, all triggered by the loss (theft) of his wallet. Junkies, blackmailers, a partying girlfriend with a past of her own, you hate to see Miller pick up the phone or open the door to find out what new curve ball is coming his way. Suddenly, carefully erected walls start to dissolve, and other realities begin to bleed through . Miller even starts having conversations with his dead sister Barbara. The voice here is remarkable, and reminiscent of various leading Thompson characters (Lou Ford from the "The Killer Inside Me" comes instantly to mind). One big secret you anticipate right away, but that's not the real surprise. It's the voice - and what it becomes. Kind of like watching a serpent's egg hatch.

What a great book! Jason Starr has mastered the style of Jim Thompson in presenting the increasing paranoia and creeping psychosis of his narrator. The novel is almost impossible to put down as you follow the rush of events built on poor judgment and sociopathic reasoning. The narrator, David Miller, resembles a shell fired from an artillery piece, blasting its way into a hell of its own making. If you like this, don't miss Starr's NOTHING PERSONAL.