The Blade Itself by Marcus Sakey
Check the catalog for this item.
This book was very different than what I’ve been reading lately. I would label it as an “Underworld” Mystery, taking place in Chicago, written by a Chicago resident. Marcus Sakey was one of the featured authors at the “Love is Murder” Mystery convention last winter, so that is why I wanted to read it. He was highly praised as one of the hottest new mystery authors ever, whose work is comparable to Dennis Lehane, Laura Lippman and Quentin Tarantino. The plot of the book revolves around two men who grew up as best friends in a poor Southside Irish neighborhood and who spent their youth knocking off liquors stores and pawn shops. They are reunited when one of them is released from Statesville prison early. Having done time for a robbery gone bad in which he shot the pawn shop owner, Evan wants payback from Danny, who split the scene of the crime. Danny has spent the last 12 years trying to straighten out his life, so he has to protect all that he has worked for from Evan’s prison-hardened hatred. As his first novel, Sackey does a great job of drawing you into the seedy underbelly of the small-time criminal world and creating a gripping drama of cat and mouse.