Monday, June 04, 2007

"Tainted Goods" by Charlie Stella

From: Dublin Noir ed. Ken Bruen. Akashic Books, 2006.

Full of beer, liquor, and himself Jack Dugan talks too much to twin thugs sitting in a New York pub. Not only does he hire the twins to do a little muscle work on his behalf, he also tells them about two women and the bar with whom they can have their way.

Six days later, Jack wakes up in Dublin to find the twins brutally killed and himself tied to a chair, awaiting the wrath of the pub's bouncer, cousin to one of women he went on about.

Stella has an economic prose style and a great feel for dialog. We know Jack's talk is bound to catch up to him. The interest is in when and how.

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