In For A Pound

by Richard Marinick

From the Boston Globe-Bestselling author of Boyos, comes another gritty, street-level tale of corruption, betrayal, revenge and redemption in the world of the South Boston Irish mob. Taut plotting, violent action, and a pitch-perfect sense of place propel tough PI Delray McCauley through this tour de force of South Boston noir.

284 pages, Hardcover

First published December 25, 2007

About the author

Richard Marinick held many jobs -- short order cook, junior civil engineer, automobile painter, nightclube bouncer and admin assistant to a District Attorney and even as a State Police trooper -- before deciding that he had enough of the "slow-lane, no-money life of a citizen." He was on a roll for years, "reveling in money, using way too much cocaine." But in 1986, at age 35 he was convicted of an armored-car robbery and sentenced to eighteen-to-twenty years in state prison. While incarcinerated, he earned his master's degree in liberal arts from Boston University. After prison, Marinick wrote Boyos during breaks on his job as tunnel worker on Boston's Big Dig. He's now working on his second novel, a private eye mystery.

Marinick lives in South Boston, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Julie Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

In For A Pound
This story is about a treasure. Many are trying to find out what is the box and where it is.
The trail leads in many directions. Involves the mob in Boston, cops and some who have been in prison.
Glimpses of those in prison and the life of an ex state police cop who's out of prison. Many tortures to get to the right information. Liked the different places talked about throughout the city.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

WARNING: Boston Harbor is Overflowing with Testosterone!

And that's not a bad thing! Richard Marinick rips a raucous, bloody, and authentic tale of mayhem in "In for a Pound", his second novel of havoc on the mean streets of South Boston.

Delray McCauley is an ex-cop and ex-con, fresh out of prison after serving time for the proverbial crime-he-didn't commit, tending bar to make ends meet. When a safe with mysterious contents is stolen from a white-shoe law office, Del's former state cop boss asks Del to track it down, leading Del and the reader through an odyssey of corruption and blackmail as he butts heads with the Irish mob, small-time thugs, and a psychopathic killing machine who'd stroll through the scenes of "Apocalypse Now" as easily as D Street and Dorchester Avenue.

Marinick has apparently lived the life of which he writes, so the words and dialog roll naturally across the pages with street-cred and authority. The pace is quick and even, and if the characters are all cut from the same in-your-face, tough-guy cloth and the banter sometimes overdoses on macho, it makes for high octane entertainment.

Bottom line - a note to Dennis Lehane: Wake up! Kenzie and Gennaro are no longer the only act in "Southie" - Marinick's McCauley and Wainwright have them square in their sites and threaten to take down that turf, big time. Time to get back in the game, Dennis.

[Cara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had trouble following who was who and what was going on so I think I missed the significance of some aspects of the story as they were happening. Partly (or fully) because of that I was not as compelled to read this story as I’d hoped, which is why it took a while to read.

[Shannon]

Not sure how good this will actually be, but I will give it a shot.