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Ash McKenna #1
New Yorked
Ashley McKenna is a blunt instrument. Find someone, scare someone, carry something; point him at the job, he gets it done. He generally accepts money upon completion, though a bottle of whiskey works, too--he's comfortable working on a barter system. It's not the career he dreamed about (archeologist) but it keeps him comfortable in his ever-changing East Village neighborhood.
That's until Chell, the woman he loves, leaves him a voicemail looking for help--a voicemail he gets two hours after her body is found. Ash hunts for her killer with the grace of a wrecking ball, running afoul of a drag queen crime lord and stumbling into a hard-boiled role playing game that might be connected to a hipster turf war.
Along the way, he's forced to face the memories of his tumultuous relationship with Chell, his unresolved anger over his father’s death, and the consequences of his own violent tendencies.
New Yorked takes you deep into the seedy underbelly of New York with an unforgettable literary voice steeped in the noir tradition of Lawrence Block's iconic Matthew Scudder. New Yorked is an unforgettable debut novel that stays with you like a glass of the best whiskey.
That's until Chell, the woman he loves, leaves him a voicemail looking for help--a voicemail he gets two hours after her body is found. Ash hunts for her killer with the grace of a wrecking ball, running afoul of a drag queen crime lord and stumbling into a hard-boiled role playing game that might be connected to a hipster turf war.
Along the way, he's forced to face the memories of his tumultuous relationship with Chell, his unresolved anger over his father’s death, and the consequences of his own violent tendencies.
New Yorked takes you deep into the seedy underbelly of New York with an unforgettable literary voice steeped in the noir tradition of Lawrence Block's iconic Matthew Scudder. New Yorked is an unforgettable debut novel that stays with you like a glass of the best whiskey.
304 pages, Paperback
First published June 9, 2015
100 people are currently reading
1224 people want to read
About the author
Rob Hart
57 books1,029 followersRob Hart is the author of the USA TODAY bestseller ASSASSINS ANONYMOUS. He also wrote THE PARADOX HOTEL, which was nominated for. Lambda Literary Award, as well as THE WAREHOUSE, which has been sold in more than 20 countries. He also wrote the Ash McKenna crime series, the short story collection TAKE-OUT, the novella SCOTT FREE with James Patterson, and, with Alex Segura, the comic book BLOOD OATH and the novel DARK SPACE.
His short stories have been published widely, including “Due on Batuu,” set in the Star Wars universe, which appeared in FROM A CERTAIN POINT OF VIEW: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and "Take-Out," which appeared in BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES 2018.
He’s worked as a political reporter, the communications director for a politician, and a commissioner for the city of New York. He is the former publisher at MysteriousPress.com and class director at LitReactor. He lives in Jersey City.
His short stories have been published widely, including “Due on Batuu,” set in the Star Wars universe, which appeared in FROM A CERTAIN POINT OF VIEW: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and "Take-Out," which appeared in BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES 2018.
He’s worked as a political reporter, the communications director for a politician, and a commissioner for the city of New York. He is the former publisher at MysteriousPress.com and class director at LitReactor. He lives in Jersey City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
December 10, 2015
The way to tell I'm sold on a book is that I finish a reading session, put my thumb in the book, and look to see how many pages I have left. Because I want to finish the book but I don't want it to be over.
New Yorked is a great read. To me, it felt like Rob Hart was answering the question, "What does a hard-boiled detective look like in 2015?" And his answer is a good one, and it's a complicated one.
It's a dude who has some substance problems. It's a guy who has progressive ideas while still maintaining a personal rule about hitting women. It's a guy who hates the gentrification of New York and has to ask himself how long he's going to rage against the changing of a city that maybe doesn't exist anymore. It's a story where the guy who runs in fist-first to save a damsel in distress finds out that damsels and distress are complicated, even if fists remain uncomplicated and do fairly uniform things when applied to faces.
At work I often get tasked with recommending books to people. And a lot of the people looking for new titles are looking something to scratch a James Patterson or Lee Child itch. I've got my people I like to recommend. Greg Rucka. Then maybe a Chelsea Cain. If the person is willing to go a little ways with me, the Darwyn Cooke Parker books. I've got a few ideas at the ready, and now I've got Rob Hart too.
If you weren't sold by anything I said, at the very least, as a personal favor, pick up New Yorked and read to the point where the Hipster King shows up. Just great.
New Yorked is a great read. To me, it felt like Rob Hart was answering the question, "What does a hard-boiled detective look like in 2015?" And his answer is a good one, and it's a complicated one.
It's a dude who has some substance problems. It's a guy who has progressive ideas while still maintaining a personal rule about hitting women. It's a guy who hates the gentrification of New York and has to ask himself how long he's going to rage against the changing of a city that maybe doesn't exist anymore. It's a story where the guy who runs in fist-first to save a damsel in distress finds out that damsels and distress are complicated, even if fists remain uncomplicated and do fairly uniform things when applied to faces.
At work I often get tasked with recommending books to people. And a lot of the people looking for new titles are looking something to scratch a James Patterson or Lee Child itch. I've got my people I like to recommend. Greg Rucka. Then maybe a Chelsea Cain. If the person is willing to go a little ways with me, the Darwyn Cooke Parker books. I've got a few ideas at the ready, and now I've got Rob Hart too.
If you weren't sold by anything I said, at the very least, as a personal favor, pick up New Yorked and read to the point where the Hipster King shows up. Just great.
February 13, 2018
A Different Side of New York
New Yorked is a modern crime noir that retains some of the sense of a classic PI novel, but has kind of morphed it into something a little different, an ode to loneliness, rootlessness, obsession, and Jameson’s. Ash isn’t exactly a private eye, but he does odd jobs, has a closet behind a bathroom in a bar that is sort of an office, hangs out with hackers, barflies, burlesque dancers, and transvestites, but definitely not hipsters,is haunted by a fleeting love that become an obsession, has no cash, lives in a rent-controlled apartment that he’s been squatting in since the real renter croaked, isn’t cozy with the police, and has some clear and present anger problems.
Chelle is kind of the love obsession of his life and, even after her untimely death, he still talks to her and walks through their complicated past. He wasn’t there for her that night - didn’t pick up the phone when she needed him for real - and now he can either drown in s giant vat of guilt or beat the murderer to death - if he can ever manage to figure out who did it and why that night is all blacked out for him.
Hart somehow manages to wrap his pen and ink around some cliches and make a story that feels fresh and immediate and modern. Not sure what it is about his writing, but it’s really easy to read and darn hard to put down.
New Yorked is a modern crime noir that retains some of the sense of a classic PI novel, but has kind of morphed it into something a little different, an ode to loneliness, rootlessness, obsession, and Jameson’s. Ash isn’t exactly a private eye, but he does odd jobs, has a closet behind a bathroom in a bar that is sort of an office, hangs out with hackers, barflies, burlesque dancers, and transvestites, but definitely not hipsters,is haunted by a fleeting love that become an obsession, has no cash, lives in a rent-controlled apartment that he’s been squatting in since the real renter croaked, isn’t cozy with the police, and has some clear and present anger problems.
Chelle is kind of the love obsession of his life and, even after her untimely death, he still talks to her and walks through their complicated past. He wasn’t there for her that night - didn’t pick up the phone when she needed him for real - and now he can either drown in s giant vat of guilt or beat the murderer to death - if he can ever manage to figure out who did it and why that night is all blacked out for him.
Hart somehow manages to wrap his pen and ink around some cliches and make a story that feels fresh and immediate and modern. Not sure what it is about his writing, but it’s really easy to read and darn hard to put down.
February 24, 2023
Das Buch war ein richtiges Überraschungsei und das im positivsten Sinne. Ich habe das Buch als Wichtelgeschenk bekommen und ehrlich gesagt, hätte ich es mir selbst nie ausgesucht. Dementsprechend war ich skeptisch, aber der Schreibstil hat mich schon nach wenigen Seiten begeistert. Auch die Hauptperson hat mir extrem gut gefallen. Ash ist kein typischer Held, er raucht, nimmt Drogen und schlägt auch unvermittelt ordentlich zu. Trotzdem hat er richtig emotionale und gefühlvolle Züge, diese Vielschichtigkeit fand ich packend. Die Handlung ist nicht so actionreich, wie es der Klappentext suggeriert. Tatsächlich hat mir oft etwas Spannung und mehr Handlung gefehlt. Ausgeglichen wird das durch die atmosphärischen Beschreibungen von New Yorks finsteren Ecken und wilden Kneipenszenen. Ehrlich gesagt ist das Buch mehr eine Liebeserklärung an New York, ein Abgesang auf eine wilde Stadt, die durch die Gentrifizierung ihr Gesicht und ihrer Vielfalt verliert.
June 3, 2015
I probably liked this book more than I should've. The mystery is standard as best, circular at times. Some parts felt like padding. But what a fantastic, standout job at creating an unreliable narrator. NEW YORKED probably was my favourite unreliable narrator novel since freakin' FIGHT CLUB and I think you know what this novel means to me. Ash McKenna is tormented, self-righetous and even unlikeable at times, but it keeps the entire thing in perspective. He keeps presenting reality in a way that make him seem chivalrous and strong, but the support cast keep sending contradictory messages that keeps making you doubt who Ash really is and what he's actually trying to accomplish in the novel.
NEW YORKED really shined through its unique, troublesome narration and it also is a sneaky good portrait of mental illness. As entitled and self-righteous Ash might sound sometimes, Rob Hart does a great job at depicting his combusting social life in a way that'll hit home with anybody who had to deal with depression/bipolarity/antisocial personality disorder. Also, I thought that this gritty realism really layered the Sin City-like approach to his setting and created something unique. Sure, NEW YORKED was flawed, but it always manages to remain interesting and engaging and it's really what matters to a reader.
NEW YORKED really shined through its unique, troublesome narration and it also is a sneaky good portrait of mental illness. As entitled and self-righteous Ash might sound sometimes, Rob Hart does a great job at depicting his combusting social life in a way that'll hit home with anybody who had to deal with depression/bipolarity/antisocial personality disorder. Also, I thought that this gritty realism really layered the Sin City-like approach to his setting and created something unique. Sure, NEW YORKED was flawed, but it always manages to remain interesting and engaging and it's really what matters to a reader.
June 27, 2016
I don't even know where to start with this book... It's one of those books that I finished with the unanswered questions:
"Seriously?"
and
"Why did I read this?"
I guess I'll start at the beginning. The writing style captivated me from the first page. It was perfectly written for him waking up with a hangover after getting blackout drunk the night before. The sentences were simple but purposeful, and it felt like you were reading from the viewpoint of someone hungover. It was perfect. There wasn't a major shift to more complex sentences later in the book though which is fine. It killed a bit of the magic that I got when I started reading, but maybe the writing was still fitting being he was grieving and stressed and whatever else.
It seemed to be going well until about halfway through the book, and then the blah continued to escalate through the rest of the book as he bumbled around the city beating people up and talking about how much he loved cocaine, "jay," and Chell. I was waiting for the author to turn the relationship between Chell and Ash into something interesting, but he didn't.
*Spoiler Alert*
Surprise! Ash is a creepy fuck who obsesses over a woman and waits for her to come to her senses and realize what a great guy he is so he can get out of the "friendzone" (although thankfully the word was not explicitly used). That was the great depth to their relationship.
But wait! It's okay because really he's still just crushed about his dad's death in 9/11, and Chell stuck with him because of the emotional attachment she had to him when he cried about his dad.
And that was it. There was nothing else to their relationship.
And the ending? Total fucking cop out.
Oh, shucks. It was really a random bouncer at the club across the street from where the body was dumped. No wonder the police didn't check there and look into the staff that worked that night.
And seriously, Ash spares the bouncer by sending him to jail? What? How is relegating him to the prison system helping him? It's like, 'Oh wow, I empathize with you because you're a broken person like me. Have fun getting assraped in prison where nobody gives a shit about your mental health, though.'
So...
Girl gets killed.
Obsessed friendzoned guy tears shit apart trying to avenge her death and gets in the middle of a major turf war.
Turf war is resolved anticlimactically, and guy loses friends.
Turf war has nothing to do with girl's death because it was really a random bouncer at a club.
Guy says sorry to the friends he fucked up with, and it's okay because he's mourning his dad (over a decade later).
Guy moves to Texas.
The end.
Save yourself the time and read something else.
"Seriously?"
and
"Why did I read this?"
I guess I'll start at the beginning. The writing style captivated me from the first page. It was perfectly written for him waking up with a hangover after getting blackout drunk the night before. The sentences were simple but purposeful, and it felt like you were reading from the viewpoint of someone hungover. It was perfect. There wasn't a major shift to more complex sentences later in the book though which is fine. It killed a bit of the magic that I got when I started reading, but maybe the writing was still fitting being he was grieving and stressed and whatever else.
It seemed to be going well until about halfway through the book, and then the blah continued to escalate through the rest of the book as he bumbled around the city beating people up and talking about how much he loved cocaine, "jay," and Chell. I was waiting for the author to turn the relationship between Chell and Ash into something interesting, but he didn't.
*Spoiler Alert*
Surprise! Ash is a creepy fuck who obsesses over a woman and waits for her to come to her senses and realize what a great guy he is so he can get out of the "friendzone" (although thankfully the word was not explicitly used). That was the great depth to their relationship.
But wait! It's okay because really he's still just crushed about his dad's death in 9/11, and Chell stuck with him because of the emotional attachment she had to him when he cried about his dad.
And that was it. There was nothing else to their relationship.
And the ending? Total fucking cop out.
Oh, shucks. It was really a random bouncer at the club across the street from where the body was dumped. No wonder the police didn't check there and look into the staff that worked that night.
And seriously, Ash spares the bouncer by sending him to jail? What? How is relegating him to the prison system helping him? It's like, 'Oh wow, I empathize with you because you're a broken person like me. Have fun getting assraped in prison where nobody gives a shit about your mental health, though.'
So...
Girl gets killed.
Obsessed friendzoned guy tears shit apart trying to avenge her death and gets in the middle of a major turf war.
Turf war is resolved anticlimactically, and guy loses friends.
Turf war has nothing to do with girl's death because it was really a random bouncer at a club.
Guy says sorry to the friends he fucked up with, and it's okay because he's mourning his dad (over a decade later).
Guy moves to Texas.
The end.
Save yourself the time and read something else.
August 31, 2025
I liked it but did not loved it, found Ash too immature and idealistic and I hated the immature part but loved the idealistic. I loved “Assassins Anonymous” by this author. Hart has truly evolved as a writer, his characters now seem believable and the plot is faster and full of twists and turns. The only similarities between both series is the hero of the story, he is an idealistic man full of integrity especially when it comes to women and friends.
It was gritty and noir….loved it! It reads like a journal but for me almost all noir fiction read like an entry to a diary and it should be like that, it’s always a first person point of view and when the subject is usually an outcast with disagreements about the world around him/her, then you have multiple entries into this fascinating journal. The way Ash uses his umbrella as a weapon was funny and I cannot get rid of the image of John Steed in The Avengers, so some of the fight scenes at least for this reader were hilarious.
I will wait until book two is on kindle and then buy it, no rush on this one.
It was gritty and noir….loved it! It reads like a journal but for me almost all noir fiction read like an entry to a diary and it should be like that, it’s always a first person point of view and when the subject is usually an outcast with disagreements about the world around him/her, then you have multiple entries into this fascinating journal. The way Ash uses his umbrella as a weapon was funny and I cannot get rid of the image of John Steed in The Avengers, so some of the fight scenes at least for this reader were hilarious.
I will wait until book two is on kindle and then buy it, no rush on this one.
December 11, 2015
In between drug- and alcohol-related blackouts, Ash McKenna makes a precarious living doing odd jobs for some shady characters. When his unrequited love is brutally raped and murdered, Ash sets out to find out who did it and why, with an eye towards dealing out some rough justice. Along the way he runs into bizarre characters like a cross dressing crime boss and the Hipster King, who's hell-bent on making New York "authentic" again.
If you like your heroes flawed and your settings raw and dirty (and I do), then Rob Hart's debut novel is the book for you. The book's descriptive passages do a great job of evoking a side of New York that Sinatra never sang about and that even Springsteen couldn't romanticize. Highly recommended. Can't wait to read the next one.
If you like your heroes flawed and your settings raw and dirty (and I do), then Rob Hart's debut novel is the book for you. The book's descriptive passages do a great job of evoking a side of New York that Sinatra never sang about and that even Springsteen couldn't romanticize. Highly recommended. Can't wait to read the next one.
December 9, 2019
I prefer to think of myself as a blunt instrument. Point me at a job—find people, find things, transport stuff, look disagreeable—I get it done, and I accept money upon completion. Sometimes I accept alcohol or drugs because I’m comfortable operating on a barter system.
I don’t know what motivated me to put this book on hold, but I did, and the hold came in, so I read it. This seems like reasonably entertaining drivel if I were trapped in an airport, but I’m just not in the mood for that sort of thing right now. Everyone is just so full of attitude.
I skipped around to see if I could get interested, but basically ... no. Ash is just a dick. (At one point he even whines about being friend-zoned. Dang. Yes he gets called out for it but I just wasn’t in the mood for that. Just ... think of a social issue, and yeah it’s in there.) The mystery isn’t that interesting.
Random observations:
First of all, what I thought was a cover photo of a blue towel being sucked down a grate in turbulent storm water (which I thought was a weird cover photo) ... is actually a blue umbrella amid dirty snow. Still kind of an odd visual. Do people use umbrellas in the snow?
The writing is first person present tense (ugh my least favorite tense!) interspersed with some flashbacks in second person past tense (also ugh!). There are lots of adjectives and a slightly snarky tone that is maybe trying to be Raymond Chandler.
Sharp crack and I’m awake.
Whiskey-colored sunlight spills across my fingertips. There’s a white wall and a crumpled blue bed sheet in front of me. A boot is pressing my face into the hardwood floor.
After a few moments, I realize that’s just the hangover.
Has that ever happened to anyone??? Could a hangover feel like a boot pushing you into the floor? Those seem like very different experiences.
July 24, 2022
The story has a unique character and tone. It made for a fun read.
June 10, 2015
In the industry, there’s a term we use called “head authority.” This is when the author is able to convey an idea, a place, or vocation so well via their prose that we, the audience, are sold on them knowing more than we ever could about the subject. This is the term that sticks with me after reading NEW YORKED.
Rob Hart knows his city. He knows crime.
Hart gives us not the watered down glitzy version so overly commercialized by shows like “Sex and the City,” but something more realistic. Most crime fiction gives you grit, grit, and more grit until it’s caked under your fingernails. NEW YORKED is a crime story grounded by realism. This takes me back to head authority: I felt like I had been to a place that I had never actually been before. The same way Ellis put us in 1980’s Wall Street culture in AMERICAN PSYCHO Hart brought us to the modern day with this debut. As cliché as it sounds, the city really is a supporting character here.
Of course, this doesn’t take away from Ash McKenna, the novel’s main protag. Yet again, we get a touch of the traditional crime lead: a man of a violent nature with some substance abuse problems. McKenna has facets of a Frank Miller character while remaining relatable and, at times, hilarious with his snarky quips. He’s a character you’ll actively root for as he investigates the murder of Chell, the (sort of-kind of) love interest. I won’t spoil it. The Chell/Ash relationship is complex.
NEW YORKED kicks off with her murder which leads to Ash conducting his own investigation (he’s not a fan of cops). The thing that Hart does really well that has to be pointed out here is building this relationship between Chell and Ash post-mortem with the use of flashbacks. These are interspersed throughout the novel, so as Ash gets closer to resolving the case, there’s more light shed on the relationship. It’s both a formatting and plotting challenge, and Hart pulls it off expertly.
The novel is more or less your classic “whodunit” tale, with Ash actively working leads and getting into fights as he digs deeper. What truly set NEW YORKED apart from other novels is the cast of supporting characters like The Hipster King and Ginny the transvestite mob boss. These weren’t your classic trench coat and fedora wearing crime villains. There’s a little DC comic book flavor in there that I really dug. The first time Ash brings out the weaponized umbrella, I couldn’t help but be reminded of The Penguin’s arsenal.
Hart sticks to the genre for the most part, but he manages to throw in some fun, off-beat characters you wouldn’t normally see while also offering some great social commentary about the gentrification of New York and the natives vs. outsiders struggle. I’ve read many novels that took place in New York, but this is one of the few that makes the city feel actually tangible. Add to that a fantastic story with breakneck pacing, and Hart’s debut is a solid one.
I’m a fan now and eagerly await the follow-up, CITY OF ROSE.
Rob Hart knows his city. He knows crime.
Hart gives us not the watered down glitzy version so overly commercialized by shows like “Sex and the City,” but something more realistic. Most crime fiction gives you grit, grit, and more grit until it’s caked under your fingernails. NEW YORKED is a crime story grounded by realism. This takes me back to head authority: I felt like I had been to a place that I had never actually been before. The same way Ellis put us in 1980’s Wall Street culture in AMERICAN PSYCHO Hart brought us to the modern day with this debut. As cliché as it sounds, the city really is a supporting character here.
Of course, this doesn’t take away from Ash McKenna, the novel’s main protag. Yet again, we get a touch of the traditional crime lead: a man of a violent nature with some substance abuse problems. McKenna has facets of a Frank Miller character while remaining relatable and, at times, hilarious with his snarky quips. He’s a character you’ll actively root for as he investigates the murder of Chell, the (sort of-kind of) love interest. I won’t spoil it. The Chell/Ash relationship is complex.
NEW YORKED kicks off with her murder which leads to Ash conducting his own investigation (he’s not a fan of cops). The thing that Hart does really well that has to be pointed out here is building this relationship between Chell and Ash post-mortem with the use of flashbacks. These are interspersed throughout the novel, so as Ash gets closer to resolving the case, there’s more light shed on the relationship. It’s both a formatting and plotting challenge, and Hart pulls it off expertly.
The novel is more or less your classic “whodunit” tale, with Ash actively working leads and getting into fights as he digs deeper. What truly set NEW YORKED apart from other novels is the cast of supporting characters like The Hipster King and Ginny the transvestite mob boss. These weren’t your classic trench coat and fedora wearing crime villains. There’s a little DC comic book flavor in there that I really dug. The first time Ash brings out the weaponized umbrella, I couldn’t help but be reminded of The Penguin’s arsenal.
Hart sticks to the genre for the most part, but he manages to throw in some fun, off-beat characters you wouldn’t normally see while also offering some great social commentary about the gentrification of New York and the natives vs. outsiders struggle. I’ve read many novels that took place in New York, but this is one of the few that makes the city feel actually tangible. Add to that a fantastic story with breakneck pacing, and Hart’s debut is a solid one.
I’m a fan now and eagerly await the follow-up, CITY OF ROSE.
June 13, 2015
I have been waiting to read this book for what seems like an eternity. Imagine my excitement when I finally had it in my hands, and the absolute sadness I felt when I had to put off reading it right away due to work. Let's get to it.
What I loved:
My book contains blue tabs that mark my favorite lines and sections. One of the things I loved most was the way the narrative was structured. There were these moments when Ash would directly address Chell (the girl who was murdered). These moments felt entirely different from the rest of the narrative. It was more intimate, raw. Then there are the descriptions of New York City. Several moments conjured up memories of my own. The stillness and near silence of the city early in the morning, the untouched snow before cars and feet trample it, and New York in the rain. Then the dirtier descriptions of trash in the streets and the dirt and grime that people like to pretend isn't there anymore.
In an attempt to not spoil anything, I loved Ash's adventures in the last half of the book. It was cool to see him race around in a creative way and attempt to find answers. I liked seeing the different cultures in the different parts of the city. I loved the characters and the conclusion.
How I failed as a reader:
I still don't have a clear mental picture of Ash. His look changed several times as I was reading, and I have no clue why. Though I suspect it changed as I got to know his personality a little better. Then I had trouble keeping Bad Kelly/Good Kelly straight.
All in all, I am excited for the next installment. Even more excited to see Ash in Portland.
What I loved:
My book contains blue tabs that mark my favorite lines and sections. One of the things I loved most was the way the narrative was structured. There were these moments when Ash would directly address Chell (the girl who was murdered). These moments felt entirely different from the rest of the narrative. It was more intimate, raw. Then there are the descriptions of New York City. Several moments conjured up memories of my own. The stillness and near silence of the city early in the morning, the untouched snow before cars and feet trample it, and New York in the rain. Then the dirtier descriptions of trash in the streets and the dirt and grime that people like to pretend isn't there anymore.
In an attempt to not spoil anything, I loved Ash's adventures in the last half of the book. It was cool to see him race around in a creative way and attempt to find answers. I liked seeing the different cultures in the different parts of the city. I loved the characters and the conclusion.
How I failed as a reader:
I still don't have a clear mental picture of Ash. His look changed several times as I was reading, and I have no clue why. Though I suspect it changed as I got to know his personality a little better. Then I had trouble keeping Bad Kelly/Good Kelly straight.
All in all, I am excited for the next installment. Even more excited to see Ash in Portland.
March 7, 2016
Fantastic debut novel by Hart, someone whose writing I've been following for years. Ash is a very complex protagonist, and his mix of hardboiled and smartass dialogue makes him endearing (despite his best efforts). The off-kilter cast of characters is one that generally doesn't populate the world of a hardboiled/mystery novel but really works well in this novel and sets it apart from the pack. What sold me on the novel aside from the brisk pacing was Ash's push and pull relationship with Chell. It satisfies the expected romantic thread while still subverting it.
Overall, this is a really, really fun read (something I think a lot of crime novelists forget) and I highly recommend it.
Overall, this is a really, really fun read (something I think a lot of crime novelists forget) and I highly recommend it.
June 1, 2015
Rob Hart absolutely murders it in his debut.
- Weaponized umbrellas!
- The coolest Drag Queenpin (or only) ever!
- Hipster LARPing!
I'm not sure what else I need to say if you haven't bought it after that second bulletpoint.
- Weaponized umbrellas!
- The coolest Drag Queenpin (or only) ever!
- Hipster LARPing!
I'm not sure what else I need to say if you haven't bought it after that second bulletpoint.
May 21, 2023
Not ideal, definitely (the thumb drive subplot, naaaah), but still a fun, noirish punch'em up with a dose of Lower East Side nostalgia, which is incidentally right up my alley.
Why did Charlie Huston stop writing prose, though :(
Why did Charlie Huston stop writing prose, though :(
November 16, 2023
Excellent grimy NY noir. Seedy characters, lots of twists, and then a gut punch of an ending that makes it all so simple. Enjoyed this one a lot.
June 20, 2024
If noir books are classified like drugs, this would be class A pure cocaine. Hard to get and easy to identify good stuff. Bravo Rob Hart!
May 12, 2022
I’ve wavered between 4 and 5 stars for this because the things the author nails are so great. There’s one flashback to a blackout that is so touching and well-written that I’ll go back to it to read again. He captures an East Village in the middle of big changes with great examples and the narrator at times has a wonderful unique voice. It’s just the MacGuffin is a little too long and his way of fighting his way out of impossible situations take away from the reality on a true New Yorker profoundly affected by 9/11. Still, loved it and will read the next one.
August 29, 2015
“New York is not a city. It is an idea.” — Ginny
Ashley (Ash) McKenna is a man molded and driven by ideas. As a boy growing up on Staten Island, Ash would sit with his firefighter father in the wee hours of the night listening to the emergency scanner, his dad patiently explaining to him what all the mysterious calls and codes meant.
Watching his father go to work, both as scheduled and spontaneously in response to some of those emergency calls, Ash formed strong ideas of duty, honor, and responsibility. And when his father was killed on 9/11 while attempting to evacuate people on the upper floors of the World Trade Center, Ash was branded with the idea of sacrifice. And loss.
So when Ash pulls himself up out of the depths of a blackout drunk one afternoon only to learn that his longtime friend and unrequited love, Chell, has been murdered, his whole world comes crashing down around him.
The loss he feels is complicated and compounded by the message he finds from Chell on his cell phone, apparently left only minutes before her death. She’d reached out to Ash for help, begged him to come meet her because she was only streets away from his apartment and feared she was being followed, and Ash failed—failed to meet his self-appointed responsibility to protect her.
Ash can’t live with that. And he won’t let whoever murdered Chell live with it, either.
And with that setup, author Rob Hart’s debut, New Yorked, is off and running on a relentless hunt through the boroughs of New York City in Ash’s take-no-prisoners quest to bring Chell’s killer to justice, or Ash’s version thereof, and to bring peace of mind to himself. Not a fan of guns, Ash carries with him nothing more than his fists, wits, a deceptively benign umbrella, and an unshakable will to do right by Chell. Along the way, Ash bounces from one colorful character to another—Ginny, the cross-dressing crime Queenpin; The Hipster King, who’s more dangerous than the deliberately ironic title might imply; a community of noir live action role players, who are involved in a very dangerous “game”—some friend, some foe, some frustratingly nebulous as to how they fit into the puzzle Ash is trying to solve.
And if New Yorked were nothing more than the story of a man trying to solve a whodunnit it would still be an entertaining read given the level of detail Hart has devoted to the setting and surroundings. But New Yorked is more than that. Hart deftly weaves the evolution of Ash and Chell’s relationship into the narrative by way of flashbacks, and it soon becomes clear Ash is a man carrying around a lot of anger—over his unfulfilled relationship with Chell, about the events that ripped his father from him, at the changes he sees occurring in his beloved city as it moves from mysterious and alive to sterile and gentrified. It’s an anger Ash has allowed to creep up on and rule his life, driving him to abuse both substances and those around him, while at the same time acting as a yoke that has anchored his life in a stunted rut.
Between the anger, the addiction, and the occasional bad behavior toward someone who doesn’t deserve it, Ash is not exactly a classic knight in shining armor. But neither do his flaws rise to the level of self-pity or distraction. Instead, Hart has created in Ash a character whose life and struggles mirror the evolution taking place in the city itself, both forced to deal with changes that are often unpleasant and unwanted. Sometimes change is neither good nor bad, both bad and good. What change always is, however, is inevitable. And as Hart skillfully demonstrates in New Yorked, it’s fantastically interesting as well.
Ashley (Ash) McKenna is a man molded and driven by ideas. As a boy growing up on Staten Island, Ash would sit with his firefighter father in the wee hours of the night listening to the emergency scanner, his dad patiently explaining to him what all the mysterious calls and codes meant.
Watching his father go to work, both as scheduled and spontaneously in response to some of those emergency calls, Ash formed strong ideas of duty, honor, and responsibility. And when his father was killed on 9/11 while attempting to evacuate people on the upper floors of the World Trade Center, Ash was branded with the idea of sacrifice. And loss.
So when Ash pulls himself up out of the depths of a blackout drunk one afternoon only to learn that his longtime friend and unrequited love, Chell, has been murdered, his whole world comes crashing down around him.
The loss he feels is complicated and compounded by the message he finds from Chell on his cell phone, apparently left only minutes before her death. She’d reached out to Ash for help, begged him to come meet her because she was only streets away from his apartment and feared she was being followed, and Ash failed—failed to meet his self-appointed responsibility to protect her.
Ash can’t live with that. And he won’t let whoever murdered Chell live with it, either.
And with that setup, author Rob Hart’s debut, New Yorked, is off and running on a relentless hunt through the boroughs of New York City in Ash’s take-no-prisoners quest to bring Chell’s killer to justice, or Ash’s version thereof, and to bring peace of mind to himself. Not a fan of guns, Ash carries with him nothing more than his fists, wits, a deceptively benign umbrella, and an unshakable will to do right by Chell. Along the way, Ash bounces from one colorful character to another—Ginny, the cross-dressing crime Queenpin; The Hipster King, who’s more dangerous than the deliberately ironic title might imply; a community of noir live action role players, who are involved in a very dangerous “game”—some friend, some foe, some frustratingly nebulous as to how they fit into the puzzle Ash is trying to solve.
And if New Yorked were nothing more than the story of a man trying to solve a whodunnit it would still be an entertaining read given the level of detail Hart has devoted to the setting and surroundings. But New Yorked is more than that. Hart deftly weaves the evolution of Ash and Chell’s relationship into the narrative by way of flashbacks, and it soon becomes clear Ash is a man carrying around a lot of anger—over his unfulfilled relationship with Chell, about the events that ripped his father from him, at the changes he sees occurring in his beloved city as it moves from mysterious and alive to sterile and gentrified. It’s an anger Ash has allowed to creep up on and rule his life, driving him to abuse both substances and those around him, while at the same time acting as a yoke that has anchored his life in a stunted rut.
Between the anger, the addiction, and the occasional bad behavior toward someone who doesn’t deserve it, Ash is not exactly a classic knight in shining armor. But neither do his flaws rise to the level of self-pity or distraction. Instead, Hart has created in Ash a character whose life and struggles mirror the evolution taking place in the city itself, both forced to deal with changes that are often unpleasant and unwanted. Sometimes change is neither good nor bad, both bad and good. What change always is, however, is inevitable. And as Hart skillfully demonstrates in New Yorked, it’s fantastically interesting as well.
May 10, 2015
Ash McKenna wakes up one morning from a drunken blackout to find a voice mail from his ex-girlfriend, left moments before she was murdered. He sets out on a quest-qua-vendetta to find her killer, and everything unravels from there. New Yorked is part Eight Million Ways to Die, and part Red Harvest meets the Warriors.
As a detective novel, New Yorked is good. It hits the expected high notes of the genre while providing enough novelty to keep it the story fresh and interesting. By that standard alone, New Yorked is a solid four star story with great pacing, an interesting protagonist, and plenty of action. However, the brilliance of New Yorked--and what kicks it up to five stars for me--is the parallel of Ash's relationship to his murdered girlfriend and his relationship to the city. As an existential meditation on the struggle against mortality, this book is a thing of near perfection.
*New York* is the real victim of the novel--or, at least, the New York that Ash McKenna once loved. While he's searching for the literal killer who murdered his ex, he guides the reader on a tour of the people responsible for murdering his real love, the once dirty, dangerous New York you had to earn your way into. The "gents" (out of towners responsible for the gentrification of the city), hipsters, and long time residents more interested in profit than preservation all have a stab at the heart of his true love, while all also punishing Ash for daring to stand up for what the city once represented. He takes a beating and with every wound he's a little more "New Yorked"--a little more transformed by others' plans for and designs upon him.
New Yorked is at once a vibrant paean to the city as well as a mournful threnody for personal identity and civic belonging all wrapped up in a thrilling hardboiled adventure. To paraphrase the saying, you fall in love with the city, but the city does not fall in love with you. This is exactly why Rob Hart is one of my favorite writers!
As a detective novel, New Yorked is good. It hits the expected high notes of the genre while providing enough novelty to keep it the story fresh and interesting. By that standard alone, New Yorked is a solid four star story with great pacing, an interesting protagonist, and plenty of action. However, the brilliance of New Yorked--and what kicks it up to five stars for me--is the parallel of Ash's relationship to his murdered girlfriend and his relationship to the city. As an existential meditation on the struggle against mortality, this book is a thing of near perfection.
*New York* is the real victim of the novel--or, at least, the New York that Ash McKenna once loved. While he's searching for the literal killer who murdered his ex, he guides the reader on a tour of the people responsible for murdering his real love, the once dirty, dangerous New York you had to earn your way into. The "gents" (out of towners responsible for the gentrification of the city), hipsters, and long time residents more interested in profit than preservation all have a stab at the heart of his true love, while all also punishing Ash for daring to stand up for what the city once represented. He takes a beating and with every wound he's a little more "New Yorked"--a little more transformed by others' plans for and designs upon him.
New Yorked is at once a vibrant paean to the city as well as a mournful threnody for personal identity and civic belonging all wrapped up in a thrilling hardboiled adventure. To paraphrase the saying, you fall in love with the city, but the city does not fall in love with you. This is exactly why Rob Hart is one of my favorite writers!
August 10, 2015
I read this book and was utterly engrossed, not because I love a good mystery, but because of Ash's voice. He is lovelorn, trying to get over the death of his ex, Chell, even though it's not totally clear just what kind of ex she was, he is also determined to get revenge for her death. He starts off on a journey that takes him all over New York City, across boroughs and bridges, but also across generations and gentrification. The book weaves from his present, visiting various underworlds with a brash fearlessness that comes from having lost pretty much everything, to his past, trying to figure out what his dad's death and legacy have meant to him. I am not actually much of a noir reader, but I don't think you have to be to be drawn into this story. Through Ash's attempts to peel back the layers of what happened to Chell, he also has to peel back his own layers, his own romanticism about New York, a much-changed city, and about his own place in it. This is a mystery at its heart, but I also found myself caring less about the exact whodunnit and more about how Ash worms his way in and out of trouble. For me, Ash's scrappiness, his willingness to do anything to get to the bottom of Chell's death, including go up against people who are clearly better armed and far more dangerous, was the biggest draw of this book, even more than the actual outcome, which is my usual way of approaching a mystery. It's to Hart's credit that I almost didn't want him to solve it, because I didn't want the story to end. I look forward to reading the next book in the series for that precise reason.
July 31, 2016
Ash McKenna is a mess of a man who wakes up to a voicemail from the girl he loves only to find out soon after that she is dead. So Ash sets out on a quest to find his lady friends killer. On the way we meet Ash's friends and some off kilter crime bosses all told through the eyes of a man born and raised in New York.
New Yorked is a neo noir tour through New York City. There's a cavalcade of characters that populate Hart's New York such as the transgender crime boss Ginny, the obnoxious Hipster King, and Fanny Fatale who runs a strange LARP game that runs through the city. Ash's friends and a cousin who shows up on his doorstep which give the reader a different perspective on Ash's real motivations for finding his friends killer. Some of these people are almost unbelievable characters, but prove to add a real quirkiness to the story.
Rob Hart has a nice noir style to his writing, spare and direct prose that isn't clogged with over description. It actually reminds me a little of Charlie Huston's Joe Pitt series except without the vampires. The plot tends to meander a bit though, and some of the characters introduced were completely irrelevant to the story, unless he plans to use them more extensively in the next books of course. He writes good dialogue and character even making the city I only know from TV and movies come alive. I've followed his career through a mutual writing community and his first novella The Last Safe Place and I think New Yorked is a very good start to a new series. I'll look for the next one City Of Rose soon.
New Yorked is a neo noir tour through New York City. There's a cavalcade of characters that populate Hart's New York such as the transgender crime boss Ginny, the obnoxious Hipster King, and Fanny Fatale who runs a strange LARP game that runs through the city. Ash's friends and a cousin who shows up on his doorstep which give the reader a different perspective on Ash's real motivations for finding his friends killer. Some of these people are almost unbelievable characters, but prove to add a real quirkiness to the story.
Rob Hart has a nice noir style to his writing, spare and direct prose that isn't clogged with over description. It actually reminds me a little of Charlie Huston's Joe Pitt series except without the vampires. The plot tends to meander a bit though, and some of the characters introduced were completely irrelevant to the story, unless he plans to use them more extensively in the next books of course. He writes good dialogue and character even making the city I only know from TV and movies come alive. I've followed his career through a mutual writing community and his first novella The Last Safe Place and I think New Yorked is a very good start to a new series. I'll look for the next one City Of Rose soon.
December 1, 2015
Rob Hart didn't get the memo...
Or he disregarded it...
At his own greatest peril...
Nobody wants to read about a rummy bum...
running a fake noir kick in the filthy East Village...
Right...
This work is authored by a nonsensical and seemingly obvious-minded writer...
And paradoxically he is obsessed, desperate...
His volume is a wind wasted assemblage of paper fathered by the forests...
That ring our odd(ball) author out...
Stand away from me, I want to burn and burn...
Wrap me up, I am all watery coffin...
Chris Roberts, Patron Saint of the Whooping Crane
Or he disregarded it...
At his own greatest peril...
Nobody wants to read about a rummy bum...
running a fake noir kick in the filthy East Village...
Right...
This work is authored by a nonsensical and seemingly obvious-minded writer...
And paradoxically he is obsessed, desperate...
His volume is a wind wasted assemblage of paper fathered by the forests...
That ring our odd(ball) author out...
Stand away from me, I want to burn and burn...
Wrap me up, I am all watery coffin...
Chris Roberts, Patron Saint of the Whooping Crane
February 5, 2017
In his debut novel, Rob Hart has captured the soul of a New York that few, if any, tourists -- and many natives, for that matter -- will ever see. His her, Ash McKenna is a private detective of sorts. Working without a license, Ash does whatever he must to pay the rent and his bar bill. When the woman that Ash loves is brutally murdered, no one is going to stop Ash from bringing her killer to justice. It's an intriguing journey filled with fully developed characters and more than a bit of self-discovery on Ash's part. This one definitely deserves a look.
October 26, 2016
Rob Hart's New Yorked is stunning noir that feels like a hot poker to the ribcage.
January 6, 2021
Dieser Roman von Rob Hart ist der erste Band der Ash-McKenna-Reihe. Der Kommunikationsmanager Rob Hart der New Yorker Politiker stellt uns seine ganz persönliche Sicht der großen Stadt mit den Augen des Privatdetektivs Ashley McKenna vor.
"New York ist eine der hellsten Städte der Welt, aber wenn man genauer hinsieht, entdeckt man die dunkle Schattenseite, die unter der Oberfläche lauert." - »Knock-Out in New York«
Ash, wie der Mann mit dem weiblichen Vornamen gerufen wird, ermittelt privat und ohne Lizenz. Für eine Lizenz wären zu viele Formulare nötig, außerdem müsste er sich dann an Regeln halten. Das liegt ihm nicht so. Er hat eine Nacht durchzecht und wacht mit einem extrem schweren Schädel auf. Oh Mann, das war ein Totalabsturz. Er kann sich an nichts erinnern, was gestern am Abend geschehen war. Dann hört er seine Mobilbox ab. Darauf ist ein Hilferuf seiner Freundin. Mitten in der Nacht. Sie klingt panisch, als er bereits den Schlaf der Ahnungslosen absolvierte. Aus den Nachrichten erfährt er, dass diese, seine, Freundin getötet worden ist. Sie hatte ihn um Hilfe gebeten und er war nicht da. Genauso wenig wie er sich erinnern konnte, was geschehen war. In seiner Hand steht mit Stift geschrieben : „Du hast es versprochen.“ Nun fragt er sich: Wer hat was versprochen?
»Knock-Out in New York« ist ein knallharter Detektivroman mit all den typischen Elementen, die ein Roman dieses Genres aufweist: Ich-Erzähler, Alkohol, Drogen, Scheu vor der Polizei, Partyszene und viele dunkle Gestalten. Der Protagonist in diesem Roman zeichnet sich dadurch aus, dass er keine Schusswaffen mag. Er hat es lieber mit den Fäusten und mit seinem Regenschirm.
Rob Hart stellt uns mit dem Roman die bunte Welt von New York vor, die den Touristen meist verborgen bleibt. Der Protagonist hat viele Freunde: Frauen, Männer, Transgender, Schwule, Lesben, Drogendealer, Obdachlose. Unter seiner harten und rauen Schale verbirgt sich ein sanfter Kern. Obwohl man ihn als Leser durchaus als A…loch kennenlernt, merkt man, dass er eigentlich nicht so sein will. Man fiebert daraufhin, zu erfahren, wie und ob er den Mörder seiner Freundin bekommt. Man möchte wissen, wie es ihm dabei geht.
Es gibt sehr viele Schicksale, denen man wünscht, dass sie aus dem Sumpf herauskommen. Rob Hart zeigt sie in ihrem Mikrokosmos von New York, wie man ihn in Teilen auch aus der Polizei Serie „Blue Blood“ kennt.
Ein sehr guter Roman, um eine besondere Seite der riesigen Metropole New Yorks an der Ostküste der USA zu entdecken. Die unkonventionellen Ermittlungen eines verletzten Menschen sind einfach lesenswert.
© Detlef Knut, Düsseldorf 2021
"New York ist eine der hellsten Städte der Welt, aber wenn man genauer hinsieht, entdeckt man die dunkle Schattenseite, die unter der Oberfläche lauert." - »Knock-Out in New York«
Ash, wie der Mann mit dem weiblichen Vornamen gerufen wird, ermittelt privat und ohne Lizenz. Für eine Lizenz wären zu viele Formulare nötig, außerdem müsste er sich dann an Regeln halten. Das liegt ihm nicht so. Er hat eine Nacht durchzecht und wacht mit einem extrem schweren Schädel auf. Oh Mann, das war ein Totalabsturz. Er kann sich an nichts erinnern, was gestern am Abend geschehen war. Dann hört er seine Mobilbox ab. Darauf ist ein Hilferuf seiner Freundin. Mitten in der Nacht. Sie klingt panisch, als er bereits den Schlaf der Ahnungslosen absolvierte. Aus den Nachrichten erfährt er, dass diese, seine, Freundin getötet worden ist. Sie hatte ihn um Hilfe gebeten und er war nicht da. Genauso wenig wie er sich erinnern konnte, was geschehen war. In seiner Hand steht mit Stift geschrieben : „Du hast es versprochen.“ Nun fragt er sich: Wer hat was versprochen?
»Knock-Out in New York« ist ein knallharter Detektivroman mit all den typischen Elementen, die ein Roman dieses Genres aufweist: Ich-Erzähler, Alkohol, Drogen, Scheu vor der Polizei, Partyszene und viele dunkle Gestalten. Der Protagonist in diesem Roman zeichnet sich dadurch aus, dass er keine Schusswaffen mag. Er hat es lieber mit den Fäusten und mit seinem Regenschirm.
Rob Hart stellt uns mit dem Roman die bunte Welt von New York vor, die den Touristen meist verborgen bleibt. Der Protagonist hat viele Freunde: Frauen, Männer, Transgender, Schwule, Lesben, Drogendealer, Obdachlose. Unter seiner harten und rauen Schale verbirgt sich ein sanfter Kern. Obwohl man ihn als Leser durchaus als A…loch kennenlernt, merkt man, dass er eigentlich nicht so sein will. Man fiebert daraufhin, zu erfahren, wie und ob er den Mörder seiner Freundin bekommt. Man möchte wissen, wie es ihm dabei geht.
Es gibt sehr viele Schicksale, denen man wünscht, dass sie aus dem Sumpf herauskommen. Rob Hart zeigt sie in ihrem Mikrokosmos von New York, wie man ihn in Teilen auch aus der Polizei Serie „Blue Blood“ kennt.
Ein sehr guter Roman, um eine besondere Seite der riesigen Metropole New Yorks an der Ostküste der USA zu entdecken. Die unkonventionellen Ermittlungen eines verletzten Menschen sind einfach lesenswert.
© Detlef Knut, Düsseldorf 2021
February 20, 2018
This is my first venture into the world of Ash McKenna, who is an unlicensed P.I. in New York, who does 'favours' for friends that need deeds done that they can't do themselves. Deliver a package, put the squeeze on someone or find someone that's gone missing are the usual jobs that Ash does but when the love of his life Chell turns up dead it gets personal and Ash goes on a quest with the ultimate aim of extracting revenge. Ash is normally fuelled up on alcohol and cocaine but vows to stay sober in order to find Chell's killer, a vow he finds harder to keep the deeper he delves into the case.
Enjoyable but quite dark, noir thriller that has a large cast of mostly unconventional characters, most of whom are friends or associates of Ash's. The New York that Ash inhabits is not the New York that tourists like myself have ever seen but it's the underbelly of the city, dive bars and clubs, inhabited by hipsters, dealers and addicts, drag queens and hookers. If anything this New York reminds me of the New York of Charlie Huston's Joe Pitt novels, minus the vampires, werewolves etc. and Ash reminds me a little of younger, hipper and less subtle Matt Scudder. Ash is led a merry dance in his search for the killer being sidetracked by a turf war in Manhattan and is hit by some crisis's in his own life and also must come to terms with his relationship with his mother and his dead father. If I've got one minor gripe it's that at the end of all Ash's trials the answer was apparently staring him in the face all along and the ending comes unexpectantly.
This is the first in a trilogy of Ash McKenna novels and there's certainly enough here to entice back to read the others in the series.
Enjoyable but quite dark, noir thriller that has a large cast of mostly unconventional characters, most of whom are friends or associates of Ash's. The New York that Ash inhabits is not the New York that tourists like myself have ever seen but it's the underbelly of the city, dive bars and clubs, inhabited by hipsters, dealers and addicts, drag queens and hookers. If anything this New York reminds me of the New York of Charlie Huston's Joe Pitt novels, minus the vampires, werewolves etc. and Ash reminds me a little of younger, hipper and less subtle Matt Scudder. Ash is led a merry dance in his search for the killer being sidetracked by a turf war in Manhattan and is hit by some crisis's in his own life and also must come to terms with his relationship with his mother and his dead father. If I've got one minor gripe it's that at the end of all Ash's trials the answer was apparently staring him in the face all along and the ending comes unexpectantly.
This is the first in a trilogy of Ash McKenna novels and there's certainly enough here to entice back to read the others in the series.
June 8, 2020
I need to start with the good because there’s a lot of goodwill built in this book or else I wouldn’t have been able to stomach it for 20 pages.
Rob Hart knows New York City. Knows it. Not in a way a smarmy lifer traipsing through endless aristocratic watering holes knows it. But the way a native does. Favorite bars, corner stores, slice stops…he brings it alive in a real way. I could see and feel the city, one I’m missing right now with everything shut down due to COVID. I read a lot of novels just for the Manhattan tourism and this is one of the better ones. That he picks the Lower East Side to set most of the book is all the better.
And that’s the only thing that got me through. Because this book is a reminder of why I rarely start mystery series with alcoholic male PIs anymore: tough guy dialogue, lots of fighting scenes, obnoxious expressions of masculinity. I couldn’t stand Ash McKenna. He’s an insufferable knucklehead who, of course, can’t let go of his past and thus must take his anger out on the world. Hart does a great job building up interesting characters around him only to have Ash go stumbling through their respective worlds like a bull in a glass shop. I couldn’t stand it, couldn’t stand his connection to the murder victim (an attractive young woman slashed to ribbons because of course), couldn’t stand the try hard-y nature of McKenna trying to be Philip Marlowe (there’s a Long Goodbye reference here that made me audibly groan). I thought the resolution was going to go one way that I would’ve liked but of course, it didn’t.
So yeah, I love the New York-ness of this book. And Hart is a talented enough writer that I may pick up book two in spite of itself. But man, this should have been so much better.
Rob Hart knows New York City. Knows it. Not in a way a smarmy lifer traipsing through endless aristocratic watering holes knows it. But the way a native does. Favorite bars, corner stores, slice stops…he brings it alive in a real way. I could see and feel the city, one I’m missing right now with everything shut down due to COVID. I read a lot of novels just for the Manhattan tourism and this is one of the better ones. That he picks the Lower East Side to set most of the book is all the better.
And that’s the only thing that got me through. Because this book is a reminder of why I rarely start mystery series with alcoholic male PIs anymore: tough guy dialogue, lots of fighting scenes, obnoxious expressions of masculinity. I couldn’t stand Ash McKenna. He’s an insufferable knucklehead who, of course, can’t let go of his past and thus must take his anger out on the world. Hart does a great job building up interesting characters around him only to have Ash go stumbling through their respective worlds like a bull in a glass shop. I couldn’t stand it, couldn’t stand his connection to the murder victim (an attractive young woman slashed to ribbons because of course), couldn’t stand the try hard-y nature of McKenna trying to be Philip Marlowe (there’s a Long Goodbye reference here that made me audibly groan). I thought the resolution was going to go one way that I would’ve liked but of course, it didn’t.
So yeah, I love the New York-ness of this book. And Hart is a talented enough writer that I may pick up book two in spite of itself. But man, this should have been so much better.
November 29, 2017
New Yorked features a fascinating cast of characters including the city of New York. Each character comes across as complex and a bit broken. In other words, realistically human.
Ash, a self proclaimed “blunt instrument,” wakes up from a black-out drunken episode to discover the woman he loves is brutally murdered. He can’t remember what happened the night before. All he knows is that she asked for his help and he failed her. In order to solve her murder, he must confront his inner demons and burn his whole world to ashes.
Ash is self-aware. He knows his short comings and tries to be a good person. In trying to help the people he loves, he inadvertently winds up hurting them and himself in the process. “There are a lot of things I could say at this moment, about self-control, or about how when something bad happens your first response shouldn’t lean toward self-destruction. I can’t say that with a straight face. So I slide my hand under the blanket, find hers, and hold it tight.”
I didn’t make it past the first chapter before heading over to Amazon to one click the sequel. So happy to know this is a five book series.
Ash, a self proclaimed “blunt instrument,” wakes up from a black-out drunken episode to discover the woman he loves is brutally murdered. He can’t remember what happened the night before. All he knows is that she asked for his help and he failed her. In order to solve her murder, he must confront his inner demons and burn his whole world to ashes.
Ash is self-aware. He knows his short comings and tries to be a good person. In trying to help the people he loves, he inadvertently winds up hurting them and himself in the process. “There are a lot of things I could say at this moment, about self-control, or about how when something bad happens your first response shouldn’t lean toward self-destruction. I can’t say that with a straight face. So I slide my hand under the blanket, find hers, and hold it tight.”
I didn’t make it past the first chapter before heading over to Amazon to one click the sequel. So happy to know this is a five book series.
April 28, 2021
As much as I enjoyed the hardboiled/noir-style of this novel, the journey into NY's underground and the investigative aspects, Rob Hart's 'New Yorked' has one major flaw: its protagonist isn't likeable at all.
[Spoilers ahead!]
Don't get me wrong! Ash McKenna's behavior is understandable, considering that his firefighting father died in 9/11, his girlfriend has been brutally murdered, and the city he loves is being gentrified.
But there are moments when Ash is just - plain and simple - an absolute asshole towards people who don't deserve it at all. Two examples:
A homeless guy on a subway asks Ash whether he could have the last sip of whisky from the bottle Ash is holding. What does Ash do? Drinks the last sip and throws (!) the bottle into the subway so that it shatters.
Two tourists on a ferry ask Ash where the World Trade Center has been. His answer: "Doesn't matter".
I get it. He's cool, edgy, and fucked-up. But he is also too much an asshole to be likable. And that's where I as a reader have my difficulties rooting for him. But if you like assholes, maybe you'll like this novel more than I did.
[Spoilers ahead!]
Don't get me wrong! Ash McKenna's behavior is understandable, considering that his firefighting father died in 9/11, his girlfriend has been brutally murdered, and the city he loves is being gentrified.
But there are moments when Ash is just - plain and simple - an absolute asshole towards people who don't deserve it at all. Two examples:
A homeless guy on a subway asks Ash whether he could have the last sip of whisky from the bottle Ash is holding. What does Ash do? Drinks the last sip and throws (!) the bottle into the subway so that it shatters.
Two tourists on a ferry ask Ash where the World Trade Center has been. His answer: "Doesn't matter".
I get it. He's cool, edgy, and fucked-up. But he is also too much an asshole to be likable. And that's where I as a reader have my difficulties rooting for him. But if you like assholes, maybe you'll like this novel more than I did.
April 11, 2019
Book: New Yorked (Ash McKenna #1) by Rob Hart
Book 25/52 for the year
Stars: ⭐️⭐️Time to Read: 8 Days
How Did I Get It? Digital Version via Kindle
Mini Review: Ash McKenna is a blunt instrument. Point him at a job and gets done. That’s not the case when Chell the the woman he’s seeing leaves him a voicemail asking for help and winds up killed. Ash hunts for her killer and is swept into the seedy underbelly of New York.
I did not enjoy this book. It was well written but it was slow and Ash was just not likable. There was a lot going on this book but it wasn’t that thrilling or that big of a mystery. I normally stop reading when I’m bored but for some reason I kept on and wish I hadn’t. Will I read the second book in the series? Highly unlikely.
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Book 25/52 for the year
Stars: ⭐️⭐️Time to Read: 8 Days
How Did I Get It? Digital Version via Kindle
Mini Review: Ash McKenna is a blunt instrument. Point him at a job and gets done. That’s not the case when Chell the the woman he’s seeing leaves him a voicemail asking for help and winds up killed. Ash hunts for her killer and is swept into the seedy underbelly of New York.
I did not enjoy this book. It was well written but it was slow and Ash was just not likable. There was a lot going on this book but it wasn’t that thrilling or that big of a mystery. I normally stop reading when I’m bored but for some reason I kept on and wish I hadn’t. Will I read the second book in the series? Highly unlikely.
Have you read this book?
#bookstgram #books #bookworm #booksofinstagram #reading #bookreviews #bookrecommendations #readingchallenge #goodreads #amreading #currentlyreading #kindle #ebook
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