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The Moth
The Moth has bitten off more of East L.A. than he can chew, and is gnawed up himself by the neighborhood. On the fringes of serious crime, the Moth reveals himself as a man whose morals are largely good but whose ethics are shaky. He's battered by local forces – from the all-women Arpías gang to a manipulative detective who's forced him to fink out fellow crooks. It's a dark world where all good intentions go astray. The Moth's pawn-shop criminal schemes and his ambition to be the local Moriarty all tumble into disarray.
Each walk-in through his door is a chance at riches or death, each job a success or a lesson in abject humiliation. Stumble along with the Moth as he serves a tough, ironic world, never quite getting there.
Each walk-in through his door is a chance at riches or death, each job a success or a lesson in abject humiliation. Stumble along with the Moth as he serves a tough, ironic world, never quite getting there.
278 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 27, 2025
5 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 18, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley for a review copy of this book.
It's not often that I'll rate a book this highly. But when it's this good, credit has to be given. The author here has delivered a book that is tight, very well paced, doesn't mince hard details sometimes, and is an utterly terrific read.
The Moth didn't start out as a pawnbroker. But that's what he is today, and over the first few chapters we see his progression from childhood to adult, see what has shaped him, what has made him into the man he is today. While the supporting cast of minor characters is varied and numerous, there are never too many characters at any one point and it's easy to follow the flow of the narrative.
Speaking of narrative, this isn't exactly a standard novel where everything flows neatly into one another. Rather, it reads like a series of vignettes into Moth's life, in relatively chronological order. Each vignette could possibly be taken on its own as a short story, but the overall arc is what ties everything together. That appealed to me. Even though I read this book in one sitting pretty much, it would be easy to stop at the end of a chapter and pick things up at a later time.
There aren't a lot of lengthy scene descriptions in this one, just enough to let the reader know the setting. However, to me this book just exudes atmosphere. Atmosphere around Moth, his dealings, successes and failures, attempts to live by his own moral boundaries, and the neighborhood he lives in.
This book is all too relatable for some reason. Not that I am like Moth, but I genuinely could get into his shoes, his thoughts, his actions. Among numerous individuals and organizations, as it were, he finds a way to somehow just manage to come out with almost Pyrrhic victories.
It's not an action-packed book, although there are many scenes of action in it. It's just the overall tone that gripped me and had me devouring page after page. Make no doubt, this is a book filled with emotion of all sorts.
One or two very minor typos, but nothing that takes away from the story.
I highly recommend this book for any reader of general crime fiction.
It's not often that I'll rate a book this highly. But when it's this good, credit has to be given. The author here has delivered a book that is tight, very well paced, doesn't mince hard details sometimes, and is an utterly terrific read.
The Moth didn't start out as a pawnbroker. But that's what he is today, and over the first few chapters we see his progression from childhood to adult, see what has shaped him, what has made him into the man he is today. While the supporting cast of minor characters is varied and numerous, there are never too many characters at any one point and it's easy to follow the flow of the narrative.
Speaking of narrative, this isn't exactly a standard novel where everything flows neatly into one another. Rather, it reads like a series of vignettes into Moth's life, in relatively chronological order. Each vignette could possibly be taken on its own as a short story, but the overall arc is what ties everything together. That appealed to me. Even though I read this book in one sitting pretty much, it would be easy to stop at the end of a chapter and pick things up at a later time.
There aren't a lot of lengthy scene descriptions in this one, just enough to let the reader know the setting. However, to me this book just exudes atmosphere. Atmosphere around Moth, his dealings, successes and failures, attempts to live by his own moral boundaries, and the neighborhood he lives in.
This book is all too relatable for some reason. Not that I am like Moth, but I genuinely could get into his shoes, his thoughts, his actions. Among numerous individuals and organizations, as it were, he finds a way to somehow just manage to come out with almost Pyrrhic victories.
It's not an action-packed book, although there are many scenes of action in it. It's just the overall tone that gripped me and had me devouring page after page. Make no doubt, this is a book filled with emotion of all sorts.
One or two very minor typos, but nothing that takes away from the story.
I highly recommend this book for any reader of general crime fiction.
February 28, 2025
Scott Archer Jones’ The Moth is a gritty, noir-infused dive into the underbelly of East L.A., where crime, ambition, and survival blur into one murky existence. The titular character, the Moth, is a small-time hustler with grand aspirations—hoping to rise from the world of pawn-shop schemes to become a criminal mastermind. But in a place where the lines between friend and foe are razor-thin, his shaky moral compass and constant run-ins with local gangs, crooked cops, and backstabbing criminals make for a turbulent ride.
What makes The Moth so compelling is its dark humor and sharp, unflinching prose. Jones crafts a protagonist who is deeply flawed yet strangely likable, navigating a world where every decision teeters between opportunity and disaster. The Moth’s interactions—with the fierce all-female Arpías gang, the detective pulling his strings, and the shady figures drifting through his pawn shop—add layers of tension and unpredictability.
This isn’t a story of a criminal mastermind in the making—it’s a story of someone always a step behind, fumbling toward power but constantly undercut by his own missteps. The novel delivers both action and introspection, balancing streetwise scheming with moments of dark existential reflection.
Final Verdict
The Moth is a razor-sharp crime novel filled with wit, grit, and unexpected heart. Fans of noir and hard-boiled fiction will find themselves drawn into its bleak but captivating world, where ambition is often a losing game, and survival is its own kind of victory. A must-read for those who enjoy crime fiction that’s as darkly comedic as it is thrilling.
What makes The Moth so compelling is its dark humor and sharp, unflinching prose. Jones crafts a protagonist who is deeply flawed yet strangely likable, navigating a world where every decision teeters between opportunity and disaster. The Moth’s interactions—with the fierce all-female Arpías gang, the detective pulling his strings, and the shady figures drifting through his pawn shop—add layers of tension and unpredictability.
This isn’t a story of a criminal mastermind in the making—it’s a story of someone always a step behind, fumbling toward power but constantly undercut by his own missteps. The novel delivers both action and introspection, balancing streetwise scheming with moments of dark existential reflection.
Final Verdict
The Moth is a razor-sharp crime novel filled with wit, grit, and unexpected heart. Fans of noir and hard-boiled fiction will find themselves drawn into its bleak but captivating world, where ambition is often a losing game, and survival is its own kind of victory. A must-read for those who enjoy crime fiction that’s as darkly comedic as it is thrilling.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 28, 2025
The Moth, the noir novel by Scott Archer Jones, propels readers on the path of a sad, gray inhabitant of East Los Angeles, a perfect anti-hero for this deep dive into the lives of a cast of characters living on the edge of poverty in situations that begin in misery and go downhill from there. It’s crime fiction in its most convoluted and human form. Frank, aka Moth, enters the story in 2010. He’s a pawnbroker, hiding from the worst predators in his world and eking out small profits from lending to those up against debts they’ll never get ahead of.
A series of chapters beginning in 1955 offer clues to how he became who he is. His own past—the only child of a brute Irish father and devout, Lithuanian, immigrant mother—can only be described as poverty laced with misery that began in Chicago and ended up in East LA. He learned the streets the hard way, by being a victim. Yet he persistently “does what he does, he waits.” Over the years, he also learns how to capitalize on his innocuous status by becoming a reliable source of supplies for the “real criminals,” and eventually as a possibly reliable informant for law enforcement. He learns about people.
Scott Archer Jones’ narrator dispassionately displays the full range of human miseries among the marginalized. Characters and action seems heartbreakingly real. The central character, Moth, is fully developed with depth that prompts an empathetic reader to find redeeming qualities even in his worst acts. I recommend The Moth without reservation.
A series of chapters beginning in 1955 offer clues to how he became who he is. His own past—the only child of a brute Irish father and devout, Lithuanian, immigrant mother—can only be described as poverty laced with misery that began in Chicago and ended up in East LA. He learned the streets the hard way, by being a victim. Yet he persistently “does what he does, he waits.” Over the years, he also learns how to capitalize on his innocuous status by becoming a reliable source of supplies for the “real criminals,” and eventually as a possibly reliable informant for law enforcement. He learns about people.
Scott Archer Jones’ narrator dispassionately displays the full range of human miseries among the marginalized. Characters and action seems heartbreakingly real. The central character, Moth, is fully developed with depth that prompts an empathetic reader to find redeeming qualities even in his worst acts. I recommend The Moth without reservation.
February 22, 2025
I didn’t know what I was going to get when I picked up Scott Archer Jones’s novel, but I’m glad I did. The Moth is a throwback to the Dashiell Hammett, Elmore Leonard, James Ellroy days, where men were tough but flawed and women had that certain Hollywood flair to them, even when they were women of the night. The short sentences. The time period(s) and settings. The ethnic flavor and the quick wit and street-smart characters walking the dirty pavement of their lives, it’s all magical. Jones pulls you into the Moth’s world and drags you whether you like it or not right through the rugged streets of Frank’s (the Moth’s) life so you feel the pebbles digging into your knees, so you feel the Moth’s loves and losses, so you’re gut-punched but like Jones’s characters, you keep on trucking.
If it’s not clear yet, there’s a certain rough-edged music to the narrative, just like in the great ones—Ellroy’s American Tabloid, Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon, Leonard’s Get Shorty. Of course, Moth is also a novel written in the same vein—organized crime, violence, and savvy, charismatic characters hauling their hubris on their backs like monkeys. We flash to the past and live in the present, and what’s clear is that Jones knows the people and places and cultures he writes about. What stood out is that the Moth isn’t some tough guy working everyone over—he’s human. He’s vulnerable. He’s flawed. And we feel like we know him, or know someone like him, and that makes him all the more relatable.
If it’s not clear yet, there’s a certain rough-edged music to the narrative, just like in the great ones—Ellroy’s American Tabloid, Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon, Leonard’s Get Shorty. Of course, Moth is also a novel written in the same vein—organized crime, violence, and savvy, charismatic characters hauling their hubris on their backs like monkeys. We flash to the past and live in the present, and what’s clear is that Jones knows the people and places and cultures he writes about. What stood out is that the Moth isn’t some tough guy working everyone over—he’s human. He’s vulnerable. He’s flawed. And we feel like we know him, or know someone like him, and that makes him all the more relatable.
April 2, 2025
Good mix of drama, crime, action, and pathos.
The Moth (aka Frank) wasn't always a pawnbroker, but that seems to be the best fit for this misfit. Jones's protagonist is a down-on-his-luck guy who really can't seem to make things work. He's got a good heart but no real way to make a plan to get places. We follow him as he tries (and often spectacularly fails) to do something good for someone or even for himself. I found myself wanting to shake poor Frank and tell him to think things through, but Frank probably wouldn't listen anyways. There's a bit of wandering as Frank has a bunch of tragic misadventures, but there's an undercurrent that builds up to a final conflict. Unlike most noirs, this one doesn't center on a case, it's not a setup, it's not even one problem. It's Frank, falling down, and then getting back up. Repeatedly. It's tenacity.
For a gritty noir/crime drama centered on a character who's not a private detective, you've got The Moth. I found the character compelling, though doomed to mistake after mistake. There's a good mix of character drama (and wow, Frank really can get himself into a pickle all by himself), crime (plenty of that) and action (some exciting action scenes that could have seemed like it fit more in a Reacher or Bond story, but Jones always keeps Frank grounded by his limitations--he's a pawnbroker, not a Green Beret). Refreshingly, this isn't a typical femme fatale (or variations) type of story, but more about a guy trying to do the right thing but he just doesn't have the toolkit.
The Moth (aka Frank) wasn't always a pawnbroker, but that seems to be the best fit for this misfit. Jones's protagonist is a down-on-his-luck guy who really can't seem to make things work. He's got a good heart but no real way to make a plan to get places. We follow him as he tries (and often spectacularly fails) to do something good for someone or even for himself. I found myself wanting to shake poor Frank and tell him to think things through, but Frank probably wouldn't listen anyways. There's a bit of wandering as Frank has a bunch of tragic misadventures, but there's an undercurrent that builds up to a final conflict. Unlike most noirs, this one doesn't center on a case, it's not a setup, it's not even one problem. It's Frank, falling down, and then getting back up. Repeatedly. It's tenacity.
For a gritty noir/crime drama centered on a character who's not a private detective, you've got The Moth. I found the character compelling, though doomed to mistake after mistake. There's a good mix of character drama (and wow, Frank really can get himself into a pickle all by himself), crime (plenty of that) and action (some exciting action scenes that could have seemed like it fit more in a Reacher or Bond story, but Jones always keeps Frank grounded by his limitations--he's a pawnbroker, not a Green Beret). Refreshingly, this isn't a typical femme fatale (or variations) type of story, but more about a guy trying to do the right thing but he just doesn't have the toolkit.
June 8, 2025
Scott Archer Jones has written a dark, complex, and compelling page-turner. The Moth is gripping enough to hold this reader’s attention start to finish in one sitting. Jones’s vivid descriptions evoked visceral reactions—a mouthful of grit, skin stripped raw, the taste of blood, and the cracking of bones. In childhood and adolescence, the main character, Frank, is battered and beaten by circumstances beyond his control. As an adult he learns to survive in a brutal environment, negotiating a gritty life of poverty, crime, and entrapment. Frank trips into circumstances of those less fortunate than himself and he cannot look away. His efforts to help ultimately backfire. Empathy, and grief over his lost love, set in motion a steep slide from stealing as his only means of helping others, to negotiating with opposing factions vying for control of his neighborhood, to entrapment by a corrupt police detective. Danger escalates at every turn. Frank is caught between choices with no good outcomes. He is broken physically, emotionally, and financially. But throughout, he retains his ability to think, to plan, and to wait. I could not help but root for The Moth.
January 17, 2026
The Moth is a gritty, ironic crime novel that thrives in moral gray zones. Scott Archer Jones delivers a protagonist who is neither hero nor villain, but something far more interesting: a small-time criminal with decent instincts, terrible judgment, and a constant talent for making things worse.
What makes the book compelling is its voice. The Moth’s pawn-shop schemes, half formed ambitions, and recurring humiliations are rendered with sharp wit and an unflinching eye for consequence. East L.A. isn’t just a setting it’s an active force, chewing him up alongside manipulative detectives, rival criminals, and the formidable Arpías gang.
The novel excels at showing how good intentions collapse under pressure. Every deal carries risk, every walk in promises either profit or disaster, and the Moth’s desire to be a criminal mastermind consistently outpaces his actual leverage. The result is darkly funny, tense, and quietly tragic.
This is crime fiction that understands character first. Fans of noir, antiheroes, and socially grounded crime novels will appreciate how The Moth balances humor, brutality, and pathos without ever romanticizing the underworld it depicts.
What makes the book compelling is its voice. The Moth’s pawn-shop schemes, half formed ambitions, and recurring humiliations are rendered with sharp wit and an unflinching eye for consequence. East L.A. isn’t just a setting it’s an active force, chewing him up alongside manipulative detectives, rival criminals, and the formidable Arpías gang.
The novel excels at showing how good intentions collapse under pressure. Every deal carries risk, every walk in promises either profit or disaster, and the Moth’s desire to be a criminal mastermind consistently outpaces his actual leverage. The result is darkly funny, tense, and quietly tragic.
This is crime fiction that understands character first. Fans of noir, antiheroes, and socially grounded crime novels will appreciate how The Moth balances humor, brutality, and pathos without ever romanticizing the underworld it depicts.
February 24, 2025
The Moth is a pawnbroker and purveyor of extralegal tools of various nefarious trades. Jones tells his story with lyrical prose that juxtaposes against the gritty and often violent world that the Moth inhabits. We are all the sum of all the experiences of our lives. Jones demonstrates this brilliantly through chapters which show the reader the life which has created the Moth. Each expertly crafted chapter reads almost like a short story. From childhood through to his later years, we see a man who sees no justice in the world around him, a man who is consistently afraid and consumed for the most part with his own survival, but sometimes allows a noble spirit to shine through. The Moth sometimes shows an unexpected tenderness towards those who live even lower in society. The reader comes away with empathy for those who live in the grayness between legal and illegal, moral and immoral, survival and death. Highly recommend.
February 8, 2025
I wasn’t prepared to like the Moth -a rather shriveled old pawn shop owner who, along with his public pawn service, caters to the criminal elements in East LA. But he turned out to be intelligent and to have a sense of ethics, based as it was in a life of poverty and the jobs people do to try to escape or survive those situations. I was rooting for him by the second or third chapter. The story is fast-paced with competing criminal elements. The Moth can’t seem to catch a break – especially in his search for love and from his acts of kindness. The story is told with colorful language throughout. An example from mid book: “The turd floating downstream on the squalid river of events appeared the week after the Moth arrived home.” It was a fun read that revealed the good mixed in with the bad.
March 14, 2025
The Moth has a fascinating main character, who combines a propensity for crime with a soft heart that leads him to take care of victims and the homeless, especially women and children. It is this odd combination that makes The Moth such compelling reading. You want to know what this improbable character will do next. You feel for him the way he feels for other, and as the novel advances, he becomes more and more complex, like a moth, but also perhaps like a spider, sitting at the center of a criminal web and able to manipulate all those who participate in it, often without them knowing what he is doing. He is a character it is easy for others to underestimate, and the do. But the reader understands how complex he is, how powerful despite his apparent powerlessness, how capable of loving, of ambition, of plans, of desire.
February 1, 2025
DNF/104
I really hate to do this, but I can't continue with this book. I'm being completely honest, so I have to say that I didn't get far, but it's just not good. The writing is bad. I don't enjoy the style, and the synopsis telling me it was a moth owning a pawn shop, actually isn't as interesting as I thought it would be.
To be fair to the book, that last point is on me. It's not a visual medium, so I don't really know what I expected to get. Either way, I didn't get it.
I gave the book 2 stars. 1 on account of hating, and the second on account of not finishing it, so I can't really say how good the book gets.
I am sorry. Bad book.
I really hate to do this, but I can't continue with this book. I'm being completely honest, so I have to say that I didn't get far, but it's just not good. The writing is bad. I don't enjoy the style, and the synopsis telling me it was a moth owning a pawn shop, actually isn't as interesting as I thought it would be.
To be fair to the book, that last point is on me. It's not a visual medium, so I don't really know what I expected to get. Either way, I didn't get it.
I gave the book 2 stars. 1 on account of hating, and the second on account of not finishing it, so I can't really say how good the book gets.
I am sorry. Bad book.
June 14, 2025
Every action leads to a stunning reaction in this epic poem of the downtrodden and the macabre world of East Los Angeles. Finely tuned vernacular helps draw distinctive voices: Mexican, African American, Russian, Lithuanian, young, old. Most are on the wrong side of the law, including the officers who enforce it. Sharply drawn, concise scenes deliver a well-controlled narrative capable of making your heart ache, your palms sweat and your stomach turn. You’ll ride shotgun through a lifespan of doing the bad that seems justified and the good that just fuels more trouble.
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