Fighting Back: A Novel

by Charles Alverson

A MAN PUSHED TO HIS BREAKING POINT... When neighborhood thug Charlie Rice comes into Harry Caster's new bar with an ultimatum - give up half the bar or pay the price - Harry wants to give in. Has to give in.

After all, Rice has deep ties to Abe Montera, a local crime boss with a violent reputation. And Rice's own volatile reputation precedes him.

But with a wife and two children at home - and every last dollar invested into the fledgling bar - Harry has no choice.

He has to fight back.

Enlisting the help of a war veteran turned PI, Caster tells Rice that he won't give in under any circumstances. Rice responds by blowing up Caster's car.

And with the stakes now elevated far beyond what either expected, both will soon discover just how far a man must go to protect the ones he loves.

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 30, 2014

Reviews

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is pretty grim, even for a noir detective novel. When the owner of a successful club is approached by a small time mob boss with a deal to share the profits of the club in exchange for not being killed or having his family destroyed, the club owner decides to fight back the only way he can. He hires a private investigator to handle it for him. And handle it he does. Chaos ensues. Well written and full of surprises, bending the PI genre in unexpected ways.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I read it to the end it is not really the type of story I enjoy i.e mob stories. I only read it because it was part of an Alverson box set.

[Philip Garside · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gritty