A hard-boiled action novel that takes place on the seedy side of Ponce de Leon Avenue (pronounced "Ponss" or "Pon-cey" by Atlanta natives) during the late 1990's. The diner on the front cover is the (in)famous Majestic Diner which, until 2022 or so, bragged "We Never Close" and was a great site for after-bar-hopping food. It's open during daylight hours these days; hoping it can return to its seedy greatness.

Told from the POV of Sam Fuller, an ex-con living in a trailer on Lake Lanier, there is biting commentary and sardonic wit on Fuller's history and those he meets. He's approached early on by a slick lawyer who wants his wife killed, at which point Fuller goes and warns the wife. Then decides to take a long vacation only to find that events have skyrocketed past what would be a normal murder-for-hire situation.

Joined at a Single-Room-Occupancy hotel on Ponce by a double-amputee, a giant man with limited speech, and a driver for a mortuary service, Fuller decides to look into who is trying to kill him and why. And while some of the wry humor and sardonic wit work, there's also a whole lotta detail of one group tied into another tied into a third that makes it almost but not quite work. It reminds me a lot of the Burke novels by Andrew Vachss, and it is wonderfully refreshing to see modern Atlanta as a setting for novels of all genres. ( )

Wow, this one's a bit tough to describe. Bad guys against worse bad guys? If it were a movie or tv show, you'd have to know "violence, sex, language". The strange thing is that it is a quick and very entertaining read. Total escapism.


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A good story with great characters. Who knew Atlanta could be so backwoods? ( )

This book was quite funny in some parts. I live in Atlanta and really enjoyed reading about places I pass by nearly every day. The main characters seem very much like characters from a Cohen Brothers movie! ( )

In the first few chapters, a rich Republican asks the hero to kill his wife, a Republican politician induces a solitary orgasm while watching anti-abortion wackos throw fetuses at a 15-year-old girl, and (presumably) Republican businessmen refuse to tip their waitresses. I stopped reading after the narrator has a dream in which everyone in America turns into cockroaches the day after Ronald Reagan is elected. I've read and enjoyed many books where conservatives are cast as the villains, but this isn't a novel - it's a dehumanizing and contempt-filled screed. But that's just my reaction. If you enjoy books by Michael Moore or Al Franken (and many people do), you'll probably love this. ( )