I
try to keep my reviews clean and I try to find words to describe my emotions on
a book that aren’t of the four-letter variety, but I need to make an exception
for the book I just finished reading: Holy
shit, I just got my ass kicked by Daniel Vlasaty and his new book, A New and Different Kind of Pain. This book is an insanely great slice of hard boiled
noir. After reading this I can honestly say I may have already read the best
book I will read this year. It is killer with no filler type of good.
Vlasaty
made my best of 2016 with Only Bones, but this book makes that one look like
child’s play (and that says a shit load about this book). The leap Vlasaty
takes from Only Bones to this book is a kin to nothing I have experienced
before. This book reads like it was written by a noir master (I have a feeling
that may be truer than some people realize).
The
plot is simple; David works for a true hard core bad ass man, Anthony
Benedetti, and is entrusted to pick up a case containing a half million
dollars. He is attacked in route to dropping the case off and loses the money.
Even though he is like a son to
Benedetti, he, his wife, and his unborn child are going to die if he
can’t get the money back.
Not
to spoil anything, but what I loved about this book was the plot doesn’t unfold
in a manner in which David finds a clue to who these men are and chases them
down. Hell no, this is book keeps it true and real. This book digs into the
heart of paranoia of saving oneself and the people you love. This book is not
the sum of all its parts…instead it multiplies each part by its other parts and
comes out with a product that is beyond almost anything I have read in a long
while.
The
fact that this book was put out by All Due Respect is not lost on me. They have
consistently put out the types of books I love to read. They seek out the dark,
hardcore noir and bring it to life under their banner. They have just published
one of their best books ever and, if you are reading what they are publishing,
you know that says a whole hell of a lot.
Highly
recommended. Reviewed by Derrick Horodyski.
