Publisher's Weekly
Charyn's 20th book ( War Cries over Avenue C, etc.) is sparer and easier to read than some of his works, but has all of their best elements: offbeat, interesting characters, seedy urban settings and distinctive prose. It is a crime story whose protagonist and romantic hero is a hitman or ''bumper''he is called ''Paradise Man'' because he sends people into the next worldwho dresses like a dandy and yearns for his lost love. Paradise Man, aka The Frog, aka Holden, works for the Aladdin Fur Company in Manhattan, making sure bills are paid and guarding the company's patterns. Holden gets into trouble when he does a freelance job for La Familia, a group of powerful Cuban criminals at war with the Bandidosstet, more recent emigres from Castro's jails. He kills two con artists ripping off La Familia but, disobeying orders to leave no witnesses, does not harm the little girl he finds with them, taking her instead to be cared for by a friend. He then becomes the object of a series of murder attempts throughout New York City. Furriers, restaurateurs, lawyers and the Queens D.A. are, here, no better than Holden, who at least has a code of honor and a gentle nature. This is a convoluted tale in both narrative and moral terms, and a fascinating one.
Library Journal
Sidney Holden is not the usual fictional enforcer/killer. Based in New York, this French-born orphan who wears only bespoke tailoring is well paid to protect the interests of a Paris-based crime czar. During an assignment he encounters a small girl he believes is a god to a Cuban emigre criminal/religious group called the Banditos. When he is loaned out as a political favor to recover the kidnapped daughter of the district attorney he falls in love with the woman and afoul of almost everyone else in the criminal and judicial systems. His attempts to stay alive, restore the child-god to her believers, and discover something about his parents take him through the fur trade, ghettos, hideouts, and highlife of greater New York. This strange blend of fantasy and thriller will certainly not be to everyone's taste. Charyn's previous novels include War Cries Over Avenue C . John North, LRC, Ryerson Polytechnical Inst., Toronto
Genre: Mystery
Charyn's 20th book ( War Cries over Avenue C, etc.) is sparer and easier to read than some of his works, but has all of their best elements: offbeat, interesting characters, seedy urban settings and distinctive prose. It is a crime story whose protagonist and romantic hero is a hitman or ''bumper''he is called ''Paradise Man'' because he sends people into the next worldwho dresses like a dandy and yearns for his lost love. Paradise Man, aka The Frog, aka Holden, works for the Aladdin Fur Company in Manhattan, making sure bills are paid and guarding the company's patterns. Holden gets into trouble when he does a freelance job for La Familia, a group of powerful Cuban criminals at war with the Bandidosstet, more recent emigres from Castro's jails. He kills two con artists ripping off La Familia but, disobeying orders to leave no witnesses, does not harm the little girl he finds with them, taking her instead to be cared for by a friend. He then becomes the object of a series of murder attempts throughout New York City. Furriers, restaurateurs, lawyers and the Queens D.A. are, here, no better than Holden, who at least has a code of honor and a gentle nature. This is a convoluted tale in both narrative and moral terms, and a fascinating one.
Library Journal
Sidney Holden is not the usual fictional enforcer/killer. Based in New York, this French-born orphan who wears only bespoke tailoring is well paid to protect the interests of a Paris-based crime czar. During an assignment he encounters a small girl he believes is a god to a Cuban emigre criminal/religious group called the Banditos. When he is loaned out as a political favor to recover the kidnapped daughter of the district attorney he falls in love with the woman and afoul of almost everyone else in the criminal and judicial systems. His attempts to stay alive, restore the child-god to her believers, and discover something about his parents take him through the fur trade, ghettos, hideouts, and highlife of greater New York. This strange blend of fantasy and thriller will certainly not be to everyone's taste. Charyn's previous novels include War Cries Over Avenue C . John North, LRC, Ryerson Polytechnical Inst., Toronto
Genre: Mystery
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