hired killer turns out to be something else, gangs, Irish and FBI stuggle over wide open town

Taking a step back from the Burke novels was probably one of the smarter things Vachss has done - Two Trains Running isn't a marked improvement over them (I've come to accept that while I enjoy them, they're not great literature), but it's an interesting variation. The plot shifts between varying characters -- mob bosses, juvenile gang members, etc. (though it mostly focuses on Burke-alike Walker Dett) -- and has a sort of ticking time bomb intensity to it. The late-50s setting is also a nice shift away from Vachss's other novels, and gives the proceedings a bit of a higher-stakes feel to it. With just a little more polish on some of the subplots, this would really be something. ( )

Vachss proves once again that he is great at writing a good old-fashioned, crime noir story. However while I did enjoy the book, there were still some flaws and issues that I had which took away from the overall novel.

The story, based in late 1959, involves Royal Beaumont, a self-professed hillbilly, who rules the town of Locke City with an iron fist. When the mafia start trying to muscle in on his business, Beaumont hires an outside enforcer who turns out to also be a great strategist. Throw into the mix some racial discord along with an Irish mob and corrupt FBI agents and you'll have all the pieces.

The problem was that the final picture included a little too much. The social and business interactions of the various groups were already a bit stretched. Then when Vachss threw in a bunch of political positioning too, it became too much and things didn't seem to gel together. Motives of the different groups were never clear. I don't think they were too complex for me to understand; I never saw them as being clear. And then to make matters worse, too many of the characters all read the same. At least four characters could be described as criminals with a strong moral or sense of honor. The source of their morals differed (racial pride or tortured soul being the two major ones) but their dialogue was interchangeable. It made the story difficult and not ring out as true. All in all, Vachss has done a much better job. ( )

Once a devastated mill town, by 1956 Locke City has established itself as a thriving center of vice tourism. The city is controlled by boss Royal Beaumont, who took it by force many years ago. He ups the ante by importing a hired killer, Walker Dett, a master tactician whose trademark is wholesale destruction. ( )

I love Vachss's Burke novels, even though I had to stop reading them for a while after my kids were born (too disturbing). This one's a little bit different than the Burke books in that there are lots of characters and it's set in the recent past (1959). But it's typical of Vachss's other books in its lean prose, violence, atypical but powerful moral code, and unusual relationships. I don't think I'd say one "enjoys" a Vachss novel, but one does come away from them with a passion to do something about violence and evil.

So, anyway, if you like Vachss, you'll probably like this book. If you can't handle dark and violent, you probably shouldn't read this one. ( )