Flamingos

The second caper novel (after Scratch ) about the dark days and nights of the Scorcese crime family features direct-hit dialogue and a subtly dysfunctional plot. Ex-cons and grifters, model-handsome black Elvis Mahoney (his pop once sold the King a Caddy) and graying hippie Del Rebus, hit Phoenix, Ariz., with big plans and a light bankroll. Also there is aging mobster Joseph Scorcese, lying low with his bar-owner son Paul while recovering from an unsuccessful hit in New York City that might have been organized by another son. Unwittingly conning the old man in a dog-race investment scheme, Elvis and Del find themselves in deep trouble with at least some of Scorcese's family. Narrative maneuvers, in particular the offstage mob action and Del's deep-rooted wish to wreak revenge on the city that ruined his father, may not be as effective as Savage's rapid-fire crime talk and individual scenes that shimmer in the baking landscape. Even so, this one offers guaranteed satisfaction. (Aug.)