Bang Bang

Gangi serves up a judicious portion of gangsta street talk (“Break out the raws, cuzzie-cuz”), rough romance and raw violence in this exciting and gritty debut thriller. Even though he's 38 and been working the streets for years, Izzy is what is known in crime circles as a “stickup kid”—a gunman who preys on other criminals. He and his partner, the jittery, brutal Mal, have one hard-and-fast rule when pulling a job: once they kill someone, all the witnesses have to die. Since their victims are armed thugs, this rule usually results in a roomful of bodies. Mal is the chief killer, but he insists that Izzy contribute his fair share. Through a series of improbable scenarios, Izzy ends up on the run from a gang of vicious Albanians after refusing to shoot his girlfriend when she witnesses Mal shooting several dealers. That shouldn't faze any reader willing to let plausibility take a back seat to compelling action and reluctant admiration for cool, well-spoken Izzy. (Nov.)