Marcus Sakey, The Blade Itself

The Blade Itself

Marcus Sakey

St. Martin's Press, January 2007, $22.95

ISBN: 0312360312

In the Irish Bridgeport section of Chicago, Danny Carter and Evan McGann became friends as kids, and teamed up over the years, starting with shoplifting before turning to robberies. However, on their last pawnshop job, Evan is caught by the cops, while Danny manages to escape. Evan goes to prison for seven years but is finally freed on parole.

Evan returns to Chicago looking to reestablish his partnership in crime with Danny. However, the near incident scared Danny straight into being a "soccer mom". He works construction and lives with his girlfriend Karen, who runs a nightclub. Evan insists Danny owes him and expects him to help him with a crime caper or else. Danny sees his options as limited, between returning to the life of crime by assisting his former best friend, ignoring Evan only to have him come after him or worse Karen, or turn him in to the cops, which goes against the neighborhood code of ethics.

This exciting gritty street thriller starts off at an incredible pace with the failed pawn shop robbery, and never slows down as the two former partners go their separate ways until the convicted one comes home with demands. The characters, especially the mean streets of Chicago, which is so alive it feels like protagonists, make the storyline exciting and fresh, though Evan's planned caper is nothing new. Urban crime readers will appreciate this debut work, that in some ways is reminiscent of Cagney's Public Enemy.