THE FAST BUCK is one of those books that drops you right down in the middle of the action and lets you catch up as you go along. Joe Chicagano, also known as Joe Chicago, is a down-on-his-luck prizefighter who gets involved with the Mob following World War II. He’s not much more successful as a hood than he was as a boxer, and as this novel opens, he’s regaining consciousness on the floorboard of a car being driven by a beautiful woman he calls Legs, because that’s all he can see of her as he comes to. He’s been beaten up and as the mysterious woman shoves him out of the car into the gutter, all he knows for sure is that somebody stole ten thousand dollars from him, and he’s going to get it back no matter what it takes. Then he discovers that the police think he died in a fiery car crash the night before. When he starts trying to figure out what happened to him and find out who took his money, people he talks to have a habit of being murdered in circumstances that make the cops think he’s the killer. Joe’s not the smartest guy in the world and he knows it, but he’s extremely stubborn – and he wants his money back.From here the author really piles on the complications, packing several competing groups of mobsters, stolen gems that were looted during World War II, numerous murders, boxers, and actors into not much more than 40,000 words, if that. The headlong pace of this book is its real strength, along with the occasional good line and some vividly sordid descriptions of various lowlifes and their environment. Don’t mistake this for some sort of lost classic, though. It’s not. The writing, for the most part, is too unpolished and awkward for that. As far as I’ve been able to determine, Ross Laurence wrote only this one book. I wondered at first if the name was a pseudonym for an author better known under some other byline, but I don’t think so. THE FAST BUCK really reads like a first novel, with flashes of real talent struggling to get out through the amateurish writing. If anyone knows more about the author, I’d be really interested to hear it. I wouldn’t rush out to find a copy of this book, but if you run across it, it’s worth reading for the unrealized potential you can see in the author, if for no other reason.
11 comments:
Those ACE novels were hit or miss, for every good one, there was one that I struggled getting through. But they sure had great covers. This one I have an interest in because of the boxing element in the story-I'll keep an eye out for it.
Bruno Fischer wrote a good novel called "The Fast Buck", it was published by Gold Medal and that story is winner....
Even though a couple of characters are prizefighters and there's some talk about the fight game, there's very little boxing in this one.
I like books that start with a bang. When I'm out antique and flea market hopping, I'll look for this one. I've become a collector of authors whose body of work includes only one or two books... James, do you know who wrote Longarm and the Happiness Killers?
I believe that's one of Pete Brandvold's.
Your description of The Fast Buck sounds a lot like the plot to Someone Owes Me Money by Evan Hunter (I think). The protagonist is a determined, not too bright, taxi driver who own big on a race tip but finds his bookie murdered when he goes to collect. He wants his money even those two different mobs both think he's the killer.
Thanks. It's next on my western list.
Somebody Owes Me Money = Donald Westlake. I'm reading it now and really enjoying it!
Usually in these stories from the 50s, these bum boxers are just a step away from a crime or dragged in somehow. You don't need the fight game. Boxing for these characters was a way to make some cash (not glamour), so the step to a seedy life or involvement in some crooked activity is always within their reach.
Good stuff!
A.W.
Wow. Love that cover. I wish I ran into the ACE novels in used bookstores, but I never do. Someone in Texas (or two of you) must snatch them up.
someone owes me money I think was recently republished by hardcase.
"Someone Owes Me Money" was written by Donald Westlake. i was wrong when I said Hunter. And I read it from the recent Hard Case reprinting. Had a pretty nice cover, too.
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