I recently read THE JONES MEN by Vern E. Smith that was
republished by Norton's "Old School Books" series in 1998.
Back in 1974, it was nominated for the Best First Novel
Edgar. The setting is the bleak drug culture of the Detroit
ghetto of the early 70s. I like the opening line:
"For Bennie Lee Sims' wake, Lennie Jack chose the sky-blue
Fleetwood with the chromed-up bumpers and the bar-line
running from the trunk to the dash, dispensing six different
liquors with chaser."
Vern E. Smith knew this world well as a journalist and it
shows on every page. The action is quite fast, at times
almost too fast to follow. There are some wonderfully drawn
characters, many great scenes, and a finely-detailed portrait
of a time and place as hard and dangerous as anything in noir
fiction.
I had some trouble getting into the book as the characters
flew by so fast in their introduction it was difficult for me
to keep them straight. Another problem I had was that there
were no characters I really cared about or felt personal
involvement with in the novel. I recognize this old-fashioned
prejudice may not bother some readers but it did somewhat
limit my enjoyment of a novel that was impressive in many
ways.
THE JONES MEN was a great debut but was never followed by a
second. The intro to this addition said Smith had
concentrated on his career at Newsweek and only recently had
begun a second novel. If it ever appears I will certainly buy
it.
Richard Moore
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