RARA-AVIS: Just finished: Mongo's Back in Town

From: Doug Bassett ( dj_bassett@yahoo.com)
Date: 03 Jun 2000


E. Richard Johnson's MONGO'S BACK IN TOWN

I believe this is one of Mario Taboda's favorites. Picked it up for a few bucks in one of those "Bargain Book" catalogs and yeah, it's pretty good. Hitman comes back home to settle scores, but other people have other ideas. Notable for having a decided lack of likable characters (there's a couple of good guy FBI agents, but they're fairly ineffective) and for an unrelenting, gritty atmosphere. Sort of reminds me of a prime Seventies-era Bronson movie -- indeed, it would've been interesting to see the DEATH WISH/MECHANIC-era Bronson tackle this.

The plot relies on a hoary mystery cliche, but Johnson keeps everything moving so quickly that you barely notice it. The prose is mostly tight: Johnson only loses control in spots where he's trying for a kind of hardboiled poetic feeling that I don't think really works. In short, not one of my favorites but still damn good and worth recommending.

Anyone have any opinions on Johnson's other works? And is he still alive?

doug

 

===== Doug Bassett dj_bassett@yahoo.com

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