> and just to keep the missive on-topic, I've finally
pulled Marcel
Montecino's
> 3rd and final novel SACRED HEART off my TBR shelf.
Montecino's debut
back in
> '88 was a pretty good cop story called THE
CROSSKILLER that showed
flashes of
> brilliance, but nothing that would prepare one for
his stunning follow
up BIG
> TIME. Big Time concerned a New Orleans piano player
with a gambling
problem,
> who blows town in thrilling fashion to escape the
local mob. he
re-invents h
> imself, but falls for a beautiful singer in Rio who
jumpstarts his
> songwriting career. of course, his new found fame
leads his enemies
to his
> door.
>
> SACRED HEART is period, set in New York during
prohibition, and the
> protagonist is the trigger happy son of an Irish
mobster. at least,
so far
> it is. the blurb leads one to believe that after
everything goes to
shit, he
> hooks up with his older brother, a priest down in
Mexico.
>
> Montecino's work is typified by searing dramatic
scenes, as well as
> borderline gratuitous sex and violence. he made a
big Hollywood score
in the
> early 90's and went on a huge substance abuse binge.
he finally got
his shit
> back together and wrote Sacred heart, which as I
recollect from the
book
> signing I attended, is ultimately about redemption.
then he died. he
was
> not an old man, but the years had taken their
toll.
>
> John Lau
> --
It's funny but I'd just been thinking about this guy recently
& wondering what had happened to him. I'd read THE
CROSSKILLER around the time it came out & thought it was
very good - although I'm not sure why I read it, the
paperback looked like one of those airport bestsellers; I
must have read a good review. I read BIG TIME as well but for
some reason it didn't really grab me. I don't remember
anything about it now. It's a shame he passed away, I think
the guy had a lot of potential & now he's practically
forgotten.
Rene
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