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Rating: 
Summary: Crime, sex, drugs, rock n'roll, this is the one
Review: Staggeringly good little crime book. If Dashiell Hammett was smoking hash in Amsterdam, this is where he'd be. Stunning women, really flashy writing, can hardly compare it to anything in the crime fiction field. This is something really different
Rating: 
Summary: A Total Failure
Review: This weak, wanna-be noir, crime novel is undone by weak characterizations and a plot that goes nowhere. The story of Eddie, an American hustler in antiques and whatever else he can turn a profit on, starts with him bumming around Amsterdam, doing hashish, checking out art, and meeting a beautiful and mysterious woman. Though her, he gets involved with a nasty Swiss-German thug and another beautiful woman. Then there's his stunning actress wife back in England... It starts to reek of author wish-fulfillment after a certain point. Veronese throws lots of art history references into the story, but that can't hide the fact that it's never at all clear why these women are drawn to Eddie. There's a lot of crap spouted by almost everyone (bikers and rock stars included) but the story all boils down to drugs and money. There's no reason to care about Eddie or any other characters, and Veronese's writing is unmemorable. If it's a homage to pulp fiction or film noir, it's an utter failure.
Rating:
Summary: Stunningly tasty piece of crime fiction
Review: Wow! Just when I thought I'd had it with mystery... This book was recommended by George Pelecanos. It's not like anything I've read. The action takes place in Amsterdam and London, and deals with lust, deceit, drugs, femme fatales, crooked cops and then some. The writing style is superb, crafted with a knife. The author's mastery of description, evocation of scene, construction of strange, beguiling characters, is out of sight. I had to scour used book stores to find this gem. If you like something different, this is a the one. Check out the scenes at the Amsterdam flea market, the red light districts, the hashish bars, the London rock scene. Brilliant.
Rating:
Summary: Stunningly tasty piece of crime fiction
Review: Wow! Just when I thought I'd had it with mystery... This book was recommended by George Pelecanos. It's not like anything I've read. The action takes place in Amsterdam and London, and deals with lust, deceit, drugs, femme fatales, crooked cops and then some. The writing style is superb, crafted with a knife. The author's mastery of description, evocation of scene, construction of strange, beguiling characters, is out of sight. I had to scour used book stores to find this gem. If you like something different, this is a the one. Check out the scenes at the Amsterdam flea market, the red light districts, the hashish bars, the London rock scene. Brilliant.
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