Smalltime (Bloodlines) (Bloodlines Series)

Readers accustomed to the British country-house variety of murder mystery, go no further; Smalltime, a disturbing first novel by Jerry Raine, has none of the coziness of the dotty spinster detectives or decorous murder-by-poisoned-crumpets that are long associated with British crime stories. The world according to Raine is a universe of mean streets and petty crooks for whom violence comes as naturally as breathing.

Raine's main character is Chris, a guy with a record who lives at the Y and works in a liquor store. All too soon, his path intersects with that of Dashy, a mugger who injures him and Kevin, a thug who provokes him to violence. No doubt Miss Marple would be shocked, but fans of a more hard-boiled school of crime fiction will find Smalltime both well crafted and memorable.