Just Finished Reading: All Involved by Ryan Gattis (FP: 2015) [397pp] 

Los Angeles, April 1992. It was as inevitable as night following day. After the acquittal of the officers accused of killing Rodney King the rioting started. Many saw the following events as a tragic response to a tragic event, others saw it as a complete indictment of the America system, others saw it as an opportunity – for payback, to loot and burn. Others saw it differently. With the police busy elsewhere, indeed everywhere, it opened up a whole world of opportunity including for revenge. As the night started to heat up Ernesto Vera was making his way home after his shift had finished. He was dreaming as always of food, not eating it but cooking it. Ernesto longed to own his own restaurant and to cook food the way he liked it and the way he knew others liked it too. But he would not make it home alive tonight. Despite not being ‘involved’ he is targeted in the absence of his younger brother for a nightclub shooting earlier that week. He should have been safe, outside of the expected rules of retaliation. He was, after all, a civilian in the eyes of the local gangs. But it seemed like those rules no longer applied. Now a response needs to be made. The perpetrators need to be identified and swift justice administered before a total gang war can erupt in South Central. Despite tradition there is only one person that can carry out the counter hit – Ernesto's younger sister Lupe, AKA Payasa. Armed with a ‘borrowed’ 9MM she knows the time and the place where her brothers' killers will be celebrating. All she needs to do is walk in there and start shooting... 

I bought this book YEARS ago because, on a 5 second scan of the blurb, it looked interesting and different. I started reading it for that very reason. Although I had some idea what to expect I had no idea going in how gripping the narrative would be. Honestly it took a little to get into at first. Ernesto’s death was quite brutal but very well handled. It was visceral without being gratuitous. He gets a total of 7 pages in the narrative but in that time you get to know him and his dreams for a better life – you like the guy. Now imagine what the author can do in almost 400 pages. Everyone in this quite complex story is a living breathing person – from the gang members themselves – both the ‘good guys’ and the ‘bad’, to the local nurse, to the fireman and to the graffiti kids just looking to make a name for themselves. The sense of place is amazing. The action takes place over a period of 5 days and we ‘see’ things evolving from around 8-10 points of view each of which adds to the overall feeling of this amazing novel. Each set of eyes has a story behind it. Some are dark, some just fucked up, and some are at least hopeful. Those who know what I like in my novels will not be surprised that I was most impressed by the depth of the characterisation throughout this book. Although few of us would want many of these characters living next door – or even in the same town! - you can’t help but sympathise with (at least some of) their circumstances. Payasa’s posse generated a lot of sympathy and, to be honest, admiration in me for the way they handled themselves throughout the 5 days of the book. I liked them as people. 

Now the caveats/warnings! Being the kind of book this is and the events that unfolded throughout this is definitely NOT a book for the faint of heart. Although not a crime novel per se there is a LOT of criminal activity here – from casual murder, arson, copious drug taking (mostly from a few characters), looting and at least one illegal left turn. Likewise, there is a fair amount of swearing – mostly F bombs but with at least a few C bombs too. It is, from the very first page, most definitely an adult book! But saying that I have to admit that this is THE surprise hit of the year for me. It might have just hit me in the right way at the right time but this completely blew me away with its utter quality. Easily a Top 10 book of the year. Highly recommended for those who can deal with a ‘gunshots and all’ world in the raw.