Review:
“Monroe is a knockout storyteller . . . with dialogue out of The Sopranos and intrigue out of L.A. Confidential.” —Chicago Tribune
“’57, Chicago is a strong and impressive debut . . . written with a fighter’s heart and a writer’s passion. It is a combination that can’t be beaten—in the ring or out . . . strong, fierce, and gripping.” —Lorenzo Carcaterra, author of Sleepers
“Genuinely dramatic.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Former newsman Monroe does a credible job of capturing the gritty feel of 1957 Chicago’s seamier side in his noirish debut, a boxing morality play that focuses on the efforts of down-and-out fight promoter Bobby ‘The Lip’ Lipranski to put together the bout of his life . . . Monroe inserts a deft plot twist that sends the fight itself in an unanticipated direction, distinguishing the book . . . from conventional boxing novels. The result is a solid piece of pulp fiction that pays homage to the various masters of the genre.” —Publisher’s Weekly
“Gritty, atmospheric first novel . . . Monroe fills his novel with fascinating detail on how to run a sports book, and his dialogue crackles with authenticity. Less a crime novel than a slice of underworld life, this impressive debut will remind noir fans of early George Pelecanos.” —Booklist
“Chicago in the mid-fifties. A boxing promoter named Bobby ‘The Lip’ Lipranski and his black fighter Junior ‘The Hammer’ Hamilton. A foxy fur-coat-wearing girlfriend. The Big Fight. Money. Bookies. The fight’s fixed. All you need for a noir novel, it would seem, yet ’57, Chicago ranks many notches above your run-of-the-mill boxing novel. Monroe writes in a slangy, gritty, knife-edged style that packs a big wallop. . . . A welcome addition to the genre.” —Esquire
Synopsis:
A Hard-Boiled Thriller From An Emerging New Voice In Noir Fiction; "Bobby the Lip," a scheming, down-on-his-luck sports promoter, intends to score big by setting up, and fixing, a bout between a big-time heavyweight and a young black contender. But everyone wants a piece of the action, and the Lip finds himself having to outsmart a hungry little crowd of crooks, bookies, detectives, and mob goons. High bets knock the odds in the air as both the police and the mob begin to close in on the Lip, smelling the fix and a profit. And just before the big night, a couple of dead bodies turn up, threatening to upset the big plan. Thick with period colour and detail, Monroe's well-received debut novel brings a city and it's dark underbelly to thrilling life, illuminating an era when the Mob ruled America's cities with an iron fist.
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