Book Review: Cracker: Best Boys

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Cracker: Best Boys     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Gareth Roberts
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Noir
Series: Dr. Edward Fitzgerald # 4
St. Martin's, Mar 2000, $22.95, 256 pp.

Manchester Police psychiatrist Dr. Edward "Fitz" Fitzgerald accepts that his life is far from perfect due to his gambling and drinking habits. His wife was ready to divorce him until she learned she was pregnant. Now raising a three-month old boy, she feels trapped especially since Fitz still works with the woman he had an affair with, Jane Penthaligon.

Bill Nash is a lonely seventeen-year old without any friends. He has lived most of his life in the foster care system. No one gives a damn what happens to the teen until he meets Grady, an older person who also happens to be Bill's boss. An attraction springs up between the two males, but Grady denies those feelings. Bill kills two people with Grady's aid. Only Fitz can prevent more deaths if he can find the courage to set aside his own woes and confront the killer.

The latest adaptation of the British TV show Crackers is a dark, bleak urban noir. The criminals gain more reader sympathy than the hero does, that will not surprise fans of the series. The future looks even grimmer than the disheartening present for everyone involved with the case. Anyone expecting a happily ever after needs to pass on this novel. However, those who enjoy the human condition at its slimy worse will go crackers over a novel that will prove to be a best buy.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner