Duke City Desperado by Max Austin

Published by Alibi on June 9, 2015

The Duke City novels combine believable but offbeat characters with fast-moving crime plots. Max Austin (the pen name Steve Brewer uses for these novels) always manages to give crime an amusing spin. Duke City Desperado is a little funnier and a little less poignant than the first two, but however Austin chooses to strike that balance, this series of Albuquerque crime stories is maintaining its high quality. I particularly like the fact that each novel focuses on a different character. That choice should keep the series fresh.

Dylan James is a trouble magnet. When he rabbits from a stolen van that his sky-high friend Doc Burnett uses in an attempt to rob a bank from a drive-through window, he begins life as an Albuquerque fugitive, a wanted desperado. His first stop is the house of his ex-girlfriend, who is now dating a tough guy named Antony. Then he meets Katrina ("like the hurricane"), a college student who is fascinated by crime.

Eventually Dylan is being chased by the police and the FBI, by Antony, and even by Katrina, while Antony is being chased by the sister of Dylan's ex-girlfriend, who does not appreciate the way Antony treats women. The sister is joined by a formidable group of women who wield footwear as weapons. A focal point for much of the action is the apartment of Dylan's stoner friend, whose attempts to play video games while maintaining a steady high are constantly interrupted by people who are looking for Dylan. The lighthearted hijinks that ensue (including Doc's antics as a federal prisoner) are consistently funny. Throughout the novel and particularly as it neared the end, I experienced a number of laugh-out-loud moments.

What I really like about these novels is their recognition that a good bit of crime is stupidly impulsive, that everyone deserves a fresh start (or nearly everyone), and that separating the good guys from the bad guys is often a matter of opinion. Austin's rogues are always affable, regular people whose lives have been dictated by unfortunate circumstance and bad choices but who never let go of their humanity. The plots are just as likable as the characters. Like the other novels in the series, Duke City Desperado is a light diversion from the usual darkness of crime stories.

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Duke City Hit by Max Austin

Published by Alibi on December 16, 2014

Max Austin returns to the world of Albuquerque crime in this second novel set in "Duke City." Vic Walters is an old school hit man, or maybe he's just an old hit man. He thinks men should wear suits and keep their shoes shined. He doesn't like cell phones and doesn't understand why people are obsessed with reporting the trivia of their day to the recipients of their mobile phone calls. He regards "low overhead and few demands" as the secret to happiness. Work a few days a month, kill a few people, enjoy your life. Murder is more thrilling than playing golf.

Life seems be getting easier for Vic when a mysterious helper begins to show up during the course of his assassinations. The helper's identity is a shocking and potentially life-changing revelation to Vic. At the same time, Vic finds himself in caught in the middle of an apparent mob war. That's exactly the kind of thing he tries to avoid but when you live the life of a hit man, these things happen.

Duke City Hit is written with a light touch. The novel that isn't meant to be taken too seriously. In that sense it is comparable to Lawrence Block's novels about J.P. Keller, another assassin who is just sort of a normal guy dealing with life's normal problems, some of which are compounded by his line of work. Vic is a sympathetic character despite his unsavory profession.

Austin (a pen name of Steve Brewer) writes snappy prose and knows how to tell a good story that moves quickly. A shootout near the end defies belief but it contributes to the fun. The novel's resolution brings a surprising plot twist that is more credible than most thriller surprises. On the whole, Duke City Hit would be a good choice for crime fiction fans looking for a summer beach read that substitutes pace, action and an engaging protagonist for a weighty plot.

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Duke City Split by Max Austin

Published by Random House/Alibi in April 8, 2014

If you like to root for the good guys or identify with the hero when you read a crime novel, you might want to give Duke City Split a pass. Good guys are in short supply and there is a distinct shortage of heroism. On the other hand, if you enjoy reading crime novels that focus on crime and criminals, Duke City Split is a fast moving, captivating story about a crime's unforeseen consequences.

Johnny Muller tells Mick Wyman about an armored car that delivers money from a casino to a small branch bank in strip mall just outside of Albuquerque. Mick tells his partner, Bud Knox. It seems like an easy score, although Bud prefers not to commit crimes near his Duke City home. Bud is married with children and (except for robbing banks) has settled down. Mick has less to lose. Mick and Bud have never involved a third person before but Johnny wants to participate and they need an extra set of hands to carry all the money. Complications ensue and by the end of the novel, a fair amount of blood has been shed.

In addition to Mick, Bud, and Johnny, the primary characters include a crooked security guard and his crooked wife, a Chicago mobster, and two losers who are briefly mistaken for the actual bank robbers. All of them would like at least a piece of the stolen money, if not the entire score. The only significant characters not motivated by greed are two ineffectual FBI agents, but until the story's end they are relegated to a less significant role, mostly coming on the scene after various acts of mayhem have already been completed.

Duke City Split works because the story is believable and it is told without a wasted word. While the key characters are criminals, at least one of them is portrayed in a sympathetic way. A reader might not root for him, but Max Austin (a pen name of crime novelist Steve Brewer) makes it easy to understand and empathize with him. In the end, like many criminals, he's just a regular guy who makes poor choices. It's trickier to put a reader inside the heads of the bad guys than it is to make a reader cheer for the good guys. Austin does it well.

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