Craig Holden

This novel is almost the obverse side of "The Great Gatsby, though with a far more intense scrutiny of the violence and seediness of racketeering during Prohibition"!

Like "James Gatz", George Remus comes from humble origins but sticks around, working from an early age to help to support his family. He starts out working in his uncle's pharmacy and works so well that he subsequently buys him out, and goes on to establish a chain of other stores. Once he is financially secure he pays his way through law school and starts to practise as a defence attorney.

Fast forward to the Prohibition era. Using a little-known loophole Remus is able to secure huge supplies of alcohol and builds up a wide network around Cincinnati feeding the demands of a suddenly and reluctantly dry population. He then meets Imogene, beautiful daughter of his bent lawyer. She falls in love with him immediately. He is more aloof, but does gradually fall under her spell. Eventually they marry, having negotiated various hurdles (not the least of which is her husband, severely wounded in the First World War and now confined to a private medical home ).

The novel actually opens in 1926 with Remus killing Imogene. The bulk of the book is actually about his trial, in which he puts forward a defence of insanity, with flashbacks letting the reader see how things came about. The Public Prosecutor is Charlie Taft, son of the former President and Chief Justice, who is driven by a growing (almost obsessive) empathy for the victim.

The plot is very taut, and Holden keeps the reader engaged throughout. Very impressive.… (meer)