I won this book in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I didn't finish it . The characters and plot just did not pique my interest. I am holding on to it and perhaps one day will try again. ( )

Okay...Take some Fargo, some Blues Brothers, and Google Maps of Detroit, and you have "Green Ghetto".

The book itself looks like a self-publish kind of deal. And when I mention "google maps", the directions he gives at times in the book are a bit too precise.

If you like wacky, you like weed, or you like wacky weed, you might enjoy this book. It just made me drowsy. :-) ( )

Although this book starts slowly, it quietly wormed its way into my brain and was surprisingly entertaining. While there are cops and criminals, there aren't any "good guys" and "bad guys". While the protagonist, Mitchell, is technically on the wrong side of the law, he's an upstanding marijuana farmer, with no interest in hurting anyone. In contrast, one of the FBI agents on his case is Enid, who is convinced that everyone who is involved in the illegal pot-growing industry shortly after the attacks of 9/11 is directly linked to terrorism. She's also bent on humiliating everyone she suspects--whether there are grounds for her suspicions or not.

Clearly, I'm not doing the book justice. While this is a book about the dark underbelly of Detroit, it's a light read, wherein the "criminals" are regular Joes. While Enid is a piece of work, she's only one of the law enforcement officers involved in the investigation, and her actions are so over the top as to be nearly comical. The other LEOs are reasonable people, trying to rein her in. ( )

Great setting and concept; good and relatable characters to begin with, but it goes down hill from there. I enjoyed the humor, but grew bored with the plot and dialogue. Suggest passing on this one for now, but checking in with Vern Smith in the future. ( )

I received his book as part of LibraryThings early reviewer program.

The Green Ghetto is a pretty wild ride and that's why I liked it. It was funny and the characters were unique and pretty well developed. Mitchell is one of the most unique individuals I've read about for some time. It was all about drugs, and crime, but it has heart and I liked the ending.

The only two issues I had was that it took me a few chapters to hook into the author's style and lingo. But once I was immersed it zipped right along. Second, I found the use of all the street names and turn by turn directions distracting. I don't know if they are the names of real streets or not, and I understand Smith did this to make the setting more real, but having never been to this area, I just couldn't relate.

Bottom line, a satisfying and entertaining read. ( )