Entertainment Weekly
[A] high pitched thriller...it delivers the goods in its gritty details of municipal corruption...
New York Times Book Review
A large, engaging portrait of street-level New York...
Time Out New York
In The Rackets it's testosterone, not tenderness, that rules the day. For better or worse, this is a book with balls.
Publishers Weekly
- Publisher's Weekly
Written by a former construction worker and Teamster who worked his way through Fordham and Harvard to become "director of advance," a chief aide and troubleshooter for the mayor of New York City, this rugged, straight-shooting novel (following Kelly's well-reviewed debut, Payback) is shaped by intimate firsthand knowledge. Jimmy Dolan, the Director of Advance for the Republican mayor of New York, is fired after his hotheaded exchange with Frankie Keefe the Mafia-connected president of the local Teamsters who is running for reelection against Jimmy's father, Mike makes front-page headlines. Overnight a political pariah, Jimmy seeks refuge among his old friends in a formerly Irish neighborhood on the northern tip of Manhattan. Reunited with his old girlfriend Tara O'Neil, now an NYPD cop, and Liam Brady, an ex-paratrooper construction worker with an active commerce in illegal arms, Jimmy ends up back in construction. On the job, he witnesses the cold-blooded assassination of his father, who is becoming too much of a threat to Keefe. Vowing to avenge the death, Jimmy decides to run in his father's place. His own life and his friends' lives are soon threatened in what is revealed to be an uneven battle: Keefe is an informer, under government protection. Fighting deceit and betrayal, Jimmy prevails against all odds in this damning indictment of the clandestine interplay between big government and the criminal underground. Despite minor lapses into overlong, melodramatic introspection, the suspense holds to the end, and the novel draws readers deep into a gritty, wholly convincing world of late-20th-century union halls and construction sites. (June) Forecast: The chips are stacked in Kelly's favor here. His unusual history should attract plenty of attention, and a feature film of Payback, adapted by David Mamet, is on its way. This is a strong second effort, and a jump in sales may safely be expected. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
Kelly's (Payback) latest novel takes place among New York's teamsters unions and Italian, Irish, and Russian mobs. Protagonist Jimmy Dolan worked his way up from construction jobs during college to advisor of a Republican mayor. However, Jimmy's efforts at life among New York's political elite fall apart after fighting local union boss Frankie Keefe at an important political meeting. Now Jimmy is back pouring concrete alongside his gun-running cousin; he also helps the efforts of his father, Mike, to unseat Frankie in an upcoming union election. When a mobster who controls Frankie murders Mike, Jimmy takes up his father's cause. The story introduces a range of working people, corrupt local and federal politicians, gangsters, and Jimmy's supportive policewoman girlfriend. Reader David Daoust is quite good in presenting the tale, but the plot is rather predictable and the characters wooden. Recommended only for larger audio collections. Stephen L. Hupp, West Virginia Univ. at Parkersburg Lib. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
