Smoked by Patrick Quinlan
Portland Maine is the setting for Patrick Quinlan’s debut thriller Smoked. Smoke Dugan is living in Portland, but Smoke is not the average AARP member. He stole a lot of money from a bent nose down in Queens. A former bombmaker, Smoke is seeing Lola Bell, a tough young woman whose past is as murky as his. When the boys in Queens dispatch Cruz, their top assassin, life in Portland takes on the charm of Beirut in the 1980s.
Quinlan takes the setup and lets fly with a variation on the no bad deed goes unpunished theme. The book’s opening scene sets the tone as Lola is almost raped by a pair of model agency hustlers. The POV is divided between Smoke, Lola, Cruz, and a few minor characters, all of whom manage to be compelling or bizarre, each of them dedicated to the task of wreaking havoc. Smoked is well written, tight, tense,and well paced. Overtones of early Lehane carry suggestions of Prayers for Rain or A Drink Before the War in the subtext of retribution’s fatal inevitability.
This is a standout work from St. Martins Press, released a few weeks ago, and available in stores. Kudos all around.