CENTRAL CITY

A debut novel offers a noirish procedural set in the early 1990s that follows police detectives investigating a string of murders in a sordid, crime-laden American city.

Central City Detective Vinnie Bayonne’s latest case is an apparent overdose. At least, that’s the direction his informant Kane Kulpa wants the investigation to take. The victim, Mikey Connolly, was a bartender at Alfie’s, an establishment owned by Kane’s boss, Bruno Pantagglia, who specializes in such illicit deeds as drugs and prostitution. As Mikey was a known junkie, an overdose is indeed a likelihood. But Bayonne has questions concerning the crime scene, starting with the body’s fetal position and hands seemingly clasped in prayer, as if someone had posed it that way. He investigates the possible murder with his partner, freshly minted detective Adam McKenna. Their interrogations quickly lead them to another victim as well as the startling revelation that Mikey wasn’t the first murder, but the third, each body left in an identical pose. Meanwhile, Tran Van Kahn, a man police have long suspected of various crimes, is muscling in on some local territory for drug trafficking and prostitution. As it’s evident he simply kills uncooperative individuals, he seems to want Bruno to sit by idly while Tran takes over. Kane does what he can to avoid a potential war among the criminals but can’t disregard his own murky past that’s slowly resurfacing. The murder case and the trouble brewing between Tran and others are bound to clash, and further deaths are sadly unavoidable.

Perro’s novel is a persistently grim thriller. The detective story initially adopts the formula of buddy cop films with newly partnered polar opposites: Bayonne, “the grizzled, nicotine-stained veteran,” and McKenna, “the youthful, out-of-shape nerd.” But the author wisely fleshes out the characters, who gradually earn each other’s respect but also have personal backstories that affect them individually. For example, the positioning of the bodies disturbs McKenna, which he can’t explain but, readers eventually learn, has ties to his past. The story is bleak, an unflinching portrayal of Central City’s—and surrounding areas’—underbelly. Particulars are often unnerving, from assorted stains on walls and clothes to liquids that a cadaver discharges and even Bayonne’s perpetual chewing tobacco and resulting spit. Still, it’s atmospheric: “The precinct had seen better days, the brick was stained by the elements, and the roof had lost a few tiles over the years. When it rained hard, the detectives had to turn their trash cans into buckets to staunch the flood.” It’s perhaps not surprising that instances of humor are dark, like Bruno’s giggles resembling “a drowning Muppet.” For much of the novel, the murder investigation and Kane’s story act as two concurrent subplots. But the narrative ultimately concentrates a bit more on Kane. This proves beneficial, as the feud over territories turns increasingly more intense and violent. At the same time, the detectives don’t make much headway, though the reason for this becomes clearer as the story progresses and leads to a satisfying resolution.

A somber, moody, and absorbing mystery/thriller.