JOHNNY-BOY

A.F. CARTER

Johnny-Boy by super-talented crime writer A.F. Carter is another superior entry into his scary, violent, and realistic Baxter novels. Baxter is an imaginary rust-belt town struggling to recover as a new auto plant is being constructed, bringing with it jobs, drugs, sex workers, and overall malaise.

Johnny Boy is unoriginal, a hitman with a job(s) to do. And he excels at it. You do not want to meet him, period. But the beauty of the writer's prose is that you meet Johnny, nonetheless. He is the center of the wheel that drives this terrifying but realistic story because you realize that the world is filled with Johnny Boys.

Delia Mariola is the C of D, a.k.a. the Chief of Detectives in Baxter. Her interactions with Johnny are fraught with danger and unbearable tension. Good versus evil. The writer portrays grey areas of life, justice, and crime realistically, making this novel memorable, scary, and thought-provoking—a 100 percent winner.