Hell's Kitchen - Deaver Can Do Better. Much Better!

I read Hell's Kitchen by Jeffery Deaver (writing as William Jefferies) because a friend recommended it. She knew I enjoyed Deaver's writing and she was certain I'd find Hell's Kitchen up to his standards.

She was wrong.

I didn't hate the book, but I didn't love it, either it. I'd have to rate my experience with Hell's Kitchen somewhere between "waste of time" and "fine if there's nothing better to read." Unfortunately, I've got a stack of books I want to read, a long list of books I want to read when I finish my current stack, and my time for reading is limited. Which I guess brings Hell's Kitchen solidly into the "waste of time" category.

But it's not a bad book. The story is interesting and I found it hard to stop reading once I was roped in. It took me a while to care, in the beginning, and it was one of the few books I've ever started, then abandoned for weeks, then resumed.

Hell's Kitchen - The Story

John Pellum is making a documentary film about the Hell's Kitchen area of New York City. In doing so, he focuses on Ettie Washington, a woman in her seventies who talks happily for hours into John's Betacam, telling stories from her childhood, her years as a young woman, and recent years. When Ettie's building burns down, with both John and Ettie injured, Ettie is arrested for arson.

The evidence against Ettie is powerful but she maintains her innocence. John Pellum believes she is innocent and sets out to prove it. Working with Ettie's non-believing lawyer, Louis Bailey, Pellum uncovers leads, tracks them down, and risks injury and death in the process.

Investigating arson in Hell's Kitchen, you see, involves getting inside the gangs, or clubs, or crews. There's the Irish crew, lead by Johnny Corcoran, known to be a bit off-balance and dangerous; the Cubano Lords, lead by Hector Ramirez. Pellum has no trouble getting information from these gangs, even befriending Ramirez.

As the story winds down, there are political and psychological twists, unlikely suspects, and an unexpected confession. Pellum never gives up.

The Characters

John Pellum is a former Hollywood stunt man, location scout, and movie director who has a somewhat checkered past. The details of his past are not revealed until far into the book, but we know that he's down on his luck. He has sold his Hell's Kitchen oral history documentary to public broadcasting in Boston and hopes it will eventually win awards. He's a loner, honest and ethical on the surface.

Ettie Washington is an old woman who has spent her entire life in Hell's Kitchen, within a four or five block area. She's been married twice, lost a son to violence, and has a daughter she hasn't seen in years. She loves to talk, to tell stories, and she welcomes John Pellum and his camera with enthusiasm.

Louis Bailey is a small-time lawyer who knows how to clog the wheels. Wheeling and dealing is his method of practicing law and he is acutely aware that justice seldom comes to those in "the kitchen."

Strengths And Weaknesses

The Gangs: Pellum is able to exchange confidences with gang members, to gain partial trust, simply by trying. Are gangs really that easy? I doubt it.

The Street Scene: Pellum is dogged through much of the book by a lonely little boy named Ismail, a fatherless child whose mother is a crack addict. Pellum and Ismail bond at some levels and Ismail plays a key role in the book's climax. But his mouth, his language, is downright horrid. He's eight years old. It is disheartening to hear a child speaking with so much anger, hopelessness, and bravado. Deaver captures the child's emptiness well and does an impressive job of describing life on the streets.

Overall

This is a good story, with a mad arsonist terrorizing the city sub-plot that is quite compelling. But some elements are flimsy, hard to believe, and some plot fragments are brought together hastily and conveniently in the end. Deaver's style is less smooth in this book than in some of his others, such as A Maiden's Grave, which I enjoyed immensely, but his knowledge of New York City is as strong as it was in Coffin Dancer, another favorite. Perhaps it was his writing as William Jefferies which changed the overall feel of the book, the voice. Whatever the reason, Hell's Kitchen simply lacked the punch that I expect from Deaver.