I had to read this book after reading Warren Ellis’ other novel Crooked Little Vein. It’s less tongue in cheek than Crooked Little Vein but still worth reading.
It follows a New York detective John Tallow that stumbles upon a room full of guns in an apartment block where his partner is killed responding to an unrelated case. He is paired up with two Crime Scene investigators, Bat and Scarly to solve what is essentially a huge serial killer case.
The serial killer, who goes by “The Hunter” has been hired by a powerful trio people within the cities political and business worlds. He is a homeless person that lives by foraging off the fruits of central park and obsessed with early Manhattan history, often hallucinating the city as overgrown by forest and populated with animals. Unbeknownst to the people who hire the hunter to carry out the killings he is trying to create a Native American Wampum from his trophy room full of guns. The novel plays on the depravity of human nature, often portrayed by the police radio that Tallow listens to in his car.
An easy enjoyable crime novel.
Overall: 81%