Blood Mud

K C Constantine

At first, the dialogue is difficult to get to grips with, but once you get into the book you realise that this is what it's about. Central character, Mario Balzic, has a constant dialogue running all the time, with himself, his wife Ruth and with his community and friends. A story where the author isn't afraid to leave loose ends - so don't expect everything to be tidied up by the final page.

Extract

'Every week only way I get paid is if I say I'm gonna tell my uncle. So they're all out to screw one another, you know? Artie's got somethin' on the councilman, the chief, he's got somethin' else on the councilman, Artie's got somethin' on the chief, it's all a fucking daisy chain. Which I don't care except what they're gettin' ready to do to me. I think what it is, tell ya the truth, I think it's all about that fucker Cozzolino wants my job, that's what I think. That's how I think this whole fuckin' thing got started, plus it was 'cause his mother and Artie's third wife were sisters and his father was a full-blood Siciliano and my old man was Slovak, that's what I think the whole thing is. Fuckin' prejudice, honest to God, I think that's the whole thing right there.'

Parallels