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The BARBED-WIRE KISS by Wallace Stroby is quintessential New Jersey. It is a blue-collar mystery of lost loves, regret, and not being able to escape your past. If I Should Fall Behind by New Jerseyıs first son, Bruce Springsteen is quoted early on in the book and so Springsteenıs ballads float in your mind throughout the read. Ex-state trooper Harry Rane brokers the repayment of his childhood friendıs debt, rediscovers his first love, and is beaten repeatedly. A cast of characters suitable to the New Jersey setting contribute color and authenticity, including corrupt businessmen, enforcers, drug runners and a bigoted ex-cop now in service to the mob. While the mystery has some representative mob figures, that it doesnıt capitalize on its wide ranging organization is a welcome relief. Traffic routes, highways, and location descriptions really make the book for an ex-pat New Jerseyian. The book is set largely in the coastal areas of southern and central New Jersey, and it is easy to follow the action as it moves from one area to another. As is local custom, route numbers are given instead of street names, so descriptions such as east on Route 36, detouring to Long Branch; an industrial park off Route 33 near Freehold; and a long line of brake lights on the Route 35 drawbridge heading into Belmar, ring true. The convenience and closeness of Atlantic City and Newark International Airport, swimming at the Jersey shore and heading to Brooklyn to check an address are very real. There are only a couple of references to the stateıs major north-south artery, the New Jersey Turnpike. The continual interruptions of the Parkway toll booths and the unending traffic of back-to-back urban/suburban communities go unmentioned. New Jersey foods are not very evident in the book and would have added to the narrative. Set in southern and coastal New Jersey, there is plenty of fish. And there is a token reference to spaghetti and meatballs when Harry meets with Eddie Fallon to negotiate Bobbyıs debt, but it is not enough. A perfect complement to a scene on the Spring Lake, Asbury Park or Atlantic City boardwalk would have been a frozen custard. And of course a plain bagel with a shmear, pork roll with Guldenıs spicy brown mustard or a large pie from the neighborhood pizza place would have been perfect too, especially to those of us who depend on frozen nitrogen or suffer lifelong withdrawal since weıve moved away. Surprising at first was THE BARBED-WIRE KISSı lack of local dialect. In a New Jersey narrative, it has become customary and expected to read ³youse² for ³you² and ³Howyadoin Eddie?² rather than ³How are you doing, Eddie?², especially in mysteries featuring blue-collar or ethnic characters. A closer examination of dialects prevalent in Southern New Jersey and coastal Atlantic areas reveal that the midlands dialect of South Jersey speech is more akin to Philadelphia than to New York. So, the ³g² of ³fucking² is pronounced and appropriately so rather than the more Northern New Jerseyıs ³fuckin². In Strobyıs mystery, dialect rings as true as geography and doesnıt give in to stereotypical assumptions about New Jersey speech. When Harry refers to the Rip Tide in Sayerville and the Meadowlands as being ³way up there², you know heıs closer to the Piney Woods than to Hoboken. That being said, my mindıs ear did long for one of Pauli Andelliıs crew to give at least a token ³youse², after all you know heıs connected with the North Jersey mob. One of the few weaknesses of the book was Harryıs open courtship of Eddie Fallonıs wife Christina. Yes, she is his early, lost love and yes, Harry longs to belong to a family but she IS the wife of a violent, unpredictable, corrupt businessman turned drug supplier who will never forget or forgive such an insult. Was Harry deliberate in his effort to destabilize Christina and Eddieıs relationship and draw attention to himself and away from Bobby as he finalized Bobbyıs debt? The consequences of Harryıs actions are extreme and fully predictable as the mystery unfolds. Wallace Strobyıs THE BARBED-WIRE KISS is a great read, fast-paced and suspenseful, especially for New Jersey ex-pats or wannabes and those interested in regional mystery fiction. May Stroby write many more Harry Rane, with pizza next time.
Reviewed by Maureen Battistella, July 2004
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