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It's Christmas in Harlem, but Amos 'the Don of Harlem' Brown just hasn't got that holiday spirit. He's dealing with his tenants, who aren't paying their rent for lots of reasons. He's fighting a losing battle to keep drugs and druggies out of his buildings and his neighborhoods. He's got a low-grade gambling jones, which he thinks he has under control. He misses his old girlfriend Catherine. And then the telephone gets him out of a poker game. His mentor Deacon Steadwell is in jail, charged with killing Dap Jones over some stolen fur coats. Coats that Steadwell had stolen from somebody else and Dap stole from him. To make matters worse, Harry Bridges dies of a heart attack. Harry is, or was, a real 'Don', and the jockeying has already begun to see who will take his place. His niece Catherine is Harry's heir, which may be a problem. Basil wants the house, and Catherine doesn't want to sell. What Catherine doesn't know is that there is a butt-load of heroin and cocaine hidden in the house, not to mention an enormous amount of money. Catherine knows that Harry worked the wrong side of the street, but doesn't want to know precisely how well he worked it. She won't believe Basil until she sees for herself. Then Steadwell disappears. Amos works all the angles he knows, and finds out details about the lives of his friends that he be just as happy not knowing. He's at Harry's funeral and witnesses the changing of the guard as Basil, Harry's second in command, takes control. He deals with his extended and informal family as the holidays intrude on his business. Amos is a busy man. Singer writes a good beginning and a good end, with a plot that can carry the story. The middle drags, but the characters are strong enough to keep one's interest through the slow parts. DOWN AND DIRTY takes place in the not-too-distant past, sometime in the 1980s as near as I can figure without looking it up. Singer captures the frustration of those caught in the beginning of the war on AIDS (or as it was known then, the gay cancer), the war on drugs, and the dissolution of the neighborhoods in what was once a glorious part of New York. This reminded me, mostly in tone, of what I remember of Gar Haywood's FEAR OF THE DARK, although Amos Brown does have a slightly more optimistic take on life. DOWN AND DIRTY is not for the faint of heart; sometimes the language is a little bluer than one might want, but it fits in with the setting and the characters. While there is minimal violence, the general ambience is not one of sweetness-and-light; again, it's the story. The setting feels right, the characters are almost Runyonesque, and the plot is good. Give this one a shot, if you're looking to broaden your horizons.
Reviewed by P. J. Coldren, May 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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