Published 2005 by Hodder and Stoughton

ISBN: 0 340 81995 2

Once in a while you read something that makes you realize why you enjoy reading in the first place. I am an avid reader and book reviewer and at a conservative estimate I have read over a thousand books. When I say that investigative journalist and author Jess Walter’s ‘Citizen Vince’ is one of the top five books I have ever read I am not succumbing to unjustified hyperbole. I went into this one feeling a little jaded to be honest. Well, in a very short time indifference gave way to fascination and guilty enjoyment.

The novel concerns one Vince Camden, a nondescript thirty six year old donut maker in Spokane. There seems nothing at all remarkable or interesting about him until you learn his real name is Marty Hagen, a criminal since his teens and originally from New Jersey. He has been given a new identity by the Witness Protection Program. Since testifying against the mob his rights have been restored including his right to vote: something ‘Citizen Vince’ has never done before.

Voting in the coming 1980 Presidential election suddenly becomes the most important thing in his life – a symbol of redemption that even someone with his background can change.

But as with all things in real life your past can have an unpleasant way of revisiting you and Vince’s arrives in the shape of a very nasty hit man. With just three days to go to Election Day Vince must avoid crooks, cops and a demented and determined killer as he tries to save not only himself but also his dreams that include Beth, a waif he is involved with and a simple life that he secretly covets.

This could easily have become a shamelessly corny flag waver with a Capraesque feel permeating proceedings. It could also have fallen into ‘Mean Streets’ and ‘Goodfellas’ territory by being too violent and too gritty. That Walter manages to deftly avoid two potential traps is testament to his talents as a writer. It really shows in his writing that he is also a native of Spokane and his descriptions of the place are vivid and interesting.

The people are well drawn and entirely believable. These are complicated and fallible human beings and not just mere ciphers for the plot. Walter also has an excellent ear for dialogue and accents and even when his characters are not talking their actions communicate. Every nuance, every tic makes this gripping and compelling.

This novel is dark, funny, scary, thrilling and at times surprisingly poignant and moving. In fact I never for one moment expected to be as involved and engaged in a story about a former criminal trying to change his life.

The Presidential election and its impact on the central character are handled well. Apart from a few unnecessary thoughts and insights from the candidates (the novels only weak point) it is the act of voting and becoming part of something bigger that is important rather than choosing sides or following a particular ideology.

Yes the world is flawed and Vince’s world which is full of crooks, mobsters, gamblers, drunks, pimps and hookers is achingly bleak; yet rather than wallowing in a ‘I told you so’ narrative, this manages to be uplifting as well as dark.

This book had me totally and helplessly hooked with its characters struggles and motivations and is full of twists and unexpected events. Most importantly Walter makes us care for the likes of Vince and Beth and co-workers and associates like the hyperactive Tic, or the world-weary Clay. We are terrified of contract killer Ray Sticks who kills for pleasure and we admire the tenacity and basic decency of Detective Alan Dupree.

I cannot remember the last time I read a book that managed to capture time and place so well. You are right there in the Autumn/Fall of Spokane with this mixed bag of for the most part unsavoury characters, yet you cannot help but be drawn in to their world and their individual struggles.

This is cracking stuff that transcends the crime novel and carries a much deeper powerful message about taking responsibility as well as our basic primal need to belong.