'57, Chicago - by Steve Monroe (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A slice of underworld life, '57, Chicago is a fact-based fictional thriller.

The banker's dead--a mob killing with repercussions. Money's tied up. Three men are on a collision course:

Al. He's a layoff bookie, thinks he can live as a middleman between his customers and the Outfit. His credo: Never take a position.

The Lip. Desperate and dangerous, he's a fight promoter trying to create the fight of a lifetime.

The Hammer. A great black hope. He's a boxer, thrust into an uncomfortable limelight. A potential heavyweight champ, his biggest fight is with himself.

The cops swarm. The gangsters rage. One night. One fight. No way they can all win. The heat's intense, the stakes are high and the outcome's impossible to predict. The mystery: Who makes it out alive? It's a bloody, savage night in '57, Chicago.

Review Quotes

"Monroe is a knockout storyteller . . . with dialogue out of The Sopranos and intrigue out of L.A. Confidential." --Chicago Tribune

"'57, Chicago is a strong and impressive debut . . . written with a fighter's heart and a writer's passion. It is a combination that can't be beaten--in the ring or out . . . strong, fierce, and gripping." --Lorenzo Carcaterra, author of Sleepers

"Genuinely dramatic." --The New York Times Book Review

"Former newsman Monroe does a credible job of capturing the gritty feel of 1957 Chicago's seamier side in his noirish debut, a boxing morality play that focuses on the efforts of down-and-out fight promoter Bobby 'The Lip' Lipranski to put together the bout of his life . . . Monroe inserts a deft plot twist that sends the fight itself in an unanticipated direction, distinguishing the book . . . from conventional boxing novels. The result is a solid piece of pulp fiction that pays homage to the various masters of the genre." --Publisher's Weekly

"Gritty, atmospheric first novel . . . Monroe fills his novel with fascinating detail on how to run a sports book, and his dialogue crackles with authenticity. Less a crime novel than a slice of underworld life, this impressive debut will remind noir fans of early George Pelecanos." --Booklist

"Chicago in the mid-fifties. A boxing promoter named Bobby 'The Lip' Lipranski and his black fighter Junior 'The Hammer' Hamilton. A foxy fur-coat-wearing girlfriend. The Big Fight. Money. Bookies. The fight's fixed. All you need for a noir novel, it would seem, yet '57, Chicago ranks many notches above your run-of-the-mill boxing novel. Monroe writes in a slangy, gritty, knife-edged style that packs a big wallop. . . . A welcome addition to the genre." --Esquire

About the Author

Steve Monroe is a writer and commercial real estate professional, specializing in corporate lease restructuring. His novels '57, Chicago and '46, Chicago were published by Talk/Miramax Books in 2000 and 2002. '46, Chicago was cited by the Kansas City Star as one of the "Top Five Mysteries of 2002" and "Noteworthy Books of 2002." Monroe splits his time between Chicago, Illinois and Edmonds, Washington. He is currently working on the next Wally Greer novel.