Joe the bouncer is the main person in this book and the character of Joe is very intriguing. He is now asked by his boss Gio Caprisi to look into missing workers from his clubs. What Joe finds out is a serial killer and the killer does not want to be on Joe’s radar. The ex-special forces and someone who got into Havard have a different mind having grown up on the streets. Overall a very good book with good characters.

I liked the first two books in this series significantly better than the next two, but it’s still a fun series and it a still worth following along with Joe’s adventures.

We see less of Gio and the rest of the crime bosses in this one, which is a bit of a bummer. But the rest of the recurring cast still play significant roles in the plot.

The back and forth of Joe and Donna doesn’t interest me much, but it also doesn’t bug me, which is unusual for a novel with a criminal/law enforcement love story subplot.

I wish we could get back to more of the tradecraft stuff that made the first two books in this series so good, as well as spend more time with the crime bosses. But this is still a fun and worthy read, and a series I’m interested in continuing.

Published by Mysterious Press on April 26, 2022

David Gordon’s books about Joe Brody are all kinds of fun. Joe is a military sniper turned criminal who tries to keep the shadiest side of his life hidden from the FBI agent he sleeps with. She knows he’s a criminal but doesn’t want to know the details. Joe is employed by a crime family, but all the crime bosses in the New York City area occasionally get together and hire Joe to perform a task that serves the public good. Joe’s job is essentially to make New York City a safer place for criminals and honest people alike.

Joe chased terrorists during the first novels in the Joe the Bouncer series, a contrivance that was getting old. In The Wild Life, Gordon diversifies Joe’s services. Someone has been making prstitutes disappear. The crime bosses feel protective of working girls, particularly when they work in establishments that are under their protection. A Romanian woman who worked in a dungeon was befriended by Joe’s employer before her dead body washed up. While the plot broadly involves political corruption, Joe’s concern is limited to the working women who end up chained to a wall until they meet their demise.

Joe’s detective work brings him close to the killer relatively quickly. Gordon employs a bit of misdirection as to the killer’s identity, but the universe of possible suspects is quite limited. This is a character-driven action story more than a whodunit.

Joe has fun pretending to be a person of wealth so he can hobnob with suspects of wealth. The impersonation is fun for the reader as well, as it gives Joe a chance to be sneaky and snarky. The action is typical movie fare, highlighted by a motorcycle chase and a few brawls.

The plot of The Wild Life isn’t particularly creative. As a middle-tier action novel, it doesn’t need to be. I suspect readers stick to this series because Joe is easy to like, the kind of morally flawed character whose virtues outweigh his questionable sense of morality. He enjoys reading, which makes him a sympathetic killer. And if he kills someone, the victim probably has it coming, at least in Joe’s calculus of good and evil.

Joe’s awkward relationship with the FBI agent adds interest to the story, as does the stereotyped collection of underworld leaders who, apart from running criminal organizations, share familiar qualities of older people who come together to play cards and gripe about younger people. The exception is Yelena, a younger Russian woman who took over her criminal organization in an earlier novel and who also has an awkward relationship with Joe — awkward for Joe, at any rate. The entire cast of characters and the unique nature of Joe as an underworld enforcer who does jobs that the police should be doing make the entire series enjoyable, even if no particular entry in the series stands out as better than the others.

RECOMMENDED

This was my first foray into a David Gordon book and it did not disappoint! The Wild Life, the fourth book featuring Joe the Bouncer, can be enjoyed as a standalone due to Gordon giving just the right amount of background.

Truth be told, I wasn't sure I wanted to even read it but I'm glad I did. Joe, who got thrown out of Harvard, was a special forces operative, and is the mob's 'dude"-- their problem solver. When "ladies of the night" start disappearing, Joe is who they call. The Wild Life literally has it all: gunfights, car chases, romance and whatnot.

What really resonated with me was how Gordon approached addiction. As someone who has had problems with addiction, Gordon encompassed what being an addict was like and the everyday struggles addicts fight through.

If you want a vivid, fun read, I can not recommend The Wild Life enough. Gordon has a new fan in me. I know he's excited...

Thank you to David Gordon, Penzler Publishers and NetGalley for the privilege to read an advance copy of The Wild Life!

I love this series and character. David Gordon has not dissapointed once in this series. This book is so discriptive I actually felt I was there. The action is fun and I couldn't put the book down. Make sure to get this book on April 26th, 2022 you will not be disappointed. Thank you NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for this advance copy.

The good bad guy, Joe, works with the Mafia and has a girlfriend who’s an FBI agent. When some sex workers disappear he’s called in (by the brothel owners) to investigate. There’s also an unholy alliance going on with a land developer who has issues of his own. Joe, as the fixer, is sent to remedy the situation(s). With his ragtag team, he attacks. I wish there had been more of a “Sting” feel to the solution. Joe, with his special forces and Harvard background, didn’t utilize his own skills as much as I would have liked.