THE FURY OF BLACKY JAGUAR by Angel Luis Colón

This novella doesn't waste time with set-up, exposition, introductions, prologues or any other bits of literary lollygagging. It jumps right out from the first paragraph at a full sprint and never stops until the end. Someone has stolen Polly, Blacky Jaguar's beloved 1959 Plymouth Fury. It turns out that Blacky is a crazy Irish badass and he'll stop at nothing to get Polly back and give the thieving bastards a right proper beatdown.

"I ain't beyond a little old-fashioned revenge."

It's a simple plot that's punctuated with Colón's economy. His writing is immediate and unadorned, much like Blacky himself. Well, maybe Blacky is a bit adorned, he does drive a Plymouth Fury and wears his hair like Elvis. Blacky is a difficult protagonist because he's a total villain. He's a fully unrepentant criminal that is willing to kill or maim to get what he wants. But you get a sense that he has a code and he works because Colón makes him so damn charming and fearless.

GRADE: B+