New Pulp Press
Pub date: October 20th, 2011
It’s not often I read a book and I find myself saying over and over again this is so fucking cool, this guy needs to write another book, I am luck to even be reading this. In Nine Kinds Of Pain by Leonard Fritz is that book right now for me.
This is the story of a group of Detroit’s most fucked up citizens over the course of one week. You have the beat up prostitute, the suicidal cop, the crooked cops, and the delusional/alcoholic priest among others. Baby the Hooker gets caught up in some shit because of her boyfriend, which brings her into the path of the others. Detroit itself becomes a character with passages entitled wisdom. These are details about Detroit that only a native could know. It’s a simple plot with a cast of freaks .
So yes, I loved this book. I think it would make a great film that would be rated NC-17. It’s a nasty little story not for the faint of heart. I could not find a single thing I didn’t like about it. I want to shout it from the rooftops how much I loved this book. Leonard Fritz is the best writer I’ve stumbled across in ages. He needs to write a couple more books so I can declare him one of my favorites. He has a unique writing style all his own. I have no idea how to describe it except it catches your eye and leaps from the page. You can feel the rhythm of it. The heat/dirt/anger/insanity of the story are palpable. I want to keep gushing over this book but I feel the simpler I keep this review, the more you, the reader, will see how important it is to read this book. It’s a crime story unlike anything else I can think of. Do yourself a favor and track down a copy.
Dave