Nobody's Angel

I am of a certain age, and I recall that the 1990s was a good decade, a time of societal development and change for the better. I used to look down on those who rated the 70s as a fun decade as it seemed grim to me, but as I get older the 90s was as grim as the 70s and I am sure that the 2010s will be seen as grim in the future. Society moves on, but the festering underbelly always survives. Travis Bickle cruised the mean streets of 70s New York, but 90s Chicago does not come out much better in Jack Clark’s Nobody’s Angel, a novel about a city, a taxi driver and two killers. 

Eddie Miles sees himself as one of a dying breed of taxi drivers working the streets of 90s Chicago as new demographics and companies move in. The nights are long, and the pay is not great, but this is the life that Eddie has found himself with. An ex-wife and a child he is not allowed to see until she turns 21. Eddie is living each day until then, but with two killers on the loose, will he make it to see his daughter again? One of the killers is targeting taxi drivers just like Eddie. 

Writing what you know does help, especially with an author’s early work. Ex-lawyer John Grisham wrote some fantastic courtroom dramas early in his career, and the gritty stories of ex-cop Joseph Wambaugh are fantastic. Real life bleeds into these books as the authors take events they witness and push them through the prism of fiction. The books can be darker, but that is the reality. For Jack Clark this is the reality of being a taxi driver, writing what they know, about the people in the back and the streets they witness late at night. 

Although set in the early 90s, Angel has the timeless noir feel to it reminiscent of the 50-70s. Late night Chicago is a town of sin, of drunks and sex workers. Eddie already calls himself no angel, happy to make an extra few dollars off a passenger if they are too stupid to realise they are being taken for more than one type of ride. Therefore, when fellow a taxi driver and friend is killed, Eddie is not one to help, except he was one of the last people to see the driver alive and thinks he may know who did it. To compound matters, Eddie also stumbles across the mutilated body of a young woman. Will he drive off or help? 

Angel is a starkly realistic novel if you have a pessimistic view of the world. The book does not shy away from casual racism or sex work. It is full of people doing what they do to make a buck, be that driving a taxi, stealing, or selling themselves. Eddie is not above this, but part of it, giving the reader an inside look into the life. The book is not just about two murderers on the loose, but the ragtag group of misfits that make up a late-night taxi drivers' life. 

I can see why readers enjoyed Angel when it was originally released, and it still holds true to this rerelease. The book takes the classic noir feel and transplants it to the 90s. Suddenly you remember that the decade was not all Cool Britania, inner cities were rife with crime and drugs. This book is a refreshing slice of heightened reality, and it has some impressive set pieces from the people who get into the back of the cab, to the final act were the action heats up. A wonderful slice of crime noir for any fan of the genre.