Tijuana Mean (The McCrays)

Jesse James Kennedy's second novel, Tijuana Mean, continues the saga of the ruthless drug-dealing McCray clan. The American Library Association's Booklist has delivered a glowing preview: "Mean as ever . . . stepping over the bodies-a lot of them. . . . Kennedy's involvement with his material has deepened. In heightened language, he explores the odd bond between cops and criminals, the poisonous tension between father and son. There's a sixties vibe, too, with LSD visions and the Grateful Dead on car radios. These are gripping, beautifully executed scenes, and there's still plenty of McCray business-as-usual: robbing corpses, chopping off arms, pushing lit cigarettes into open wounds. . . . How do McCrays handle competitors? "We kill them." When the McCray boys hit Tijuana, they give new meaning to the phrase "paint the town red." Here's a worthy sequel to MISSOURI HOMEGROWN ("Impressive storytelling chops" Publishers Weekly) ("Vivid and rich in character... Strong well-realized country noir." Booklist)