Small Change — Jerry Raine

It's been seven years since Chris sought to get even with a mugger and wound up the unwitting catalyst in a series of violent deaths (Smalltime, 1997). He's working in an off-license store now and trying to stay under life's radar when chance deals him another bad hand. His apartment is robbed, he meets a girl who needs a blackjack partner, and one of those involved in the violence seven years ago comes looking for revenge. As before, Chris inadvertently sets in motion a series of random events that results in chaos. Along the way, he learns to count cards at blackjack and develops an appreciation for the amenities offered at the YMCA. Raine's utterly unsentimental slice of blighted lives in lower-middle-class suburban London blends the sensibility of 1930s proletarian fiction with the noir mood of a contemporary crime novel--George Orwell with a dose of John Harvey. Not the drink of choice for anyone with a sweet tooth but a bracing beverage indeed for those who don't mind a little grit in the bottom of the glass."--Booklist