BOOK REVIEW: EMPIRE RISING

If you’re going to write a gritty thriller, you need a rich and colorful setting, somewhere with plenty of vibrant characters and intriguing vistas. A place with a mysterious edge that still has elements familiar to readers.

Thomas Kelly managed to find the right location for his previous novel, The Rackets. The book’s sense of place and tangible atmosphere made it ripe for a TV adaptation, courtesy of ABC. Empire Rising (published by FSG) is set in the same city – New York – but this time there’s a twist; it’s set in the 1930s, as the Empire State Building is being constructed.

The place and time are ripe with possibilities for an author who creates Machiavellian politicians and brawling bottom feeders. In fact, he doesn’t have to stretch his imagination too far – the kickbacks, corruption and contrasting sense of optimism were all present on the brink of the Depression.

Kelly’s main characters are linked by the Empire State Building itself, dominant, majestic, and symbolic of the power players who frequent the decadent ‘21’ Club. This establishment is a great contrast to the South Bronx, depicted in all its destitute glory. The inhabitants of both are well-drawn and their dialogue maintains a bold authenticity. Only their roles seem artificial – each character has a background and a function to keep the story moving, but there’s nothing fresh about them.

However, the period setting is so effectively rendered that any hokey character contrivances can be forgiven. Kelly knows New York well, picking out new details on a well-worn path, the perfect guide on a Manhattan mystery tour.