The little sticker on the cover of my library's copy of this audiobook says "mystery." Fair enough, there are only so many sticker categories. But Vachss rarely writes "mysteries" per se, and this is especially true given the radical shift of milieu and locale, away from dark urban evil and into the backwoods, down home evil of an unnamed rural enclave. Somewhere in the zone depicted in Daniel Woodruff's Hillbilly Noir, or Pollock's Knockemstiff, Ohio, with a little of TV 's Justified or Banshee thrown in for good measure. The story is narrated by our protagonist, wheelchair-bound Esau Till, as a very long flashback from which we learn how and why he's engineered his own long-term incarceration, a convoluted story centered on his relentless campaign to protect his mentally challenged, but physically robust younger brother. There are dueling criminal syndicates, biker meth dealers, Nazi white supremacists, and yes, the prostitute with a heart of gold, among other somewhat hackneyed strands to the story. What saved it was the voice and moral center of our damaged and violent Esau. Vachss, whose body of work is devoted to the salvation of the innocents, manages to bring a tear to the eye and a wave of relief that these are not our lives. It's not the first time a story is told from the point of view of the murderer himself, but "That's How I Roll" is no less interesting for reviving this technique. Esau Till's voice has a lyrical quality which draws in the reader slowly, like sinking into molasses. I felt it took a bit longer than necessary to get to the meat of the story, which is one of the reasons I gave it only 4 stars, but it's fascinating all the way through and worth the journey. Perhaps, Esau's plans go a little too often the way he steers them for complete believability, but if you accept the power of his intellect, the outcomes are more palatable. Ultimately, this book was highly readable and definitely serves to inspire interest in the author's other works.
What do You think about That's How I Roll (2012)?
My first Andrew Vachss. If they're all this good, he just picked up another fan.
—muneeb1
Very entertaining book. Lots of twists and good story telling.
—Anisha
It would have been much better if I wasn't so confused.
—downardta
started off slow, but quickly became interesting
—Ewakahuna
