3.5 stars

Here I am, merrily reading along thinking this was going to be a family drama sort of book. Getting a bit bored after the prologue and nothing happens for nearly half the book. Naively believing that the distribution was actually about cars...and then BAM! The 'hood came out. Mafia, Mexican drug cartels, people getting shot all over the place.

I liked this book and I can't wait for part 2. I just wish the narrative would've been a little tighter. Seriously, what was the point of the Trevor situation? Did that have anything to do with the set-up? Why waste a whole prologue on it if it didn't tie in with the rest of the story. Kinda dropped the ball on the Vegas/Maria thing too. But, hopefully they show up in the sequel.

And I'm sorry, but London is not a very well-developed character. Raised in that family, I doubt a woman like that would ever let a man hit her repeatedly. Or be that clingy and desperate to hold onto one like him. Or maybe she just annoyed the hell out of me, b/c women like that piss me off... Nor did it make sense for the family to shut her out of the business, being blood and all.

The rape scene was anti-climatic, but I think I'm glad of that. London emptying a clip in his ass kinda fell flat too. The final showdown with Sal and Harris was also a let down. Just didn't pack a punch. And by the time it got to the last line in the epilogue, you already had Ruby figured out, so not a big shocker. Now I'm just wondering if Remy and Maria are in on that too, considering the line about her brother owing them...