In this first of two prequels we are introduced to mob fixer Jack Carter, and he's getting some bad news. It seems that the Fletcher mob, run by the twins Gerald and Les, who are modeled after the, then, recently convicted Kray gangster twins, and the mob that Carter works for has a weak link. That weak link is Jimmy Swann, and it looks like he has turned grass, and now it's up to Carter to track him down before Jimmy fits them all up.

And Carter is going to have to clean this mess up, and do it almost single-handed, because he doesn't want to do any more time, and because his employers are as unprofessional as any mobsters can get. And there's also the fact that Carter is having a hot affair with Gerald's wife Audrey, who is also a borderline alcoholic.

But, on the other hand, if Jimmy is giving the Old Bill some forbidden treats, then who are these heavies that keep turning up with their brand new shiny shooters who are doing their level best to protect Jimmy's best interests?

The Old Bill wouldn't just go shotgunning people all helter-skelter like, even people of known ill-reputes, and with a proven history of rude behavior. Um, now would they? Here's how one of the meetings Carter has with some of Jimmy's new BFFs goes: "The nearest car I've crashed into also begins to move off and the driver doesn't slow down just because there's something lying between him and the end of the alley. There's a squeak of springs mixed together with another, higher pitched sound as the car goes over the fallen heavy." Yeah, Carter just makes friends wherever he goes.

This is a pretty straightforward book, as "Jack Carter's Law" is told from the first person, and told in real time, so that we are really never sure as to what is going to happen, other than Carter isn't going to bite the bullet of course. He's got two more books to appear in.

So as we travel with Carter as he moves through his world as a great white shark moves through the water, we meet people like Peter the Dutchman, a gay gangster with only his own self-interests at heart, and who takes his pleasures in brutalizing both males and females, and who commits a murder of somebody who has Carter's sympathy late in the novel. Or the Coleman brothers, who are the Fletchers competitors. Or Carter himself, who is a pretty cold fixer, who would as rather thump a bird as hump her, depending of the circumstances, but who is also smarter and more resourceful than most would give him credit for.

But, still, he's also a man with a strong moral code, such as it is. It's complicated, but it's there. He's also a man with total confidence in himself and who acts as if he's got ice in his veins. Still, when he erupts, stand back, because nothing will get in his way as moves toward his goals, and anybody who makes the mistake of getting in his way, dies. But despite his coolness and ruthlessness, the circumstances of this Christmas will certainly be one holiday that will even try Carter's nerves. If you've seen the original "Get Carter" movie, then you will have no problem always seeing a young Michael Caine mouthing the lines, and acting out the part as Carter throughout this entire novel.

And for those who like honey in their tea, and their beers of a lite persuasion, then they should know that the sex and violence is pretty graphic, people die fairly regularly, the language is rough, rude, and often redundant, and that most of the characters are all rather an unlikable lot. So, maybe this will not be a book for these people of a weak nature.

Also, while the plot-line will eventually get rather confused and convoluted, it all, mostly, works itself out in the end, and the plotlines are all tied together, mostly. But, if some of it seems rather contrived, well, don't go getting yer knickers all in a knot over it, after all, with the late Ted Lewis, this all the nature of the beast, now ain't it?

Lewis had his own way of writing, and he didn't pay much mind to what critics thought, as you often get long rambling paragraphs and endless run-on sentences. But, Lewis makes his own rules, just as Jack Carter does, and your just gonna hafta live with it.

And just as every author, sooner-or-later, creates an idealized version of themselves, so does Lewis. On page 142, Lewis gives us a one-page biography of Jack Carter that is a spitting image of Lewis himself.

Still, this novel doesn't quite rate five stars, even if Carter is unforgettable and merciless, and the action is fast moving, as there will be several loose plot-lines left dangling, such the murder of a call girl. And there is the carnage Carter and his cohorts commit. It's a mystery as to why all of the violence that happens here goes unreported in the news. I mean, wouldn't some of this end up in the papers, or on the telly?

Oh well, different times, I guess.

For this site I have also reviewed these other crime novels:

Asterisk Club #1: The Wooden Overcoat by Pamela Branch.
Cry for help by Doris Miles Disney.
The Enemy by Desmond Bagley.
Femme (Nameless Detective) by Bill Pronzini.
A Fine Dark Line by Joe R. Lansdale.
The Limbo Connection by Derry Quinn.
Lion in the Cellar by Pamela Branch.
Money Shot (Hard Case Crime) by Christa Faust.
Pressure by Jeff Strand
Street: A Novel by Jack Cady.

Plus these two horror crime novels:

Ancient Enemy by Mark Lukens.
Red Sky by Nate Southard.

As hardboiled as it gets. There are no good guys in this novel about a London organized crime fixer who has to sort out the competition in order to find a "grass" (informant) who is going to shop him and his firm. The story of Jack Carter before the events of Get Carter and his trip north. A hardboiled masterpiece. Highly recommended.

The synopsis, briefly: Jack Carter, a bad-ass London mob enforcer, is caught in the middle of a frame-up turf war. The book is a fast, tight, dark thriller about Jack's figuring out who is behind the whole mess, and his strong-arming his way through and out of danger. It's a book about a bad guy in a bad spot.

I loved GET CARTER--had low expectations for this companion novel (didn't think anything could possibly live up to that classic). In the end I liked JACK CARTER'S LAW just as much--maybe more. It's a chilling read--Jack is a seriously tough guy and his decisions will curdle your blood (never mind the decisions made by the worse bad guys in the book). Really noir, really terrific thriller.

Outstanding!

it was hard to keep up with the English slang

Jack Carter is an enforcer who works for London-based Crime Lords, the Fletcher Brothers. He discovers that a small time crook called Jimmy Swann is about to turn supergrass and this could have big repercussions for both himself and the Fletchers. He has the Christmas holiday to sort out the problem, or else face a long time in jail. A hard thriller written by the man who gave us "Get Carter"