5th and Vanguard by Lee Adams

A page-turner ultimately about second chances, 5th and Vanguard by Lee Adams is an engrossing thriller written in classic noir style. It’s 1999 and writer Julie Page is a recovering addict hoping to retrieve her artistic muse when she finds herself a chance witness to a crime in front of Bob’s Liquor Palace at the corner of 5th and Vanguard. Supremely well-written with characters, exposition, and dialogue authentic to the genre and an earlier era, this tight, compelling novel is somewhat weakened by occasional grammatical errors, but these issues will be easily overlooked by fans of dark, gritty, fast-paced crime fiction.