Rating: 
Summary: A great new noir
Review: A great noir in the tradition of David Goodis and the masters. Here is a writer who knows just what he is talking about, presumably based on his years as a genuine PI in the Bay area. His dialogue is superb, tough, surprising and unsentimental, and his convoluted revenge and counter-revenge tale reminds you of Elmore Leonard at his best, except you have a feeling any of Corbett's characters could have had Leonard's for lunch. His characters do surprising things, just like real people, and you desperately want them to get past their own blind spots and weaknesses, as they get swept up into a Central California Delta drug war with racial overtones--rednecks vs. Mexicans. You desperately want the couple to get back together after their separate ordeals, worthy of Odysseus. It's a book you can learn from, about Spanish slang, about the changes that have taken the drug trade down several notches in viciousness, about the whole fascinating industrial Delta region itself--I read the book with a map by my side. It was compulsive and fun and ought to get a nod or two as best first novel.
Rating:
Summary: A great new noir
Review: A great noir in the tradition of David Goodis and the masters. Here is a writer who knows just what he is talking about, presumably based on his years as a genuine PI in the Bay area. His dialogue is superb, tough, surprising and unsentimental, and his convoluted revenge and counter-revenge tale reminds you of Elmore Leonard at his best, except you have a feeling any of Corbett's characters could have had Leonard's for lunch. His characters do surprising things, just like real people, and you desperately want them to get past their own blind spots and weaknesses, as they get swept up into a Central California Delta drug war with racial overtones--rednecks vs. Mexicans. You desperately want the couple to get back together after their separate ordeals, worthy of Odysseus. It's a book you can learn from, about Spanish slang, about the changes that have taken the drug trade down several notches in viciousness, about the whole fascinating industrial Delta region itself--I read the book with a map by my side. It was compulsive and fun and ought to get a nod or two as best first novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Stayed up until 3 in the morning to finish it
Review: Although this book is a story about the drug trade and the trade's evolution from "innocence" to violent, big business, it is more about the protagonist's comittment to honor. The point of view keeps this from being a "private eye" story, and the character development makes you become really interested in the outcomes of the characters.Some of the scenes portrayed in the book are very violent, and it is not for younger readers
Rating:
Summary: Stayed up until 3 in the morning to finish it
Review: Although this book is a story about the drug trade and the trade's evolution from "innocence" to violent, big business, it is more about the protagonist's comittment to honor. The point of view keeps this from being a "private eye" story, and the character development makes you become really interested in the outcomes of the characters. Some of the scenes portrayed in the book are very violent, and it is not for younger readers
Rating:
Summary: An epic character rich novel
Review: Dan Abatangelo is a drug dealer who smuggles marijuana into the country from Asia. While on a jaunt to Las Vegas, he meets Shel Beaudry, a card dealer in one of the casinos. They run off together, fall in love and live happily ever after until they both get busted for the drug smuggling. Ten years later, Dan is released from prison and searches for Shel who has gotten herself involved in a relationship with a mentally imbalanced man and a criminal organization. Dan must try to rescue her from this complicated living arrangement while trying to keep both of them alive. It proves to be a near impossible task.
David Corbet has written an epic novel rich in characterizations. However, I question the need for the sheer size of this volume. It is 370 pages long, yet, reads like a work of much greater length. True, we get to know the main characters very, very well. But nothing happens for many pages as we concentrate on detail after detail in almost every scene. The pacing is, therefore, lethargic. Nonetheless, the writing is strong and sure, as well as, the characters so realistic that these positives outweigh the negatives thereby allowing for a rewarding reading experience.
Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking!
Review: Here is a first novel that is truly worthy of accolades: beautifully written, with a painful depth of understanding; fully developed characters (even the most secondary) who live and breathe and do both smart and stupid things. It is, essentially, a story of love--about how two people come together, get separated, and then, almost mythically, fight their way back to each other. The violence in this book is as appalling to the characters as it is to the reader--a definite first in terms of contemporary fiction that thrives on relentless gore. Underlying everything is the author's profound caring for the characters, and it is this very genuine authorial concern that lends such weight and veracity to the narrative. David Corbett is a writer, a person, who knows about love and about the rending fear of loss. And this book is dense with the depth of his knowledge. It is also, ultimately, a commentary on the madness of the drug trade and the near-impossibility of ever putting a stop to it. But love, the indefinable attachment of one heart to another, is unstoppable. This is a raw, deeply felt work by an author with heart and wisdom. My highest recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: Corbett Arrives with a Fantastic First Novel
Review: I picked up David Corbett's First Novel, The Devil's Redhead, on a whim and I was very plesantly surprised with the choice. This is one of those rare novels that contains all aspects of a good novel without bogging down or taking away from the main story line. There's action, violence, suspense, love, romance, loyalty, and more, all weaving together to create a fine story that all readers will enjoy. The plot of the novel centers around Dan Abatangelo, a former smuggler jailed for several years, and his quest to reunite with his former love, Shel, a dazzling redhead whom he met before his sentence. She is involved with another low level smuggler who creates a dangerous situation for everyone involved when he rips off the wrong person. The violence and danger escalate with every turn and the suspense is kept a high levels. Corbett has written a fine novel that will satisfy several different types of readers. If you're looking for a book that covers all the bases, The Devil's Redhead is a good choice for you.
Rating:
Summary: All for love
Review: In his debut novel, David Corbett has created a gritty love story entering the underground drug manufacturing world where life is cheap. Set in the California Delta region, it's a story that is filled with violence, betrayal, suspicion and tragedy. Throughout all of this are a far from innocent couple who are desperate to escape this scene to resume their lives.
Dan Abatangelo and Shel Beaudry fell in love almost the instant they met one night in a Vegas casino, but there was something Dan had to get off his chest before he would let their relationship progress past that first attraction. He wanted to come clean with Shel over the fact that he was a major drug smuggler and would understand if she decided to run. She stays.
When he finally gets busted, Dan gets 10 years in an Arizona prison. He chooses a tougher sentence in exchange for a shorter prison term for Shel. By the time he gets out, Shel has gotten herself involved with a loser crankhead and is hopelessly entwined with the Akers brothers, a redneck family who operate a methamphetamine lab. Things are just starting to go south for Shel when an all out war break out between the brothers and a group of Mexicans who are looking to move in on the operation, leaving her stuck in the middle where she is used as a bargaining chip.
While Dan finds himself on the periphery of this crime war, there are many reasons for him to not get involved with some amazingly gruesome scenes taking place as the battle for drug supremacy takes place. But his one reason for persevering wins out giving us hope for a triumphant ending. Before that can take place, though, he has to find a way to break through the defences of a veritable fortress while watching his back for the revenge-seeking Mexicans.
There is a pervading sense of desperation to the story that is tinged with a creeping sense of hopelessness. It seems that no matter how hard Dan tries to find a way to get to Shel his attempts always managed to get frustrated. David Corbett has done an excellent job first up in creating a compelling story that had me unable to guess which way it was headed next.
Rating:
Summary: love story sprinkled with gangs and meth
Review: love, loyalty, betrayal, and murder are all fully examined in the Devils Redhead. a detailed desription of the meth trade and its concomitant gangs coupled with some vivid vignettes of east contra costa and solano county california scenes spice up this emotional and psycological crime thriller. it takes graham greene-like psychological investigations and puts them on a roller coaster. at times you will feel euphoric when protagonists dan abantagelo and shel beaudry unite and then you will cringe and be nauseous when the book lays out a torture or murder scene. good read. recommend steel nerves and an empty stomach before reading. this guy can write.
Rating: 
Summary: The Devil's Redhead
Review: Not realistic. The story line is unrealistic and the continuity very poor.
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