CRITICAL PRAISE FOR SICK LIKE THAT

Green made his name with dark stand-alones, often starring cons and grifters (Dead Cat Bounce, 2006), but lately he’s turned to a series featuring no-nonsense Puerto Rican PI Alessandra “Al” Martillo. This follow-up to The Last Gig (2009) finds Al and receptionist Sarah Waters running the Manhattan agency while their cantankerous boss, Marty Stiles, recovers from a gunshot wound. As Waters—like Al, a Brooklyn gal—shows she’s capable of far more than answering phones by taking the lead in a missing-person investigation, Al tries to find Sarah’s deadbeat ex-husband, who has disappeared after becoming a “person of interest” in the murder of a suspected terrorist. As in the previous novel, it’s Al’s no-holds-barred combination of toughness, savvy, and hidden vulnerability that drives the series; like Carol O’Connell’s Kathy Mallory, Al lived on the streets for a period and uses the psychic bruises she absorbed there to propel her forward. Green gives her a terrific cohort in Sarah, street-smart, too, but from different streets, and equally ready to strut her stuff. This is definitely a series on the move. –Bill Ott, Booklist  Alessandra Al Martillo, who works for PI Marty Stiles, is only too glad to turn routine work over while Marty’s in rehab, recovering from a gunshot wound, to new gal and fellow Brooklynite, Sarah Waters. While Sarah tries to locate the estranged stepson of a wealthy client, Al attempts to track Sarah’s ex-husband, Frank, who disappears after telling Sarah that his luck has changed thanks to a sweet new job that sounds too good to be true. Both cases morph in unexpected directions. Sarah must learn quickly if she’s to survive, and Al finds herself trading quips and blows with a variety of thugs and law enforcement officials, from NYPD detectives to unnamed and unidentified Feds. Clever plotting and solutions that require both clear thinking and fast action augment Green’s double dose of tough, resilient female characters. –Publisher’s Weekly  I’ve been talking up Norman Green ever since I discovered him; this street-smart Brooklyn writer is doing great work. This one brings back his tough-as-nails female P.I. Al (for Alessandra) Martillo, star of The Last Gig. The title comes from Al’s anger at her fellow women for putting up with the crap men deal out to them day after day. “[Women] can’t do what they need to do, always making up excuses. We’re sick like that”. Not to worry– Al Martillo doesn’t put up with crap from anyone.  –Sam Reaves on Goodreads Can’t wait to find the first one and read it. Action oriented kick ass females without paranormal features or superpowers? Alright! Next best thing to the anti-heroine in Kim Armstrong’s Exit Strategy, except this woman is not an assassin. –Willow-Be on Goodreads

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