Teen-Age Mobster (aka The Life and Times of a Tough Guy)

Benjamin Appel (1907-1977) grew up in Hell's Kitchen, NY, and attended the University of Pennsylvania and New York University. He authored over 20 novels between 1934 to 1977. Most of his crime-fiction involved the tough urban streets of New York City. One such example is the juvenile crime novel Life and Death of a Tough Guy. It was originally released in 1955 and republished by Stark House Press. In addition, Avon released the book as Teen-Age Mobster in 1960.

The book starts with the introduction of the main character, Joey Kasow, when he is four years old. He lives in Hell's Kitchen among the gangs and the criminal underworld of that era. Because of his speed, his father has him running errands throughout the city. But Joey, being Jewish, is at times taken by his peers and subjected to humiliating jokes and violent beatings. After running afoul of a young group of bullies, Joey takes his beating, but is later accepted by the pack. As the story progresses, Joey grows up with those children and establishes a street gang called 1-4-Alls. 

At the age of 15, Joey and some of the 1-4-All gang join a larger, more violent gang called The Badgers. This group is run by small-time hoods that become a staple in Joey's life. These seasoned criminals turn Joey and his friends into small-scale robbers working in department stores. This involves training the kids on how to avoid the retail cops and how to make a swift grab by consistently displaying an innocent face. 

Ultimately, Joey's rise to criminal superstardom involves the armed robbery of department stores and grocery stores. In January 1920, all bars and saloons of the nation were closed as a result of prohibition. The Badgers' gambling, whore and holdup money begin to seem elementary compared to the big bucks of running moonshine. Appel's narrative begins to tighten up as Joey Kasow becomes the gangster known as Joey Case. His rise to criminal stardom, his eventual struggles with a friend and former gang-associate Georgie and his love interest in a young woman named Sadie are all important elements of the story.

There's nothing not to dislike about this rags to riches story. It possesses many of the juvenile delinquent genre offerings of the era. As a biography of this fictional Joey Kasow character, Appel's narrative is often violent with historical references to Al Capone, Dutch Schultz and Thomas Dewey. If you like early mobster fiction or this notorious era of American history, I think you will enjoy Appel's novel. I'm not a huge fan of the run 'n gun 1920s and 1930s, so Teen-Age Mobster didn't quite grasp my attention as well as crime-noir novels set in later time periods. As a quick read, I mostly enjoyed it.

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Cut Me In

According to Stark House Press, the publisher that reprinted Cut Me In (1959) via their subsidiary Black Gat Books, Jack Karney was born in New York in 1911 and specialized in crime-fiction. He was married with three children and spent his entire life in the same Lower East Side neighborhood in New York City. He tried out for the police department, but ultimately ended up working in the Civil Service within the District Attorney's office. He authored a number of titles like Tough Town (1952), Cop (1952), and Knock 'em Dead (1955). As Mike Skelly he authored the novel There Goes Shorty Higgins (1953). Cut Me In is my first experience with Karney's work.

This novel is similar to other 1940s and 1950s crime-fiction where the rise from rags to riches becomes a captivating look at criminality. Like Benjamin Appel's The Life and Times of a Tough Guy (1960) and Ed McBain's Big Man (written as Richard Marsten, 1959), Jack Karney centers his narrative on Coley Walsh, a young beat cop working the New York streets. His wife died, and now he raises his crippled son while living with his mother on swing shifts. Coley's righteous path becomes corrupt with the simple longing for a patrol car and a promotion to investigator. Coley decides to cut some corners on the way to the top.

While working the beat, Coley saddles an armed robber that is fleeing from the police. In a devilish conversation, Coley learns that the police precinct is corrupt with several key personnel working hand-in-hand with the Syndicate. They run the protection rackets, gambling joints, and swindle politicians to do their bidding. Coley conceives the idea that he should assemble a small group of police officers willing to push the Syndicate out. But, these criminal elements would then be replaced by Coley and his guys. Instead of looking out for the Syndicate, they should become a new Syndicate. 

Through 200 pages, Karney documents Coley's rise through the ranks from small time to the big man. The most compelling portions concern Coley's relationship with a small business owner named Joseph Cantor and his adopted daughter. Coley looks out for Cantor, and understands he represents everything right about America – work hard, build a legitimate owner-operator business, serve the community. In creating his criminal empire, Coley realizes guys like Cantor are prime targets for protection rackets, thus an emotional conflict arises within Coley's pursuit of fortune. It's this conflict that really propels Karney's well-written narrative.

Cut Me In was a wonderful reading experience laced with criminal plans, fall-guys, payoffs, heartbreaks, and violence. Karney's writing style relies heavily on dialogue to tell the tale, and the author created enough diverse characters to keep the story alive and moving. The book's beginning and ending are its strongest parts, with the finale a real barn-burner with flourishes of action and cool-headed resolve. The balance was exceptional, and a difficult feat considering the moving parts. Karney was a pro and Cut Me In must surely represent some of his best work. Recommended. 

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