“The Wolves of Fairmount Park” by Dennis Tafoya, $25.99
The shooting of two middle-class teenagers in front of a drug house in Philadelphia touches off a community maelstrom that envelops an ever-increasing circle of those affected by the crime.
In his excellent second novel, Dennis Tafoya takes a sophisticated approach akin to HBO’s brilliant “The Wire” to show that no crime is committed in a vacuum. Myriad connections are formed by the shooting. Each person is affected — from the teens’ families and friends, the cops, the criminals and the hard-working people in the area.
Tafoya tackles this ambitious story with a tightly focused plot and in-depth insight into myriad characters. “The Wolves of Fairmount Park” is a fresh and original work that never succumbs to cliches.
Neither of the teenagers should have been in front of that house in that neighborhood, which has become a battleground between warring drug dealers. Neither young man was known to be using drugs.
Danny Martinez, an ambitious detective, , tries to find out why they were there as the families deal with their own grief when one boy dies and their relief as the other recovers.
Street cop Brendan Donovan just wants his son, Michael, to live and the shooters arrested. Arrogant, wealthy businessman George Parkman Sr. wants revenge on who shot his son, George Jr., and doesn’t care who else is harmed along the way.
Tafoya showcases his affinity for noir fiction in “The Wolves of Fairmount Park.” While he mesmerizes with a dark view of Philadelphia, he also infuses his plot with hope and optimism. All is not bleak as long as a person is willing to change.
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