Iron Annie

Cassidy debuts with a scabrous story of love and class collision that trails an irresistible duo as they dispose of a cache of cocaine. Aoife, who is bisexual and a small-time criminal, is obsessed with posh Annie, who is new to town in Dundalk, and the two become occasional lovers. Aoife receives a request from her sometime boss, the Rat King, who has stolen 10 kilos of cocaine from a rival gang and wants Aoife to sell it. She agrees and, after springing Annie from jail, where Annie was being held without bail for a minor offense, the two are off to England to get to work. After crossing to Liverpool on the ferry, the two motor south in a friend’s car, dispensing kilos and sexual favors at stops along the way from Manchester to London. En route, Aoife recalls stories of her wild past. She narrates in a vernacular filled with Irish slang (“craic” is anything entertaining, “beors” are attractive women”), while pansexual Annie doles out street wisdom (“Someone looking for a leg-up is less likely to break yours”). The chronicle is light on story but thick with atmosphere. With his rich language, Cassidy lands in the company of Kevin Barry, Roddy Doyle, and other notable bards of the Irish demimonde. (Jan.)