Get Carter

Originally published as Jack’s Return Home in 1970, this impressive novel, the first in a trilogy, inspired the classic 1971 Michael Caine movie. After eight years away from home, London fixer Jack Carter returns to Yorkshire to attend the funeral of his brother, Frank, who was killed in what was officially ruled an auto accident. Despite mixed feelings about Frank, Carter is resolved to learn the truth, and to get revenge if it turns out the death wasn’t accidental. Evocative prose, such as a description of the local steelworks “stretching to the rim of the semicircular bowl of hills, flames shooting upwards—soft reds pulsing on the insides of melting shops, white heat sparking in blast furnaces,” sets this above similarly themed crime stories. Lewis (1940–1982) also manages to inject humor into the mostly gritty proceedings. For example, one obese character is the “kind of man that fat men like to stand next to.” Ian Rankin fans who have not yet read Lewis will be pleased. (Sept.)