Dangerous Boys

Set in southeastern Massachusetts during the hot summer of 1984, this searing crime novel from Gifune (Catching Hell) charts the efforts of 20-year-old Richie Lionetti to break out of his dead-end lifestyle. Richie, whose father died when he was four, lives with his mother, who’s on disability and spends her days in an alcoholic stupor or a drug-induced haze. Richie graduated from high school, but he can’t afford to attend college. His girlfriend dumped him when she left for college, knowing that he could no longer fit in with her aspirations. Having no desire to find gainful employment, Ritchie spends his time hanging out with five friends. They support themselves by carrying out petty robberies and fencing the goods they’ve stolen. Richie feels there’s no way out for him, that he will either be reduced to the life of the beaten men around him or wind up in prison. Richie embarks on a risky scheme in an attempt to avoid either of those outcomes. By the end, readers come to care about Richie and his friends and their fates. Best known for his horror fiction, Gifune shows his versatility in this coming-of-age tale. (May)