THIEVES’ PARADISE

Out-of-work actors, small-time crooks, and desperate men are on the grift in this mediocre new outing from the prolific (and usually better) African-American Dickey.

In a prologue we see 15-year-old Dante trying to protect his mother from his abusive father and ending up in a juvenile facility. Now, ten years later and finally living the straight life in Los Angeles, Dante finds himself a victim of post–September 11 aerospace layoffs. While joblessness may be a problem, it hardly compares to the predicament of getting Pam, an older waitress whose table he’s been frequenting, to notice him. As a favor to his old mentor Jackson (who, erroneously being sued for child support, needs some quick cash), Dante agrees to work a cold job (an easy con) for grifter kingpin Scamz. He finally gets Pam’s attention by offering her a quick thousand (a struggling actor, she’s saving up for plastic surgery) for her help in the real estate swindle Scamz has lined up. Spanning three days, the story travels up and down LA, from the barrio to Scamz’s mansion, from deals gone bad to the steamy night Dante spends with Pam. Character his strong suit, Dickey unfolds a tableau of hungry people willing to compromise for a chance to get out of the hole life has put them in. But, still, with a long tradition of great hard-boiled LA novels to live up to, this one hits off-center: not quite dangerous or stylish enough for the villainy, not quite complex enough to stand as a character study. At the close, beaten and on the run, Dante has some tough decisions to make about Scamz, who took him under his wing long ago; Jackson, the best friend who double-crosses him; and beautiful Pam, older but certainly not wiser.

Hard-core Dickey fans will be entertained by this sexy, fast-paced romp. Others should check out his earlier work.