IMMORAL ORIGINS

A petty criminal in 1970s New York City gets mixed up with an increasingly dangerous organization in this series-starting thriller.

Jake Barnum has spent most of his first 24 years in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood making trouble, mostly with minor thefts or nights that landed him in the drunk tank. At a Halloween party in 1978, he falls for Marilyn Monroe—or, rather, a woman wearing a mask that resembles the Hollywood star. This is her persona as part of the Desire Card, and she ropes Jake into the group, as well. The Card members, who all wear masks that look like celebrities, abide by a simple slogan: “Any wish fulfilled… for the right price.” Jake quickly learns that club activities aren’t very different from those in his criminal life, as they entail threatening people and dealing drugs. Things get more complicated for Jake when it turns out that his elderly, thuggish boss is the Card’s targeted rival. He finds it hard to trust anyone; some of the wishes that the Card fulfills involve murder, and someone in the organization is plotting a coup. Still, Jake is smitten with Marilyn, so if he wants to escape, he’ll need to find a way that they can both be safe. Goldberg, the author of Vanish Me (2022), offers a gritty, suspenseful story in this novel. Although the Card is a straightforwardly criminal organization, its members are mysterious and unnerving. They’re almost always masked, wearing a “frozen expression” that makes them even more dubious. Despite his flaws and wavering morals, Jake will garner readers’ sympathy; his ill brother, who relies on full-time care, needs surgery, and Jake fights to keep him and his best friend from harm. The author’s concise prose gives momentum to the narrative, which carries over into 1980. Copious pop-culture and historical references effectively ground the time period, from a beloved 1978 cinematic musical to news of the Iran hostage crisis. A doozy of an ending lays out a fairly clear path to the next series installment.

A brisk and edgy tale of a young man struggling to do what’s right.