Chris Harding Thornton debuted in 2021 with Pickard County Atlas, a book I loved so much that I’ve had a finger in the wind ever since, hoping to score a galley of her next book. This is it. Sadly, I don’t love it the way that I did her first endeavor; perhaps I just loved the first one too much.

My thanks go to Net Galley and Farrar, Strauss and Girard for the review copy. This book is for sale now.

Our protagonist is Big Jim, a former cop now working as a P.I. He and his friend Frank, who is still a cop, take a man named Vern out to the river to beat the crap out of him for molesting Jim’s child. The plan is to smack him around and run him out of town, but at the last minute, Jim has a change of heart and snuffs him; Frank covers for him. This is how the book opens.

My problem is that a great deal of information gets dumped at the outset, primarily characters, and by the thirty percent mark, I am still trying to keep them straight. It took me a ridiculous amount of time just to remember that Jim is the main character. I can’t recall the last time something like this has happened. There is rampant corruption in Omaha, Nebraska during the era of Prohibition, and there are a lot of local politicians whose names get thrown into the melee early. All of them are male and Caucasian, and while I believe that’s historically accurate for the time and place, it doesn’t help me keep them straight. By the halfway mark I have a better sense of who’s who, but I have reached a state where I have to force myself to read the book so I can write the review.

I would have liked to see at least one female character developed in here somewhere.

The pluses here—and there certainly are pluses—have to do with the author’s abundant skill as a wordsmith. This is grit lit, to be sure, and those with sensitive dispositions might want to steer clear. For me, though, when a character is described as “a guy whose canned meat had half the city’s fingers in it,” I love it. There are a few other moments of very dark humor that run along the same rails. What’s clear is that life is cheap, and Prohibition Omaha is a violent, vicious place to be. At one point, Jim wonders if there’s a single building in town that doesn’t have eight or ten corpses concealed in the concrete; in another, he reflects that “there wasn’t much risk of finding anyone innocent in Omaha.”
The second half of the story is better than the first half.

So there you have it. My advice is that if you want to read this book, get it free or cheap, but don’t pay full cover price for it. Meanwhile, I still have mad respect for this author; I look forward to seeing what she produces next.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

"Little Underworld" by Chris Harding Thornton is a compelling dive into the murky depths of 1930s Omaha, where the line between right and wrong blurs in the shadows of crime and corruption. Thornton's narrative is a gritty, noir-infused journey that follows ex-cop-turned-private investigator Jim Beely as he navigates a treacherous path through the city's underbelly.

The novel opens with a visceral punch as Beely commits a murder to protect his daughter, setting off a chain of events that drags him deeper into a world he thought he'd left behind. Thornton's portrayal of Beely is masterful, crafting a character whose moral compass is as complex as the cases he takes on. The author's background as a seventh-generation Nebraskan shines through in her rich depiction of Omaha, a character in its own right, with a sordid past that festers beneath its surface.

Thornton's prose is both moody and ferocious, with a dark humor that cuts through the tension, making "Little Underworld" a slow-burning beauty that simmers with intensity. The dialogue crackles with authenticity, capturing the era's lingo and the characters' desperation with precision. The plot is a labyrinthine web of lies and deceit, where every twist feels earned and every revelation hits hard.

However, the novel's strength in dialogue occasionally overshadows its atmospheric potential. While the conversations drive the narrative forward, there's a longing for more descriptive passages to immerse the reader fully in the time and place Thornton has so vividly set the stage for.

In conclusion, "Little Underworld" is a darkly funny and ferocious follow-up to Thornton's debut, "Pickard County Atlas." It's a novel that asks tough questions about goodness and the remnants left for those who stray from it. With its complex characters and intricate plot, Thornton solidifies her place as a noteworthy voice in historical crime fiction. This is a tale that will resonate with fans of the genre and leave them pondering long after they finish it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC of this novel. There is a lot of whipsmart dialogue in this Nebraska Prohibition era noir. And the author's turns of phrase are sublime. She is just a great writer. The plot felt secondary. I found it to be more atmosphere than actual plot sometimes. There was action at the beginning and the end but the middle was a lot of dialogue and visiting various locations in 1930s Omaha, which was well-depicted. I think the complexity of the story may have contributed. It reminded me of Ellroy in more ways than one. I love reading about a place that I don't usually get to read about, and this novel provided that to me.

Nebraska noir. Set in the 1930s,. this is a tale of corruption and crime in Omaha. Jim Beely, a former cop, is pressed into assisting Frank Tvrdik, who wants to get rid of a corrupt politician. Not as easy as it sounds and they encounter lots of bad guys. Nicely written and not too twisty and there are a few flashes of humor. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I missed the first book so might not have fully appreciated the characters but that doesn't mean it wasn't a good read as a standalone.

A gangster themed 1930s tale, Little Underworld (2024) is a dark-humoured narrative set in Omaha, Nebraska. A former policeman, now Private Investigator, Jim Beely is caught with a dead body in his car. Yet a dubious local cop, Frank Tvrdik decides to turn a blind eye, if Jim assists him to take down a local councilman. With its realistic capture of the nefarious underworld of gambling, liquor and prostitution, there is plenty of action and even a house bombing. An American rural noir story, with its gritty atmosphere of local crime, politics and hero, makes for an entertaining read, with three and a half stars rating. With thanks to Farrar, Straus & Giroux and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without inducement.

This noir tale of the mean streets of Prohibition-era Omaha is a slow burn, but it gets going and it goes on relentlessly. Private investigator (and ex-cop) Big Jim Beely has lost his family because of a bad decision, and now he’s crossed a line. That leads to his reluctantly teaming up with crooked cop Frank Tvrdik. But these two sort-of dirty guys are angels compared to the guys they’re up against; a group that seems to have most of law enforcement working for them. But what’s their angle? That’s what Jim and Frank have to figure out before they’re put on ice down at Pete’s mortuary.

I enjoyed the atmosphere of this gritty novel, and its hardboiled but sometimes funny tone. At one point, the author refers to bizarre and outrageous crimes to make the point that Omaha at this time was worse than Chicago. It made me wonder if these crimes were true, and I would have liked to have an author’s note about that.

I went to Omaha a few times in the late 1970s to visit a friend, and it seemed pretty wholesome, but what did I know? It was a shock when I realized that my visits were fewer years after the events of this novel than the number of years that have passed since my visits. Yikes.

This was a good book, I found it a tad slow at times, but mostly I enjoyed it. It is in the 1930's and Jim Beely is a former police man, who now works as a private investigator. He had taken in a guy that was down on his luck and the guy repaid him by getting intimate with his daughter, so Jim repays him in a fatal way. A local policeman, Frank, happens upon Jim with the body in the backseat, he wants to do a deal, he'll help with the body if Jim will help him on another matter, not much choice for Jim. Things don't get much better, as Jim is investigating he is assaulted by someone who bashes him in the back of the head, knocking him out, but otherwise he's alright (probably because Jim is a big fellow and can take licks). Jim and Frank pursue various avenues which put them in close proximity to politicians who aren't so happy they are investigating. Overall a good story, I would recommend particularly if you enjoy historical police procedurals. Thanks to #Netgalley and #MCD for the ARC.

The Little Underworld of 1930's Omaha is given to us through two minor players who get caught up in the politics of this dirty city. It was rough getting myself interested in this, especially as author Chris Harding Thornton took the slow road to story development. All in all, I was underwhelmed. It didn't help that I couldn't care less about 1930's Omaha, which obviously the author does.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Chris Thornton’s writing is easy to get into. What was interesting about the story is the time period this story is set in. I think I would highly recommend this book for someone who loves history pieces. It’s also on the shorter side so the time invested parts off. It might not have been my cup of tea but I would still recommend it. And for a debut I think it shows a lot of promise.

This was a really unique mystery novel, it worked well as a follow-up to Pickard County Atlas. Chris Harding Thornton has a great writing style that works with the genre and I enjoyed getting to read this novel. I enjoyed the time-period used and it worked with the story. I appreciated getting to read this.

Loved Chris Harding Thornton's debut, and was very excited to learn of this new novel. As I expected, the writing is smooth and hard-edged. The dialogue spot on: at times funny, at times profound, always interesting. Nothing worse than the characters populated in a novel boring the reader when they open there mouths. Not so here.

I also love how beautiful the writing is on a sentence level. Thornton has an MFA, and it shows. She not only keeps the pages turning, but she makes you gasp as a reader with every well chosen word.

So what is the book about? 1930's Omaha, Nebraska, and a PI named Jim exacts revenge on the man who molested Jim's daughter. That's the jump off point and a good one. From there, you'll encounter shady characters, fun loving characters, criminals, politicians (also criminals), and myriad plot twists and satisfying revelations. Highly recommended.

I really wanted to like this book. Ive heard good things about Thornton and a story about the underworld in thirties Omaha was right up my historical fiction/crime thriller alley. And the book wasn’t bad—I just found it tough going. A lot of talking with our really going anywhere—slow moving and slow moving and elliptical. Thornton can write and maybe I just didn’t have the patience. Give it a try-you might feel differently than I do.

No sophomore slump. Thornton's Little Underworld is a peer barn burner of a novel. The crime fiction world has a merging star rural America in the desolate much over looked areas of Nebraska.

Set in Omaha Nebraska during prohibition Big Jim has to kill a guy because he went after his daughter. Jim has to cover his tracks and this takes him deep into the unlikely underworld of Omaha Nebraska. Great writing if you love old school crime noir. Fantastic

Lean prose, wry humor, and a twisty plot evocative (and worthy) of Dashiell Hammett's THE GLASS KEY. This book is riveting, well paced, and speaks with a true hard-boiled authority, laced with a strong line of unsentimental humanism. A few surprises, good twists and turns, and a climax that is emotional and inevitable. Full five stars.

My only nits are the title -- which is apropos of very little in the book, and certainly not its central themes and action -- and cover art I found unappealing and a bit baffling.

Still and all, a fantastic writer, telling a great story with just the right amount of everything.