In “The Burden Of Innocence,” Nardizzi’s Second Ray Infantino private investigator novel, he puts the “gritty” back in South Boston. It’s a tale of an innocent man framed and put behind bars by the testimony of some rather questionable witnesses and, fifteen years later, the mess that comes up stinks to high heaven and the stakes are high enough for someone to pull all the stops against Ray’s investigation. This is a adrenaline-loaded thrill ride of a novel taking the reader on a seamy ride into Boston’s dark underbelly of strip clubs, payoffs, informants, and connected-guys.

While this indeed fiction and not reality, Nardizzi makes it feel authentic and true. The writing is crisp and to the point. The characters feel genuine. Not a legal thriller, although it starts out appearing as if it would go in that direction.