Wenzell Brown (1912–1981) wrote nonfiction, historical fiction, and true crime. But he shared the spotlight as one of the top three of juvenile delinquency (JD) fiction writers of the ’50s, alongside Hal Ellson and Irving Shulman. The Wicked Streets is heaped in NY’s hipster scene with jazz clubs, reefer, switchblades, nabs (cops), punks, the dives.
Buzz Baxter is a wild man on the ivories and in his one-way trajectory toward pushing, crime, womanizing, and narcissism. Young, naive Diane Griscom hears him play once and is hooked by his bad-boy charisma and wild rhythms. Buzz knows this blond, blue-eyed knockout is the daughter of old man Griscom, a guy with connections and dough—plenty of dough, so he plays things cagey and cool. A smart operator like Buzz could end up on top if he works this dish into his plans.
But despite his talents, Buzz is a loser. He has enemies. He’s short on cash, because every time he scores some scratch he fritters it away on whims and self-gratification. The Wicked Streets follows Buzz’s sketchy plans that never seem to unfold as he figures. His downward spiral drags the dewy-eyed Diane along in his wake. Will he turn himself around? Will Diane finally see beneath his hipster exterior? What level of trouble would scare either of them into a change in direction?
Brown crafts a fascinating tale of inner fantasies and grim realities of life just barely off the streets of the Big Apple. What happens is generally predictable, but often specifically surprising. And that keeps the pages turning and the danger ever-present. A screaming example of ’50s JD novel-length fiction.
