A quintet of disparate misfits embark on a flimsy alliance to escape their busted lives and start anew just a few miles across the border in Mexico. Taking the lead is Nick Beiades, an ex-con who left his one-chance love, a bombshell named Lona, to our second fiddle Dave Madrid, a crooked cop who’s crafted a sure-fire bank job on “Fiesta Day.” The parade during the long Labor Day weekend will draw all the local’s attention, and Madrid himself will be on duty to ensure peace and order—far from the bank. Plus, it just so happens an armored car loaded with payroll dough is scheduled to unload at the bank that morning. Madrid’s plan is foolproof and to prove it, he partners with three fools: Nick, and his “associates” Sand-o and Graemie.
Gary Lovisi called it “a mini-masterpiece” of hard crime noir. It is that, and author Gilbert has plotted an excellent setup and storyline, infused with shady characters and suspicious agendas. It’s fast-paced and delivers more than a few knockouts. However, these attributes are marred slightly by Gilbert’s penchant for jargon, and him knowing more than his readers, which means readers have to wait for clarity.
This is Gilbert’s second crime book, written in the late 1950s. His favorite term seems to be “crut,” which I eventually figured out was not an f-bomb, but an s-bomb. There are more, but here’s another example:
“The other must be clouting Magallanes’ Dodge.”
“They’ll turn a spike outfit in it.”
“They” are cops. Clouting infers impounding, and the spike is a syringe, but these elements didn’t click at first glance. These uncertain moments are short-lived, but they break the fictive flow, taking you out of the story. Otherwise, Vice Trap fires on all available cylinders.
