(reviewed by JD Jung)
Mulgrew Magrady, an often-times homeless Viet Nam veteran is trying to get his life back on track. Though he is eight months sober, he is still suffering from his earlier impulsive actions. He abandoned responsibility for his family which later led him to lose contact with his ex-wife, grown kids and grandkids.
His life continues to go downhill when he tries to help Floyd Chambers, a disabled friend in a wheelchair, by confronting a thug who claims that Chambers owes him money. When this gangster is found murdered and Chambers is nowhere to be found, Magrady is suspect number one.
So is Chambers in hiding, and why? In any event, Magrady must find him and clear himself. However, we find that the murder is just a small part of the story. Add a mummified head of a Native American shaman, and you’ll see there’s a lot more going on here.
In this novella, readers get a glimpse of the gritty side of Los Angeles. Issues of gentrification, class, race, social justice, addiction along with pop culture is woven into a fascinating crime story. The eccentric supporting characters—and there are a lot of them— greatly enhance the story along with the bleak graphic setting.
The Underbelly , which is appropriately titled, will intrigue fans of contemporary noir crime fiction.
