From Booklist
It's October 1980, and laid-back loner Vince Camden never misses a morning making maple bars at the doughnut shop he manages in Spokane, Washington. And he rarely misses a night relieving locals of their bankrolls at an after-hours poker game, selling his hooker pals pot at cost, and running a lucrative credit-card theft ring. Vince has landed in eastern Washington via the witness-protection plan, and he is starting to like the simple pleasures, including receiving his first voter-registration card. So even when a hit man, a local cop, and Mob-boss-in-waiting John Gotti get Vince in their crosshairs, he keeps trying to figure out if he should pull the lever for Reagan or Carter. This tale of unlikely redemption works because of Walter's virtuoso command of character and dialogue--along with a wicked second-act twist. The novel is also a gritty love letter to Spokane and all the other second-tier cities where residents don't realize how good they've got it, and with its Capara-like spirit, it serves as a surprisingly satisfying antidote to the avalanche of cynical chatter emanating from this year's political campaigns and commentators.
Frank SennettCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Review
" 'It's been a long time since I've read a book as compulsively, indeed greedily, as I read Citizen Vince. Here are characters who seem to live of their own volition, who talk out of a terrible inner need to make themselves known and understood, who reveal not just themselves but the yearning heart of our great flawed democracy.' - Richard Russo, Pulizer-Prize winning author of Empire Falls. 'Admirably unpredictable... always engrossing. Walter's best by far.' - Kirkus Reviews. 'Splendidly entertaining, thoughtful' - Sunday Telegraph. 'Refreshing... entertaining... [with] wry precision and expert timing' - New York Times. 'Citizen Vince is fresh and different - a gritty story of betrayal, and an extended riff on life, death and politics. Walter is a literary talent writ large.' - Boston Globe. 'Utterly inventive... excruciatingly breathless' - Washington Post Book World. 'Dazzling... wry dialogue... agile prose... and a finely tuned plot' - Seattle Times. 'A nerve-tingling narrative' - Manchester City Life"