Book Review
Author: John Huddy
Published: this nonfiction book was published in 2009; I listened to the unabridged audiobook (Blackstone Audio, Inc.; read by Stefan Rudnicki; 13 hours)
What is the story?
Network producer and onetime Miami Herald columnist Huddy tells a gripping story of greed, violence, theft and public relations. Las Vegas had just launched its new blitz of advertising advancing itself not as "Sin City" but as a family-friendly vacation destination when Jose Vigoa (a Cuban-born commando veteran of the Soviet Army) hit town in the late 1990s. Vigoa and a small crew embarked on a violent 16-month crime wave, targeting some of the Strip's most prominent (and, as Vigoa showed, vulnerable) institutions. A 23-year veteran of the Las Vegas Police Force, Lt. John Alamshaw was charged with finding and capturing the men behind the crime spree without allowing the robberies to become national news and spoil Vegas's new image. Huddy traces Vigoa's personal history from his childhood in Castro's Cuba to fighting for the Red Army in Afghanistan, his return to Cuba and eventual resettlement in the United States. Then he chronicles the Cuban's increasingly audacious grabs for Vegas riches and his ultimate sentencing to more than 500 years in prison with no possibility of parole. This debut is a must for true-crime enthusiasts. --from Publishers Weekly
What type of language does it use—technical, complex, standard, or colloquial? primarily standard, some technical (a background in criminal justice or law would help, or a strong interest in true crime)
Does the level of language make it easy or difficult for the reader to follow? it was written by a journalist, so the language is easy to understand and the story is engrossing
Did you like this book? very much! Best book I've read this year.
If you could change something, what would it be? Jose Vigoa is portrayed as near a hero as possible. Considering what a reprehensible guy he is, the choice of words, and the ratio of his own words to analysis of actions, can be hard to swallow.
What were your favourite parts? Stefan Rudnicki is my favorite audiobook narrator, and his voice is such a great match to this deeply disturbing, sometimes unbearably tense subject matter. In the end, the good guys are all the more admirable, and the bad even worse, thanks to Rudnicki's terrific narration.
Who stands out, among the characters? Lt. Alamshaw of the Robbery Division of the Las Vegas Police Department was—as fleshed out by Huddy—pretty danged cool. Tenacious, smart, dedicated, and even funny, he came off as someone I'd like to work with.
What is your recommendation? great book for lovers of true crime, Las Vegas history and culture, law enforcement, and (surprisingly) modern Cuban history and politics
5 adjectives you would use to describe this text: violent, engrossing, bizarre, surprising, extreme
[book review template 5 adapted from here; the title quotation is by Hunter S. Thompson, from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream]
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