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Darby Holland #2
A Long Crazy Burn
Thrilling sequel to LUCKY SUPREME.
Time is up in Old Town. As the pace of gentrification reaches frenzy in Portland, Oregon, Darby Holland's beloved tattoo parlor, Lucky Supreme, is destroyed by a bomb that ripped through an entire city block. Only a warning call from his favorite prostitute saved his life. Developers have been like wolves at the door of D'mitri (the drunken landlord) for the past few years, but this is different. With nothing to lose, Darby goes on a rampage to discover first the bomber then the developer who set everything in motion, and along the way falls under FBI suspicion, messes with dangerous pimps and drug lords, gets his face permanently rearranged, and, then, at the lowest point in his adult life, Darby Holland meets the woman of his dreams. Long, lanky, smart, and a foot taller than Darby, Suzanne is a woman of enormous appetite. Darby has finally met his match in bed and at the dinner table. But Suzanne, for all her strength and wisdom, can't save Darby from his enemies. Fortunately, Delia (Darby's tiny vinyl clad side-kick) and her punk-rock boyfriend's band can, and in one of the most outrageous capers in crime fiction, Darby, Big Mike, Nigel, and Flaco (Lucky Supreme faithfuls), impersonate restaurant staff to brilliantly orchestrate a kidnapping of a Russian crime boss, making full use of an Armenian smuggling operation to pave the way for justice and the resurrection of the Lucky Supreme.
Time is up in Old Town. As the pace of gentrification reaches frenzy in Portland, Oregon, Darby Holland's beloved tattoo parlor, Lucky Supreme, is destroyed by a bomb that ripped through an entire city block. Only a warning call from his favorite prostitute saved his life. Developers have been like wolves at the door of D'mitri (the drunken landlord) for the past few years, but this is different. With nothing to lose, Darby goes on a rampage to discover first the bomber then the developer who set everything in motion, and along the way falls under FBI suspicion, messes with dangerous pimps and drug lords, gets his face permanently rearranged, and, then, at the lowest point in his adult life, Darby Holland meets the woman of his dreams. Long, lanky, smart, and a foot taller than Darby, Suzanne is a woman of enormous appetite. Darby has finally met his match in bed and at the dinner table. But Suzanne, for all her strength and wisdom, can't save Darby from his enemies. Fortunately, Delia (Darby's tiny vinyl clad side-kick) and her punk-rock boyfriend's band can, and in one of the most outrageous capers in crime fiction, Darby, Big Mike, Nigel, and Flaco (Lucky Supreme faithfuls), impersonate restaurant staff to brilliantly orchestrate a kidnapping of a Russian crime boss, making full use of an Armenian smuggling operation to pave the way for justice and the resurrection of the Lucky Supreme.
325 pages, Hardcover
First published October 17, 2017
11 people are currently reading
223 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Johnson
9 books85 followersJeff Johnson is the author of Tattoo Machine, The Lucky Supreme Trilogy, Deadbomb Bingo Ray, I Shop At Laney's, and more. Visit him at greatpinkskeleton.com and on Instagram @jeffjohnsonarium.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 9, 2018
Welcome to Old Town Portland, once the land of sleazy tattoo parlors, dive bars, pimps, and other gutter dwellers. Now, under assault from the forces of gentrification. Darby Holland is an unusual protagonist for a crime story. Rather than being a detective or a police officer, he’s a crazy tattoo artist with anger problems and maybe you’d be angry too if someone bombed your business. This book 📚 opens with a loud bang and then tons of gasoline are poured on the fire 🔥 as Holland gets in one nasty all-out vicious brawl after another. There’s also a romantic interlude and a long con to round out the bill, but the best of it is the insane violence and desperation that fills up the first half.
November 21, 2017
3.25/5 stars
Let me start off by saying I absolutely hate the cover of this book. I'm the type of person that will buy a book based on the cover and this is not appealing to me at all. I do get that it fits the vibe of the book but, it is very unattractive.
somethings to warn you about this book:
- it is very vulgar
- there are racial slurs
- tons of violence
If you like a quick paced crime novel with morally grey characters then you might enjoy this series!
I read this book without reading the first book Lucky Supreme and I feel like I didn't really miss a whole lot not having read it. Most of these types of crime novels you can get away with that, like James Patterson's Alex Cross novels.
I really enjoyed Jeff Johnson's style of writing, it was quick paced and easy to read. The story itself was pretty interesting and the characters were something else! I have never read a Noir style novel before as it isn't my type of book but this was not bad.
Darby Holland the main character is pretty much a complete scumbag and sociopath. He's hellbent on making the people pay for blowing up his tattoo parlor and he doesn't care how its done. He plans and schemes to get get revenge by doing things his own way dragging his friends into it with him. He has no moral compass.
I really enjoyed the story up until the love interested decided to poke its head in, during these parts I found the story lagging a bit. I'm all for some romance but I just wasn't feeling this. The author must have an immense love for food because he described a lot of the food they ate in detail and whenever Darby went to get groceries he listed out what he was getting which wasn't really relevant to the story.
I was sent a copy of this book by Skyhorse Publishing for an honest review.
Let me start off by saying I absolutely hate the cover of this book. I'm the type of person that will buy a book based on the cover and this is not appealing to me at all. I do get that it fits the vibe of the book but, it is very unattractive.
somethings to warn you about this book:
- it is very vulgar
- there are racial slurs
- tons of violence
If you like a quick paced crime novel with morally grey characters then you might enjoy this series!
I read this book without reading the first book Lucky Supreme and I feel like I didn't really miss a whole lot not having read it. Most of these types of crime novels you can get away with that, like James Patterson's Alex Cross novels.
I really enjoyed Jeff Johnson's style of writing, it was quick paced and easy to read. The story itself was pretty interesting and the characters were something else! I have never read a Noir style novel before as it isn't my type of book but this was not bad.
Darby Holland the main character is pretty much a complete scumbag and sociopath. He's hellbent on making the people pay for blowing up his tattoo parlor and he doesn't care how its done. He plans and schemes to get get revenge by doing things his own way dragging his friends into it with him. He has no moral compass.
I really enjoyed the story up until the love interested decided to poke its head in, during these parts I found the story lagging a bit. I'm all for some romance but I just wasn't feeling this. The author must have an immense love for food because he described a lot of the food they ate in detail and whenever Darby went to get groceries he listed out what he was getting which wasn't really relevant to the story.
I was sent a copy of this book by Skyhorse Publishing for an honest review.
July 3, 2020
This is the highwater mark for Darby Holland, I think. While I gave Lucky Supreme a generous review and I dug Animals After Midnight, A Long Crazy Burn struck a nice and natural balance.
I said in my Lucky Supreme review that I didn't quite find its underworld as convincing as much as I simply enjoyed Johnson's invention of it. The first novel came close to irritating me in its eagerness to please. Remember the old Loony Tunes when the big, musclebound dog backhanded the little dog and you'd hear Mel Blanc's voice screach "Shaddup!". I don't mean to say Johnson is a yappy little dog, haha. No, I just mean that Darby Holland 1 had too much going on. It was the pilot episode of what was going to be Johnson's flagship series (sadly it's not anymore, Darby Holland suspended after the 3rd book - and on a cliffhanger, be warned) and Johnson couldn't find a way to set up his series along with setting up the duties of the current story all at once. So the result was a too busy story that teetered with losing me at times.
I didn't talk about that in my review bc I hadn't been fully aware until THIS novel.
Let me keep this short and sweet for you guys. This is Jeff Johnson's best book that I've read so far. (I've read all the Darby books and Dead Bang Disco Stu or whatever that was called.) Jeff Johnson's shows in this novel that he's better with characters driving the story when he allows it. He seems to (or maybe just the nature of mysteries) feel more secure when there's a ton of plot rather than letting characters have the wheel.
I liked Darby simply existing in his world. I liked following that. I liked him meeting somebody. Maybe falling in love.
Don't misunderstand. He still fracks up some bad guys. That's great, too.
No worries, guys and gals. Jeff Johnson's got you.
I said in my Lucky Supreme review that I didn't quite find its underworld as convincing as much as I simply enjoyed Johnson's invention of it. The first novel came close to irritating me in its eagerness to please. Remember the old Loony Tunes when the big, musclebound dog backhanded the little dog and you'd hear Mel Blanc's voice screach "Shaddup!". I don't mean to say Johnson is a yappy little dog, haha. No, I just mean that Darby Holland 1 had too much going on. It was the pilot episode of what was going to be Johnson's flagship series (sadly it's not anymore, Darby Holland suspended after the 3rd book - and on a cliffhanger, be warned) and Johnson couldn't find a way to set up his series along with setting up the duties of the current story all at once. So the result was a too busy story that teetered with losing me at times.
I didn't talk about that in my review bc I hadn't been fully aware until THIS novel.
Let me keep this short and sweet for you guys. This is Jeff Johnson's best book that I've read so far. (I've read all the Darby books and Dead Bang Disco Stu or whatever that was called.) Jeff Johnson's shows in this novel that he's better with characters driving the story when he allows it. He seems to (or maybe just the nature of mysteries) feel more secure when there's a ton of plot rather than letting characters have the wheel.
I liked Darby simply existing in his world. I liked following that. I liked him meeting somebody. Maybe falling in love.
Don't misunderstand. He still fracks up some bad guys. That's great, too.
No worries, guys and gals. Jeff Johnson's got you.
June 15, 2020
Darby owed a tattoo shop someone burnt it down with a few of the connected buildings. Darby gets beat up a awful lot of times thru out. For a name like Darby I think it doesn't fit him well. His best friend Delia is a weird dress to say the least so be prepared for some wild described outfits. Darby decides to find out who ordered the bomb set off. He later meets a real tall sexy lady & becomes attached to her. They both loved to eat -LOTS of food too. Then the fun and beatings take place to find the man he most wanted to find for revenge.
April 6, 2018
I picked up this book randomly from the library. Although it is apparently the second book in the series, it was easy to read as a stand-alone book. It was fast-paced with lots of action and interesting characters, but it was definitely not my style (lots of violence and racial slurs).
June 20, 2018
meh. I liked the first one, but this one has too much Bad Boy Hero Who Gets The Posh Girl And Foils The Mobsters for me to suspend disbelief.
October 20, 2018
Not quite as good as Lucky Supreme, but still a pretty fun book overall. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series when it comes out.
April 12, 2020
I was looking for some dumb escapism and knew I'd get it here. Not as good as Lucky Supreme, but a quick and fun read all the same.
June 12, 2022
A fun, sketchy read!
Jeff Johnson doesn’t disappoint with this one. I’m officially addicted to the Darby Holland series! I can’t wait to read the next one. 😊
Jeff Johnson doesn’t disappoint with this one. I’m officially addicted to the Darby Holland series! I can’t wait to read the next one. 😊
May 24, 2023
NO! This is the middle book of a trio. It may be my reason for such a low "star" rating. Oh well, must move on from it. Later. Keep Reading.
January 7, 2025
Troppo lento come eventi e poco incisiva la scrittura. Molto diverso da come me lo aspettavo visto la trama e il contesto.
September 8, 2018
" ... nothing good ever happens after 3am .."
And it certainly doesn't in Johnson's acerbic tale of revenge, murder, love, and double dealing. This puts me in mind of the graphic novel - akin to Sin City - where Darby Holland is a crude, rude, violent street hustler, and the story is raw, gritty and no holds bar. As the caper unfolds, the action hots up, the pace quickens (as does the readers' pulse rate), as Darby embarks upon the long road to revenge.
Found it not at all difficult to read as this is the follow on from "Lucky Supreme".
And it certainly doesn't in Johnson's acerbic tale of revenge, murder, love, and double dealing. This puts me in mind of the graphic novel - akin to Sin City - where Darby Holland is a crude, rude, violent street hustler, and the story is raw, gritty and no holds bar. As the caper unfolds, the action hots up, the pace quickens (as does the readers' pulse rate), as Darby embarks upon the long road to revenge.
Found it not at all difficult to read as this is the follow on from "Lucky Supreme".
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews