Dark and brutal, enchanting and immersive, Dirty 20 is a masterfully crafted crime/fantasy novel blend with a cutthroat game of loyalty, betrayal and survival at the center. Bill Schweigart delivers an epic tale that combines the criminal underworld with role-playing games, resulting in a thriller that promises to be unlike anything else you’ve ever read.
Tommy Fugue is the son of a mob boss and shows no interest in the family business. But when his father forces him to spend his summer break from college figuring out how to launder money, he comes up with a fantasy game project he puts on FunFunder with the idea to submit pledges from accounts he controls using gift cards he purchases. It’s a scheme with promise, except the world loves the game concept and suddenly there are pledges totaling $650k and climbing. Now trying to create a legit game, forcing Tommy to follow through on something for the first time in his life, he must navigate a minefield of wise guys with a group of unique gamers forced on him by his father – a strip-club owner, a hit woman, a street capo with OCD and a stoner accountant. As reality and fantasy converge, Tommy faces danger from inside and outside the family, forcing him to grow up in a hurry if he wants to successfully launch this game…and avoid being killed by his own father.
Dirty 20 is billed as The Sopranos meets Dungeons & Dragons, which is a perfect description of this book. It dives deep into an organized crime family and what it takes to survive and thrive in that environment when the threat of pain and death hang over everything and everyone. And it also does a fantastic job of developing the fantasy world of the game Tommy is developing, going into depth in a way that makes you want to play the game while recognizing the perilous parallels to the events the characters are experiencing in real time. Merging these two concepts might sound strange, but it works exceedingly well. Resulting in Dirty 20 feeling like two novels woven into one – a dark gangster crime thriller paired with a mythic fantasy novel.
But it’s more than that. At its core this is a coming-of-age story for young Tommy who’s at a crossroads in his life that forces him to choose between cowering from and kowtowing to his dominant father or deciding to get out and forge his own path. Compelling him to see the world for what it is and find his place in it. Ultimately pushing him to make the decision to step up and grow a pair of balls, so to speak. All the while having to overcome obstacles placed in his way. It’s a fun and treacherous journey to watch with a character that is easy to root for.
Filled with great characters, dark storylines, and shocking twists – of which there are several that will hit you like a pair of brass knuckles to the temple – Dirty 20 is a captivating and engaging novel you won’t be able to put down. Bill Schwiegart knocks this one out of the park, further showcasing his literary versatility as he adds an epic fantasy and crime crossover thriller to his previous works in unfiltered dark crime and folklore-themed thrillers.
Follow Steve on Twitter or contact him via the site.
Purchase Dirty 20
(Note: most indie bookstores can fulfill an order as quickly as larger retailers. Please consider contacting them for your next purchase.)
Barrington Books
Chapter 2 Books
Murder By The Book
Once Upon A Crime
The Book Dragon
The Poisoned Pen
