Review: Gottiguard by Rich Leder

Relentless in its pace, with brilliant banter that’s a staple of Rich Leder’s writing, and a twisting plot that keeps one turning the pages to the last chapter, Gottiguard is a stellar final entry in the Kate McCall series.

Having already survived three run-ins with her father’s killer – the professional corporate assassin that has been stalking the elite of New York City – Kate McCall is ready for an easy protection gig. The man she’s being paid to protect is a cocky comedian with a stubborn desire to clear his own name of an alleged murder, even if that makes him an easy target for the real killer looking to clean up any loose ends.

Though the last thing she needs is a client becoming a partner, two sets of eyes are better than one, particularly when multiple heavies come gunning for this unlikely pair. Kate is still hungry for revenge, and desperate to finally bring this series’ ultimate villain to justice, but there is also the immediate need to survive, and pay her rent. As has become the norm, Kate must juggle dynamic and dangerous investigations while dodging bullets, and still manages to do it with a razor-sharp tongue.

This is true as well of the other players in the novel; New York is known for its endless brownstones of strange denizens, and these returning characters certainly fit that bill. Kate once again has her ragtag bunch of comrades to lend a helping hand, so long as they aren’t filming improv kung-fu movies or repairing broken pipes in the building. A random team of insomniacs, ex-assassins, hustlers, and hometown heroes may not seem like first-string sleuths, but they keep the novel fresh, funny, and oddly authentic – a literary voice all its own, which has been honed further in this installment, and elevates Leder’s crime fiction over others in the genre.

Aside from the eclectic cast, Leder ensures that the gritty city itself has plenty of moments in the spotlight. Whether describing the spitefulness of the weather, the unchanging nature of neighborhood haunts, the masochistic traffic, or the anonymity of a few million people pulsing together in the bustling metropolis, Leder brings the city to life in new and inventive ways. The fast-talking urgency one often associates with the city is on near-constant display – the dialogue is clipped and clever, peppered with subtle jabs of humor and hardness, as is McCall’s narration, albeit with more self-reflection, driven by her past. Her personality is inseparable from the narrative pulse of the book, which sustains the novel’s tone and style throughout.

There are a few grammatical issues, and some lines and passages that feel overworked – like a joke with too much buildup and not enough payoff – but these moments are the exception, not the rule. In a darkly comic novel, every linguistic setpiece isn’t going to land with equal ferocity, but one knows there is another one just around the corner, as the book is alive with energy. Combining immersive descriptions, suspenseful writing, and comedy is a tall order, but Leder pulls it off skillfully.

All told, Gottiguard is a perfectly drawn final installment of the Kate McCall series that manages to improve on its predecessors, with surprising bursts of action, character revelation, and laugh-out-loud humor, making for an uproarious final punchline to the series.