Shovel Ready, by Adam Sternbergh

Shovel Ready, Adam Sternbergh's first novel, explores the world of New York City in the years after a dirty bomb is detonated in Times Square.  Half of the population has dispersed to less radioactive climes, and most of the half that remain spend their time hooked into virtual reality.  Sternbergh paints a grim picture of life and culture in this environment, and presents Spademan as the hit man with a heart of gold.

In this post-dirty-bomb New York, we meet Spademan, a garbage man turned hit man .  He's not all that thrilled about his line of work, but he knows he's providing a valuable service.  And it's not like he's culpable, any more than a bullet is culpable for a gunshot wound.  Someone else is pulling the trigger.  Having lost his wife in the terrorist bombings, his sense of ethics is deeply affected: "I may have once had some thin faith in something like cosmic justice, but now I believe in box cutters [his weapon of choice].  Everything else I left buried in  a tunnel along with the number 2 train [where his wife died]."  He does, however, have his limits.  When he gets a request to kill a pregnant teen, he has to draw the line.

Given his qualms about killing the teen, who turns out to be the daughter of a famous evangelist, he ends up as more detective than hit man.  With a little help from his friends, he uncovers a nefarious plot and saves the girl.  Shovel Ready is gritty, raw fiction, with a style matching the bleakness of this future New York.  Enjoyable, original, and likable.

Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!