Button Man may just be Andrew Gross’s most ambitious and accomplished novel to date. It’s one that shows the true scope of his storytelling talents, melding fact with fiction as history comes breathtakingly alive on the page for readers, who are reminded that our collective past is every bit as immediate and pressing as the complexities of contemporary life.
Andrew Gross has quickly established himself as one of the best historical fiction writers in the game today ... Gross’ latest work is smaller in scope, which allows for more character development. Without the backdrop of a horrendous world war, Gross was able to take his time building Morris, who has to fight and battle for his world, making him both compelling and relatable ... Overall, it’s some of Gross’ best writing.
...unfolds with the urgency of a vintage black-and-white movie from Warner Bros ... Mr. Gross’s direct style is full of sentiment but never maudlin and well-suited to scenes of violent action ... Button Man has plenty of zip—and a lot of moxie, too.
The strength of this suspenseful novel lies in its dark humor and characterizations of the brothers. Unfortunately, their mother, Morris’s wife Ruthie, and his sisters are not as well drawn and serve the story more as archetypical objects of affection. The dialogue is spot-on, if overwritten. The sometimes gritty, sometimes swanky settings of Button Man bring a tumultuous time and place to brimming life.
By personalizing key characters, the author immerses readers in a maze of labor racketeering and political and police corruption, upping the nail-biting suspense chapter by chapter ... Alternately frightful and fascinating, the story viscerally describes the era, exposing the motives and fears that drive each character and play out on the streets.
[a] formulaic crime thriller ... Gross strains credulity at several points and fails to bring the mean streets of the Big Apple to life. Still, this Horatio Alger story will resonate with his many fans.
A novel that spans most of the 20th century ... Every character’s personal qualities factor strongly in this story ... A highly satisfying story of family loyalty, persistence, courage, and crime.
