A novel set in the underbelly of upstate New York that’s as hardboiled and punchy as a swift right hook to the jaw, a classic noir for fans of James Ellroy and John D. Macdonald.Isaiah Coleridge is a mob enforcer in Alaska–he’s tough, seen a lot, and dished out more. But when he forcibly ends the money-making scheme of a made man, he gets in the kind of trouble that can lead to a bullet behind … a bullet behind the ear.
Saved by the grace of his boss and exiled to upstate New York, Isaiah begins a new life, a quiet life without gunshots or explosions. Except a teenage girl disappears, and Isaiah isn’t one to let that slip by. And delving into the underworld to track this missing girl will get him exactly the kind of notice he was warned to avoid.
At turns brutally shocking and darkly funny, heartbreaking and cautiously hopeful, Blood Standard is both a high-tension crime novel and the story of a man’s second chance–the parts of his past he will never escape, and the parts that will shape his future.
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The first book in Laird’s fantastic crime/noir series- unputdownable with characters who leap off the page. Highly recommended.
I happened upon Laird’s short stories a while back and really liked his writing so I was stoked to see that he put out a novel and it did not disappoint. It’s intelligently written and the characters are developed really well. This book delivers action and wit and a lot of things in between. Take the ride.
—Blood Standard is an interesting foray into upstate New York Noir. A mafia (or “Company”) tough, Isaiah Coleridge, is on the outs with the organization in Alaska and finds himself exiled to the Hudson River Valley in upstate New York. He tries to stay straight and narrow, but the call of the wild, so to speak, is hard to ignore, and when a friend’s granddaughter goes missing he doesn’t find it bothersome to go back to doing what he does best.
My first experiences with the works of Laird Barron were with his short horror/weird fiction stories and novel, The Croning. In some of those I could see a definite flair for noir-ish crime stories and mysteries. Those aspects comes out full-on in this straight-up crime thriller involving the mafia, corrupt police, and other nefarious organizations sticking their noses in the way of Coleridge finding the missing girl. Hilarity, as they say, ensues…
Barron has a talent for creating interesting characters- even minor characters didn’t lack some sort of nuance that helped flesh them out making them more real. This helped to make the setting that much more real, in turn, which is saying something, since another talent of his is depicting very vivid settings, which almost seem like characters as well; “The Hudson Valley is old and frightening in a different way. Less a matter of deep geological time and more in line with the puny yardstick of man.”
The main character is a brutal but somehow sympathetic character, sure of himself and his place in the grand scheme of things- the quintessential warrior-poet (or would that be knee breaker-poet?”). He has an odd but uncompromising sense of duty and honor, and once his mind is made up on a course of action great and terrible things will occur.
I enjoyed this book. The characters and setting are vividly realized, and I do look forward to the next books featuring this character. The only problem I had was that it seemed one of the mysteries rearing its ugly head in the book was solved as almost an afterthought even after so much time had been spent on it- that was too little a payoff for such buildup (won’t say which one, but you’ll know when you read it!), so 4 stars instead of 5.
In Laird Barron’s crime novel Blood Standard, its a world of violence and crime where no one can ever believe that they’re safe until they’ve gotten out. Isaiah Coleridge is a badass by definition. He has seen the worst that people can do and does not exactly have a squeaky-clean record himself. Located in the cold, the tundra of Alaska Isaiah soon finds himself caught up in a plot that is bigger than he ever intended. Isaiah has stumbled into a moneymaking scheme from one of the big players up in Alaska and unintentionally ruined it. To save him from becoming the next target, Isaiah is exiled to New York.
While this move was made for his safety, Isaiah cannot help but look at it as a punishment. Away from all the mob drama, He finally has the opportunity to start a new life. He begins to change his lifestyle; he stays away from a life of guns and running and looks to be a more upstanding citizen. Isaiah’s goal is to stay as under the radar as possible. He almost succeeded, Isaiah was on his way to becoming a practically upstanding citizen. His whole undercover plan is thrown off when a teenage girl suddenly goes missing. While others might let this go and leave it to the police to figure out, Isaiah is not an average person. He begins investigating the disappearance and soon finds himself getting pulled into something darker and more aggressive than he could have ever imagined. Gone is his hidden life of privacy, Isaiah is drawing attention back to himself in the worst possible light and showing all of the people after him right where he is.
I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. If you don’t have the stomach to handle violent imagery and some aggressive language, then I would suggest that you stay away from this book. Being the first crime novel that Barron has written, the story holds up decently well. The beginning of the novel begins a little slow, and it takes some time to become invested in the characters and story. Once the action starts then the story does pick up and become interesting. Overall Blood Standard is a read that shows you the hidden secrets of a life of crime.
Review by Sasha, Late Night Reviewer for Up All Night with Books Blog
Thanks to Penguin Random House for a digital ARC of this book to review!
Noir fiction isn’t a genre that I usually read so I went into this book not really sure what to expect. Truth be told, I almost fled the scene after reading a quite disturbing animal cruelty sequence that essentially sets the stage for the story. Luckily, I persevered and read on and I’m quite glad I did.
Isaiah Coleridge is a hitter. While doing his thing in Alaska, he stumbles into trouble and is sent packing to New York. There, he takes up residence at a farm with a family who is willing to let him work away his past. When Reba, a teenage girl, disappears, Isaiah knows he will do whatever it takes to find her. The path he has to follow is a scary one though, filled with gangsters, dirty cops, and numerous unscrupulous others.
Overall, I really liked this book. The characterization of the main character is fascinating. He is flawed, incredibly violent, sometimes misguided, and yet possibly has a heart of gold. Not your typical hitter at all. The story itself is a page turner. The reader never knows what to expect next.
While there are some rather violent scenes and two particularly brutal animal cruelty incidents (which were difficult for me to read), the story itself was really good. I’m glad I had the opportunity to read it and look forward to more from Laird Barron in the future!
I don’t normally include quotes from novels but I found this one insightful into the main character and the relationship he has with his father:
“For once, I admire what you’re doing. It’s a doomed gesture, alas. The girl you’re searching for is probably dead. You’re no hero. You are your father’s son. You’ve seen too much, got too much of the bad blooding you. The world is a traveling slaughterhouse. It’s rolling through space at sixty-seven thousand miles per hour. Earthquakes, volcanoes, tidal waves, and deep freezes. Extinction events. Insects devour one another by the gross ton. Animals are red of tooth and claw, and men commit genocide with bigger and better weaponry every few generations. You, son o’mine, are the edge of the blade that cuts through everything in its path, guilty or innocent alike. You can’t resist what is in your nature to do.”