Sucker Punch: A Cal Innes Novel

by Ray Banks and Ray Banks

Book Overview

Cal Innes is back, in a ferocious asskicker of a novel (Daniel Woodrell, author of Winter's Bone), visiting the City of Angels for a boxing tournament that turns deadly.In this, the second Cal Innes... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0151013233
• ISBN13: 9780151013234
• Release Date: February 2009
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 277 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Sucker Punch Hits All The Right Spots.

Ray Banks' second Cal Innes novel, Sucker Punch, is my first. I expect though that it won't be my last. Sucker Punch takes us along with ex-con, ex-PI, codeine-addicted Callum Innes as he travels from Manchester to Los Angeles as a "babysitter" for Liam Wooley, a young boxer entered into an amateur boxing tournament in California. Innes has no real experience in the world of amateur boxing (outside of his job as a helper in a local gym), and has never been to Los Angeles. Banks uses Cal's natural trepidation about the unknown brilliantly, and slowly cranks up tension as the story moves along without using hackneyed and cliched plot mechanisms. We have the sense something may be about to happen, but at the same time wonder if we, and Cal, are just being paranoid. Sucker Punch has enough tough-guy (often hilarious) banter, bar fights, and gritty boxing scenes that many reviewers are calling it noir. From the outset though, Banks lets us know that Sucker Punch isn't going to be traditional for the genre; for one thing, there's no underlying mystery propelling the story. Instead, I kept turning pages well past the hour at which I should have been sleeping because I enjoyed spending time with Innes, who just feels more human and accessible to me than most characters in works by masters like Chandler or Ellroy (my personal modern favorite). Though Cal's relationship with Wooley is always strained, in fact throughout most of the book Liam dislikes and disrespects Cal, Innes always puts his responsibility to the young boxer first; we get a good look at just what kind of a guy Cal Innes is, and he's immensely likable. Cal may be a tough guy on the outside, but Banks lets us see the worried, highly flawed, self-critical guy on the inside; a refreshing change from many characters in the genre. Add to that Banks' unique and quirky style (ever hear a character claim something was making his teeth itch?) and his liberal use of British slang, and you end up with an incredibly enjoyable (and quick) read. From the opening scene in which Cal is having his final meeting with his parole officer, to the (slight) plot twist that occurs about 2/3 of the way through the book, to the final (perfect for the book) sentence, I loved Sucker Punch. Banks has written a book that never feels like it's trying to imitate works by the kings of noir, created one of my favorite characters in years, and done it all in his own unique and funny style. That's something few novels in recent memory can say. HIGHLY recommended.

Noir from Across the Pond

Sucker Punch by Ray Banks is a delightful surprise;the kind that you pick up, read, and cannot wait for more. This is the first book of his I have read, and the 2nd in a series featuring character Cal Innes. Do not let the fact that this is book #2 stop you from reading this first (though I look forward to reading the first, as well as more from this author). He brings to the reader a fresh hard-boiled Noir as Cal,a person who trouble finds, teams up with a boxer as they leave England to head to a tournament in the U.S. (Los Angeles). There events take a turn leading Cal into trouble which makes for an exciting read! If you are into good old hard boiled noir mysteries, but wish to get beyond the manufactured stuff, this is a tremendously fresh approach with a gritty, realistic character.

Hard Fisted Entertainment

I like tough, gritty novels mixed with blue collar crime. For me, it's easier to understand the people involved and the crimes being committed. Sure, I enjoy the Agatha Christie puzzles and cozy mysteries as well, but my truest heart will forever belong to the Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler school of crime and hard knocks. Evidently British author Ray Banks shares the same kind of love for tough stories. He's invented an ex-boxer, ex-convict hero named Callum Innes. SUCKER PUNCH is the second novel in the series to be published in the United States. You don't have to read the first book to enjoy this one, but there is a lot of history that the books share. In this novel, Cal gets released from his probation officer. Cal is also saddled with a drug habit due to injuries suffered in the past. His employment opportunities are grim, but he's managed to hang onto a position at Paulo's gym where he sweeps floors and works out with young boxers. I was enthralled by this part of Cal's life. It's hard and honest work, and Cal takes it seriously. He also takes his friendship with Paulo seriously, so when a criminal acquaintance of Cal's puts in an appearance at the gym to sell drugs and Paulo beats him down, Cal takes an immediate interest. Mo Tiernan isn't a man to trifle with, and Cal knows firsthand that Mo will seek revenge for his embarrassment and pain. At the same time that he's trying to get the danger through Paulo's head, Paulo tells Cal he has a special job for him. Paulo has a rising young boxer named Liam that he set up for a tournament in Los Angeles. But, as readers quickly learn, Cal's jobs are never easy. As it turns out, Liam is something of a headcase and has a criminal record himself. He used to mug old ladies before Paulo brought him into the gym and trained him to box. Paulo insists that Liam is one of the most naturally gifted boxers he's seen in his life, and he's backing his bid in the tournament with his life savings. Cal is supposed to keep control of Liam so he doesn't lose his temper and get disqualified. No pressure. Cal reluctantly accepts the assignment. He wants to stay and protect Paulo, whom he is certain is in trouble's path. Cal is also battling his codeine addiction, and his physician wants him get off the drug and check into a rehab center. With all the pressure on him now, Cal isn't ready to deal with this too. I love the way Cal gets hammered no matter what he tries to do. Whatever he tries, you can bet it's going to go wrong. It doesn't even have to be his fault. Things are just never easy for him throughout the book. And I enjoyed that a lot. Heroes are more interesting when they're constantly dangling over one pit or another, and Cal dangles throughout. The feel of a genuine Los Angeles landscape is definitely lacking in the book, but I was willing to overlook that because the action never let up. Liam and Cal don't get along, there's a good chance that the tournament is fi

A Flawed but likeable tough guy

Cal Innes is a bad guy. He's an excon who's violent, immature a drunk and addicted to prescription pain killers...he's also extremely entertaining. "Sucker Punch", the lates Ray Banks novel featuring antihero Cal Innes is a quick and entertainng ride. Innes is a former cop and private investigator that walks the narrow edge between darkness and light; more than occasionally he falls into darkness. In "Sucker Punch" Innes is talked into taking a little vacation from his home in Manchester to the City of Angels... in return for airfare and living expenses, he is given the job of "babysitting" former bad-boy turned boxer. Liam (the young boxer) has been specially invited to attend a Smoker (boxing tournament) in LA, and it's Innes' Job to drive him to workouts and competition. I enjoyed this novel very much and couldn't help but think that Cal Innes is dark doppelganger of Robert B. Parker's Spenser. While Parker's character is a tough guy with all the answers, Innes is a tough guy with all the wrong answers which makes for entertaining reading. As a side note, it was interesting for me as an American reader to see the United States through the eyes of a writer from England. His insights are interesting and in many cases spot on. If you like hard boiled detective novels with great first person characterization, you'll enjoy "Sucker Punch" By Ray Banks.

Sharp and Funny, First-Rate Noir

In the second of Ray Banks's Cal Innes novels (originally published under the title Donkey Punch in the UK in 2007), Cal is found to be an ex-con, former PI, pain pill addict, and chain smoker just freshly off parole. His doctor wants to wean him off the codeine he has formed a habit around, and the local hard boys are making life difficult for him and his boss Paulo at the Manchester gym where Cal works as a caretaker. If all of that's not enough to contend with for one somewhat damaged fella, the assignment Paulo gives him could be the thing to put Cal all the way over the edge: he is to accompany Liam Wooley - a talented but unstable young fighter - on a trip to Los Angeles, where Liam will compete in a major tournament that could be the start of big things for his career. Liam is known for viciousness, both in and out of the ring, and Paulo wants Cal to make sure the kid stays out of trouble when he's not fighting, and that he acts like a boxer rather than a street-fighter when he's going at it in the ring. Oh, and when they get to L.A. and start meeting people involved in the tournament, Cal quickly gathers that there is all kinds of crooked business at hand there. The shadiness around the tournament comes to a head when the father of the guy Liam is set up to fight in the championship match offers Cal a hefty bribe to cancel the bout. Having the events of the book mostly set in America, Los Angeles no less, gives way to much of the biting humor and keen social observation that drives Sucker Punch. The throwaway food items, too-forward people, all the blond and tanned specimens on display in the California sun, etc, gives Cal and his sardonic wit much to reflect upon. In a scene which caused to me to laugh so hard I spit out part of the sandwich I was chewing on while reading, Cal encounters a chatty American at a bar he's gone to after taking in another round of Liam's sullen disposition: American: You're British. Cal: If you want. American: I have a cousin in Birmingham. Cal: Alabama? American: England. Cal: Right enough. I think I know him. American: You do? Cal: Yeah. Ugly lad, right? Won't let people drink in peace? But the most intriguing culture clash occurs when Cal and Liam keep having edgy encounters with a group of spoiled L.A. brats who like to think of themselves as tough boys, one of this pack being the boxer Wooley is supposed to fight in the title bout of the tournament. Too many contemporary crime writers working in the noir milieu have to work at making their characters and storylines appear authentic; and with too many of them, you can feel them hoping that someone will call them the "new Thompson" or "heir to Raymond," etc. Ray Banks, on the other hand, writes about the underworld in an easy and natural way, and he does it while being funny as hell.