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Eric Jerome Dickey's latest, DRIVE ME CRAZY, is a fast-paced tale about a man who finds himself in very big trouble. He has made the mistake of getting involved with a married woman who is somewhat insane. When she asks him to murder her husband for $30,000 he agrees to do it. Being an ex-con, he's having problems finding work and will do anything for some extra cash.
Driver works for a limousine service, picking up and dropping off upscale clients who have plenty of money to throw away. Lisa, the married woman he gets involved with, also works for this company. Her husband, the man she is trying to murder and the owner of the limo service, is known only by his last name, Wolf, a white man who fits well in the black man's world. When he and Driver become "friends," it becomes difficult for Driver to finish his "job" that he agreed to do for Lisa.
The novel opens with a scene in a pool hall, BackBiters and Syndicators, where Driver is hanging out with Wolf, who he describes as "the only man to give me a chance on this side of The Wall." And that's saying a lot. Through flashbacks, the reader learns of Driver's debt to this man, and of Wolf hiring Driver a few minutes after Driver had arrived to murder him. It is a strange set of circumstances that sets Driver's story in motion.
As the two of them are having drinks at the pool hall, in sashays a beautiful black woman. Driver decides (after Wolf leaves the bar) to talk to her and refers to her as Miss Baklava Glue, but later finds out that her real name is Arizona. He's mesmerized by her, and doesn't realize the trouble she's going to get him into. Add into the mix a stripper named Panther, for whom Driver has a soft spot, plus Lisa, the crazy ex-lover, and you have one wild ride.
Lisa, in fact, is so crazy that she calls the pool hall looking for Driver while he and Wolf are having their drinks, knowing that her husband is there with him. After Wolf leaves the bar, the bartender, Pedro, says to Driver, "She's bold. Like she don't care." It pretty much sums up Lisa Wolf. Her reckless behavior turns into dangerous vigilante insanity, as she first goes after Driver as a scorned lover, but then turns around and tries to scare him into paying her back half of the $30,000 he took from her without fulfilling his end of the bargain. She hires two huge men to do whatever it takes to threaten Driver, be it trash the homes of him and his friends, or beat him to a pulp without killing him. Driver reaches a point where he's not sleeping and is doing what he can to keep himself alive.
There are a lot of interesting and outlandish characters populating DRIVE ME CRAZY. Among them is Driver's brother Rufus, a gay albino who is fighting the battle against AIDS, and their relationship demonstrates what makes Driver tick. They have a love-hate relationship, rarely communicating, although distance is not an issue. But deep down, blood is thicker than water and Driver does what he can for his brother. There is also Arizona, who he later discovers is a con-woman, and she has plenty up her sleeves as she drives through town with her assistant, finding ways to make money the illegal way. Then there is the egotistical author, Thomas Marcus Freeman, whose latest book has made him a celebrity. He's also one of Wolf's very important clients. Freeman's wife, a beautiful African woman named Folsade, or Sade for short, befriends Driver, who is puzzled and curious about this graceful woman, and feels there is something going on that doesn't meet the eye.
On the surface this book appears to be all action and humor with no depth --- but that is definitely not the correct assumption. Dickey, as always, comes through with three-dimensional characters with complex personalities that make them feel very real, yet he adds to the mix a great deal of action that makes the book a fast read. Plus, Dickey's street humor always has this reviewer chuckling. Recommended to readers who are not afraid of books that go over the edge, DRIVE ME CRAZY is sure to please.
--- Reviewed by Marie Hashima Lofton (Ratmammy@lofton.org)
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