The Dope Thief

by: Dennis Tafoya

Published by: St. Martin's Minotaur

Reviewed by Sara Porter

The Dope Thief tries to be two things: an action romp about two crooks planning a heist, and a drama about an ex-con finding redemption. The action part works well, but it’s the redemption story that makes it more powerful.

Ray and Manny are two school buddies, drug addicts, and all-around losers that come up with a clever scheme. The two force their way into drug dealers’ homes and pretend to be DEA agents armed with fake badges and windbreakers that they bought in a second-hand store. They threaten the dealers with arrest and then abscond with their money and their drugs.

The first part is humorous in some scenes, particularly when the two banter with a group of dealers, which seem to have come from the cast of “Deliverance.” But it is when the book deals with the after effects of the crime that give the story a better perspective.

Manny and Ray go on the run from a big-time dealer. The two friends become separated and Ray ends up going home to face his past.

The chapters where Ray comes home really make the book. He tries to make up for past misdeeds. He reunites with his estranged dying father and his well-meaning stepmother. He tries to take honest work at a bookstore, but finds ghosts around every turn.

Some of the best passages are those that involve Ray confronting the darker memories of his childhood. Ray makes amends with the grief-stricken father of a girl whose death he was responsible for. In other chapters, Ray befriends a group of wayward teens that he tries to steer from the path that he walked down.

Armchair Interviews says: An all-around interesting read.

Author’s Web site: http://www.DennisTafoya.com