Love Is A Racket
By John Ridley
Alfred A. Knopf, $24
ISBN 0375401423

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Love Is a Racket is celebrated writer John Ridley's sophomore literary effort and the long-awaited follow-up to his bestseller, Stray Dogs. With his trademark gritty, earthy writing style, Ridley weaves a taut and terrific tale about a loser whose life is changed by a woman. But he offers a new perspective on the all-too-familiar boy-meets-girl story.

Jeffty Kittridge is a down-and-out drunk who lies, cheats, steals, and pretty much does what he has to do to make it on the tough and not so friendly streets of Los Angeles. The philosophy of the street hustler is simple: con or be conned; use or be used.

Indebted to loan sharks for gambling debts totaling a cool $15k and shuffling from curb side to rooming house to wherever, Jeffty is constantly scheming and plotting his next con in order to earn a buck or two and get the sharks off his back. As we are led through his bouts with the DT's, frequent and violent assaults from the sharks, and wayward life of the streets, many may find it hard to pity Jeffty.

But then he meets Gayle. Homeless, helpless, yet beautiful, the two share some good times. Jeffty believes he has fallen in love and vows to change his ways in order to build a life with her. Whether his words and actions are sincere or just another con remains a secret until the end of the book.

Love Is a Racket is, at turns, a sarcastic and funny book that tells it like it is and paints a vivid picture of life on the streets. It also shows to what extremes people will go in order to survive, especially when it involves matters of the heart -- usually someone else's.

Glenn Townes is a journalist in Kansas City, Missouri.