Synopsis:
For underworld enforcer Richard “Rico” Sanders, it seemed like an ordinary job: retrieve his gangster boss’s stolen goods, and teach the person responsible a lesson.
But the chase quickly goes sideways and takes Rico from the mean streets of Chicago to sunny Honolulu. There, the hardened hit man finds himself in uncharted territory, when innocent bystanders are accidentally embroiled in a crime.
As Rico pursues his new targets, hunter and prey develop an unlikely respect for one another.
Soon, he is faced with a momentous decision: follow his orders to kill the very people who have won his admiration, or refuse and endanger the life of the woman he loves?
Favorite Lines:
“If you were in a fight for your life against hopeless odds and could pick just one person to help even them out, he would be your choice every time.”
“You remind me a little of myself before I smartened up.”
My Opinion:
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.
Pigeon-Blood Red begins like a crime story you think you already know — a lost item, a hitman, a debt gone bad — but Ed Duncan turns it into something surprisingly human. Beneath the violence and deception runs a quiet thread of loyalty, fear, and the tiny sparks of conscience that survive even in people who’ve long given up pretending to be good.
The story follows Rico — a disciplined, unflinching enforcer whose calm masks something almost noble — and Robert McDuffie, a desperate gambler who makes one very bad choice: stealing a necklace worth far more than his life. It’s a story built on momentum — one thing going wrong after another, until everything comes crashing down.
What I liked most is how Duncan writes violence without glamorizing it. His sentences are clean and deliberate, as if his characters are trying to convince themselves that control is still possible. But there’s always something cracking beneath the surface — a conscience, a flicker of guilt, or maybe just exhaustion.
The pacing works—sharp dialogue, short scenes, no filler. You can tell Duncan knows this world, but he never overexplains it. I finished it in a single sitting and wanted to keep going, which is all you can really ask from a crime novel.
If you like your crime fiction with heart — not sentimental, but human — this one will surprise you. It’s about how easy it is to cross a line, and how hard it is to come back once you do.
Summary:
Overall, Pigeon-Blood Red is a fast-moving crime thriller that digs into the choices people make when survival is the only goal left. It’s not just about gangsters or stolen jewels — it’s about what happens when morality and necessity collide. It’s a story for readers who like their thrillers grounded in realism, where the danger feels as psychological as it does physical. Happy reading!
Check out Pigeon-Blood Red here!