House of the Rising Sun by James Lee Burke

 

So this is a pretty interesting novel, a little non-linear in its structure--though that's really more like a single big flashback. The POV/protag doesn't much like himself--and there are probably pretty decent reasons for that--he's violent, and he's a drunk, and he's not much good at human relationships--but there is a steely moral core in him, and Burke's got some chops when it comes to turning a phrase. There's some typical thrillerish violence here, especially as events build toward an and, and there are some women who are interesting characters with their own goals and priorities, which mostly seem to be not entirely parallel with the protag's. I haven't read a lot of Burke, but the couple I've read have been interesting, I'll be looking for more.