Books From The Backlog: 7,000 Clams by Lee Irby

 Happy Thursday everyone! Welcome back to Books from the Backlog, the weekly linkup I'm taking part of which is hosted by Carole's Random Life in Books.  This is a great way to put a spotlight on books that I've had sitting on my shelf for awhile.  I don't know when I'll get to my weekly featured book, but I hope to some time hopefully soon.

This Week's Neglected Book:

7,000 Clams by Lee Irby

Published: 2005

Genre: Historical crime fiction

My Copy:

Format: Hardback

Pages: 368

Where I Acquired It: Ollie's Bargain Outlet

Summary (From Goodreads):

Frank Hearn is a down-on-his-luck bootlegger and bruiser, looking for the big score in the heart of the Roaring Twenties. When he loses a shipment of top-quality booze to a double-crossing government thief, Frank hunts him down, roughs him up, and finds something that catches his eye. What at first appears to be a scrap of paper is actually a handwritten and unmistakably authentic IOU for $7,000, signed by Babe Ruth.

Seven-thousand clams is a lot of money—and when Frank gets a tip that the Yankees are about to begin spring training in St. Petersburg, Florida, he wastes no time leaving New Jersey to track down the Babe. Frank thinks he's covered his Along for the ride is a dangerous and curvy blonde named Ginger DeMore. She’s smart, she packs a snub-nose pistol in her purse, and she’s the perfect accomplice to help convince the Babe to cough up the dough. It seems like the perfect plan, but Frank and Ginger aren’t the only ones seeking their fortunes in Florida. 1920’s St. Pete is a veritable nest of vipers. Hustlers, gamblers, Yankee fans, and even a sociopath are lurking in the booming burg—not to mention a team of gangsters sent by a prominent Chicago mobster named Al Capone (who’s instructed his boys to scour the town for a curvy dame by the name of Ginger DeMore).

In this taut Roaring Twenties crime novel, filled with colorful characters both real and imagined, Lee Irby takes readers straight into the authentic heart of the era, bringing to life all the sizzling style—from the slang and the fashions to the smell of bathtub gin. Worthy of a place at Elmore Leonard’s table, 7,000 Clams is an enormously entertaining tale and a superb fiction debut.

Why Did I Add It?

I love noir and reading about the 1920s and this sounds like a good combination of the two.

Have you read this or would you read it?  Would you recommend it to me?  As always, thanks for visiting my blog and perhaps even commenting down below!