Point of View

The novel is written from the sole perspective of Freddy Otash. Freddy is a “fixer” who is part of the dark, criminal underground of the 1950s. In the opening of the novel, Freddy announces that he has been offered a deal to get out of jail in return for telling his story. Some readers may find him entirely unreliable because he is a convicted criminal who admits to many acts that are illegal, unethical, and immoral. Some readers may assume he is entirely reliable because he has no real reason to lie about any of these acts. There is also the possibility that he inflates his role to make himself sound more important than he is. All these possibilities are left for the reader to evaluate.

The limited perspective means the reader knows only what Freddy knows. This also means that Freddy has the ability...