Nothing Personal, by Jason Starr (No Exit Press, £6.99 in UK)

A weirdly original one, this, a kind of modern noir tale reminiscent of Jim Thompson or David Goodis. Set in New York, it is concerned with the manoeuvring of Joey "The Jinx" De-Pino as he attempts to get out from under a sea of troubles. He is a compulsive gambler, while his wife, Maureen, over-eats to help her forget all the money he is losing. Maureen's friend Leslie is anorexic, and her husband, David, is cheating on her with his Chinese-American mistress. The mistress begins stalking the family, David's cosmetic nose job goes wrong on him, Maureen undergoes an immaculate conception, and Joey just goes whining along. Full of New York pizzazz and get-up-and-go, with smart-ass dialogue to match, this is one to devour at one sitting, even if it does lead to indigestion.