Lush Life by Richard Price

A good read. I haven’t explored much fiction lately because I have had a hard time getting into a novel and/or justifying the activity, but Lush Life was pretty good. It was an intriguing exploration of crime and how the police investigate. The two main (interrelated) strengths were (1) Character development and (2) Realism. The characters, even minor ones, were well developed so that they seemed like real people with typical thought processes, goals, idiosyncrasies, strengths, weaknesses and perspectives. While the novel is plot driven to a large extent, it was the manner with which the characters operated within the world of New York in 2003 that made the whole seem highly plausible if not accurate.
If you’re looking for a good read with some depth but nothing too weighty, check it out.

Addendum: I looked up some reviews on Amazon after I finished the post and I thought the first review made a useful summary of a main theme that I didn't address. Lush Life explores "what happens to us/how do we feel when we realize that our lives aren't what we had planned, or that we've somehow failed ourselves." - A. Ross