What do you think?
Rate this book
Gunmetal Black
As a child, Eddie Santiago grows up on the mean streets of his Puerto Rican neighborhood in Chicago, where he witnesses his father's murder. Now in his thirties, after serving ten years in a state penitentiary, Eddie is coming home. With prison behind him, Eddie plans to seek refuge in Miami Beach. But new trouble begins when Eddie and his old friend/gangster Little Tony are pulled over by two cops, who rob Eddie of his money belt, which contains his life savings. Convinced it was a set-up, Eddie is determined to recover what is rightfully his, all the while trying to reform his childhood friend. Along the way, Eddie falls for a Mexican beauty with a past she is trying to escape. But his romance is almost cut short when he is dragged into a drug war, becomes a murder suspect, and is forced to participate in an ill-conceived casino heist.
Kindle Edition
First published September 15, 2008
1 person is currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Serrano
29 books14 followers
Daniel Serrano
is a New York City lawyer and novelist. His novels include Boogie Down and Gunmetal Black, and are informed by a childhood spent in hardscrabble neighborhoods in New York and Chicago. Serrano received his undergraduate education through the weekend degree program at Shimer College, a small Great Books college in the Chicago area, and his legal education at St. John's University. (from Shimer College Wiki)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
August 2, 2023
While riding buses to & from wherever I had long distances to go I read this book that I purchased from the bargain pile at Barnes & Nobles store & learned about what life is like from an ex-con Eduardo Eddie Santiago, his childhood friend Tony, & the sinister guy who wanted him dead Pejos(?).
The story's setting: Chicago is what grabbed my attention, but Daniel Serrano's sculpting the life of a Puerto Rican ex-con (Eddie Santiago)who just spent a decade-long prison stint, fresh out on THE CHI's humble yet proud section of Humboldt Park with plans to head south to Florida finds himself being harassed by crooked CPD cops who relieved him of his life savings, which forced Eddie to have to take whatever "jobs" he could get in order to meet his needs & fund his trip to Florida where he planned to re-build his life after prison.
After reuniting with his childhood friend, Tony, who in turn, connected him with a guy Pejos (sorry, I can't remember what the proper spelling of this corrupt character's name was) who would find ways for them to get paid, Eddie & Tony are persuaded to break into homes on Chicago's North side & eventually convinced to help plan the casino boat heist.
From burglarizing Chicago's Northside estates to robbing a casino boat that almost went badly from the start, Eddie escaped with his life, and only for a moment, so had his friend Tony, who had lost his life inside the getaway car from a bullet from Pejos, who tried to kill Eddie in the process.
During a battle til the death, Eddie found out who Pejos really was & THE WHYS he wanted Eddie dead since meeting him, which explains why Eddie never trusted Pejos from the start.
After leaving Pejos a memory, Eddie begins the long trek back towards the city alone(Note: Until recently, the city of Chicago did not have casinos; only casino boats and that of casinos on the outskirts of the city).
The part that I found touching was upon seeing his dead childhood friend Tony in the car wreckage that Eddie had to climb out of, Eddie tearfully shared how much he loved his friend.
I found it odd that Eddie felt the need to leave what the take was from the casino heist & unfortunate that he did not revisit and pursue a relationship he briefly had with a lovely woman named Xochitl whom he had met and had an intimate interlude with upon meeting her at a club.
The one thing that I found uncomfortable with was certain parts of the book had been strictly in Latin language & had not been translated into English for those of us who are not fluent in Spanish/Latin, yet had given the book a chance upon purchasing and reading it.
Other than this I enjoyed reading Gunmetal Black, which captured my attention as if it had been a visual screenplay.
The story's setting: Chicago is what grabbed my attention, but Daniel Serrano's sculpting the life of a Puerto Rican ex-con (Eddie Santiago)who just spent a decade-long prison stint, fresh out on THE CHI's humble yet proud section of Humboldt Park with plans to head south to Florida finds himself being harassed by crooked CPD cops who relieved him of his life savings, which forced Eddie to have to take whatever "jobs" he could get in order to meet his needs & fund his trip to Florida where he planned to re-build his life after prison.
After reuniting with his childhood friend, Tony, who in turn, connected him with a guy Pejos (sorry, I can't remember what the proper spelling of this corrupt character's name was) who would find ways for them to get paid, Eddie & Tony are persuaded to break into homes on Chicago's North side & eventually convinced to help plan the casino boat heist.
From burglarizing Chicago's Northside estates to robbing a casino boat that almost went badly from the start, Eddie escaped with his life, and only for a moment, so had his friend Tony, who had lost his life inside the getaway car from a bullet from Pejos, who tried to kill Eddie in the process.
During a battle til the death, Eddie found out who Pejos really was & THE WHYS he wanted Eddie dead since meeting him, which explains why Eddie never trusted Pejos from the start.
After leaving Pejos a memory, Eddie begins the long trek back towards the city alone(Note: Until recently, the city of Chicago did not have casinos; only casino boats and that of casinos on the outskirts of the city).
The part that I found touching was upon seeing his dead childhood friend Tony in the car wreckage that Eddie had to climb out of, Eddie tearfully shared how much he loved his friend.
I found it odd that Eddie felt the need to leave what the take was from the casino heist & unfortunate that he did not revisit and pursue a relationship he briefly had with a lovely woman named Xochitl whom he had met and had an intimate interlude with upon meeting her at a club.
The one thing that I found uncomfortable with was certain parts of the book had been strictly in Latin language & had not been translated into English for those of us who are not fluent in Spanish/Latin, yet had given the book a chance upon purchasing and reading it.
Other than this I enjoyed reading Gunmetal Black, which captured my attention as if it had been a visual screenplay.
March 2, 2023
Viva Puerto Rico
Great book
Great book
April 6, 2023
Wepaaaa
April 9, 2023
Superb from start to finish
April 11, 2023
Perfecto
April 17, 2023
My fav crime book
May 16, 2023
Phenomenal!
August 3, 2023
Some Puerto Rico gang shit
December 17, 2009
From my review in MultiCultural Review:
Daniel Serrano’s debut novel, Gunmetal Black, is a daring urban crime novel set in contemporary Chicago’s Humboldt Park, a predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood feeling the economic sting and political corruption of gentrification. While the novel’s publisher attempts to nudge Serrano into the same company as Elmore Leonard, Vicki Stringer, and Teri Woods, Gunmetal Black doesn’t quite reach that lofty pinnacle. Still, what the novel lacks in solid noir elements, Serrano more than makes up for in his masterful depiction of the dialects, violence, crooked law enforcement, and dead-end destinies that collide on Chicago’s gritty streets. His voice and vision are fresh, but the novel is a bit too predictable and sluggish to justify its length.
At the heart of the novel is former-gangbanger Eduardo “Eddie” Santiago, a thirty-something Puerto Rican returning home from a decade-long prison stint. With Eddie, Serrano manages to construct a complex character who continually attempts to redeem himself and steer clear of his former life, only to come face-to-face with his past no matter how hard he tries to shake it. There are several wonderfully rendered tragic moments that show great potential for Serrano’s future works (indeed, his next novel, Boogiedown, excerpted at the book’s end, is intense and promising), and the conclusion is satisfying, albeit a tad too neatly resolved considering the immensity and severity of dilemmas facing Eddie in the closing chapters. Replete with betrayal, abandonment, graphic sex and violence, Gunmetal Black delivers ample entertainment for lovers of urban crime fiction.
Daniel Serrano’s debut novel, Gunmetal Black, is a daring urban crime novel set in contemporary Chicago’s Humboldt Park, a predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood feeling the economic sting and political corruption of gentrification. While the novel’s publisher attempts to nudge Serrano into the same company as Elmore Leonard, Vicki Stringer, and Teri Woods, Gunmetal Black doesn’t quite reach that lofty pinnacle. Still, what the novel lacks in solid noir elements, Serrano more than makes up for in his masterful depiction of the dialects, violence, crooked law enforcement, and dead-end destinies that collide on Chicago’s gritty streets. His voice and vision are fresh, but the novel is a bit too predictable and sluggish to justify its length.
At the heart of the novel is former-gangbanger Eduardo “Eddie” Santiago, a thirty-something Puerto Rican returning home from a decade-long prison stint. With Eddie, Serrano manages to construct a complex character who continually attempts to redeem himself and steer clear of his former life, only to come face-to-face with his past no matter how hard he tries to shake it. There are several wonderfully rendered tragic moments that show great potential for Serrano’s future works (indeed, his next novel, Boogiedown, excerpted at the book’s end, is intense and promising), and the conclusion is satisfying, albeit a tad too neatly resolved considering the immensity and severity of dilemmas facing Eddie in the closing chapters. Replete with betrayal, abandonment, graphic sex and violence, Gunmetal Black delivers ample entertainment for lovers of urban crime fiction.
May 15, 2009
A crime drama, a love story, revenge, the possibility of redemption... It's all this and more!
An ex-con looking for a way out; but the streets, the drugs, the dirty cops all try to pull him back into the old life. A life that means certain death. Can love save him? Does love even matter?
This is a journey into the dark streets and alleys of Chicago. A journey into the shadows of another world not too far from our own. Violence that will tear and tear until there is so little left to squeeze for more. Tenderness that will strengthen or even weaken the resolve of vengeance.
A riveting first effort by a young Chicago writer.
An ex-con looking for a way out; but the streets, the drugs, the dirty cops all try to pull him back into the old life. A life that means certain death. Can love save him? Does love even matter?
This is a journey into the dark streets and alleys of Chicago. A journey into the shadows of another world not too far from our own. Violence that will tear and tear until there is so little left to squeeze for more. Tenderness that will strengthen or even weaken the resolve of vengeance.
A riveting first effort by a young Chicago writer.
February 16, 2009
A terrific first crime novel set in Chicago. The main character gets out of jail and hopes to start a new life, but his old life gets in the way. Sounds like a formula, I know, and the book does follow the formula of many other successful crime novels. But the difference here is how well Serrano uses his Latino setting -- with discussions of salsa and salsa dancing, for example -- to deepen the narrative.
July 16, 2014
Brilliant! Loved it. It's my first "urban fiction" title, but I would definitely come back for seconds of Daniel Serrano's writing. I will say I'm mad Eddie didn't take the money from the casino heist! Daaammmnnn. Clearly the book snatched my attention and held it with the death grip of plot twists.
Read
November 8, 2008It is about an ex-con who returns to his old neighborhood and is drawn back to the only life he knows. However, this time he has the opportunity for a fresh start until a few unexpected things happen. Great book and difficult to put down.
June 17, 2012
The story quickly drew me in and made me feel as if I were in the mind of the protagonist. I felt his fear, pain and regret. Despite my hectic schedule I completed the book in about three days over the weekend. Definitely a great read and compelling story.
March 20, 2024
Out of this Universe !!!!
Omg! The only thing I didn't like about the book was it ended. Besides that the character description was immensely vivided. The plotline had me hooked and the ending had me gagging for seconds
Omg! The only thing I didn't like about the book was it ended. Besides that the character description was immensely vivided. The plotline had me hooked and the ending had me gagging for seconds
December 21, 2008
this was a hard read as im not in that life and kinda far from it. i found myself skipping around for things to make sense for me.
April 17, 2017
This was an interesting read since I have not read much urban fiction. Not sure that I will keep reading in the genre, but I enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews