FATHER DIVINE’S BIKES exposes the dark underbelly of 1945 Newark, New Jersey; a city that boomed during World War II but finds itself unable to cope with the peace that brings joblessness, despair and crime. As deeply-entrenched white enclaves are squeezed by the mass migration of blacks, escape routes for poor ethnic whites rapidly close. Two Catholic altar boys living in a world ripe for grifters, like Father Divine, soon learn that his promise of heaven on earth has hellish consequences. In the autumn of 1945, a battle erupts when the city’s competing mobs end their truce. When it gets bloody, other criminal forces poise to move in. Black bookies, using Father Divine’s controversial International Peace Mission Movement as a front, recruit Joey Bancik and Richie Maxwell to run numbers under the guise of newspaper routes. The boys' families welcome the few bucks they can put on the table. Meanwhile, their parish priest and two homicide detectives fear the numbers racket will entrap the boys in a world of crime. Turf wars, murders, and a corrupt police department in bed with the mob form a dark and gritty backdrop against a story of post-war Newark and the violence that permeated it.
REVIEWS
5 Stars by Sheri Hoyte, Reader Views 5/18
This was such a phenomenal read, definitely one of those books that stayed with me for several days after I finished reading. I was instantly transported to 1945 Newark, making my way among the citizens trying to navigate life in a rapidly changing city. The vivid descriptions of the settings and situations, the people, and the cultural contrasts of everyday life in the various citywide districts are stunning and realistic. The author’s use of genuine dialogue further adds to the overall atmosphere of authenticity.
I had the notion before I started reading that this book centered largely on the two newsboys, and I was pleasantly surprised that the story didn’t unfold strictly from their viewpoints. On the contrary, there is an engaging and distinct cast of characters, most of them swinging between protagonistic and antagonistic tendencies as the story evolves. Father Divine’s Bikes by Steve Bassett is a must-read for those who love historical fiction, crime and coming of age. I was excited to learn this is book one in a series – the ending left me wanting more!
July 24, 2018 - PHILLY LIFE & CULTURE: https://phillylifeandculture.com/2018/07/24/book-review-father-divines-bikes-shows-darkness-of-newark/
Father Divine’s Bikes by Steve Bassett is not only a great read – it is a cultural experience in the era following World War II. The city of Newark flourished during the war, only to fall to destitution and lack as peace spread throughout the world. With post-war employment scarce, people are losing jobs to folks they never imagined were a threat, and neighborhoods are in decline. As gangsters tighten their control of the city, a turf war creates an environment of fear in its citizens, instilling little hopes of escaping to a better life. When two altar boys take up paper routes to help support their families, they get caught up in the middle of the mob’s activities, running numbers for a group of bookies posing as barbers and faithful followers of Father Divine’s controversial cult movement.
4 stars -- Fantastic Insight Into Immigrant Culture By Matt McAvoy, 19 August 2018
“Father Divine’s Bikes” is a fantastically written and utterly enthralling book by a very talented author. It is at its best when a slice-of-life cultural expose, and for the most part this is what it is. Set in wartime 1940s New Jersey, it portrays a melting pot of immigrant culture, with all the racial segregation, paranoia and employment resentment which comes with that. The racial language is raw and offensive – there is certainly no whitewashed rewriting of history here, and the book is all the better for it.
....“Father Divine’s Bikes” is top quality, utterly engrossing writing, and I highly recommend picking up a Steve Bassett book if you get the chance.
Reviewed by Ray Simmons for Readers' Favorite - 5-stars, May 2018
I don’t usually read stories in the crime genre. Not because I don’t like them, but because there are so many on television. And to be honest, a lot of them are really good. But I was attracted to Father Divine’s Bikes for one simple reason. I know who Father Divine was. I had a feeling this book would be a window into a time, place, and people that we don’t read or even hear about much anymore. I was right. Father Divine’s Bikes is a brilliant snapshot of America right after World War II. It is the best portrait of Newark, New Jersey during that time when African Americans were pouring into the industrial North as they fled the Jim Crow South. This is the America we are heirs to and there are few books that get it so realistically right.
The plot is as real as life in that time. Gangs and gangsters divided into ethnic armies, all vying for their piece of the American pie. I love the raw reality, the incorrect political speech, and the passionate writing that may very well push Father Divine’s Bikes into the ranks of the great American classics.
France1 – 5 Stars, August 2018
As a French reader who has never set foot in New Jersey, I have discovered a post-war Newark and the years of tremendous changes in people’s minds and conditions that followed. From the church pew to sexual awakening, two altar boys navigate Newark and its microcosm with an unquenchable thirst for social and fatherly acceptance. As in all quests, the road is paved with good intentions.
Steve Bassett masterfully blends refined vocabulary and street slang that I have discovered with delight. The action takes place years ago, in a Newark that has most probably changed beyond recognition, but social and personal issues are still strikingly contemporary and relatable today.
Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite - 5-stars May 2018
Father Divine’s Bikes by Steve Bassett is a compelling crime novel with a powerful setting against the backdrop of 1945 Newark, a society just emerging from the war. The reader is thrust into a world run by mobsters, where the conflict gets bloody. Now, the competing mobs have ended their truce and things get tense, with other players ready to get into the game.
Father Divine’s Bikes is a mesmerizing tale of two compelling characters, deeply human and broken, which makes it easy for readers to connect with them. But it is also a tale of a changing community, a community that once flourished but that is about to sink into violence. The author’s use of contrast and humor are masterly and they add to the strengths of the narrative, arresting the reader’s attention. A real page-turner!
5-stars Marsha Pincus, retired Philadelphia inner city Public School teacher, writer and documentary producer
I have finally settled into reading Steve Bassett's book and I love it!!! I am enjoying it so. I love the milieu, the dialogue, the characters, the story, everything. I can't wait to finish it and pass it on to my husband who will love it as well. He may even recognize some of the characters from hearing his father's and grandfather's stories of growing up poor in Philadelphia, which wasn't all that different from Newark. I love Steve's style and I find it very readable and very, very cinematic. Has he given thought to rewriting it as a screenplay. I really think it would make a great film!!!
5-stars by Tricia Schiro, April 6, 2019
If you like books like The Godfather or just anything on the mob or historical fiction of that time, read this book. I was given this book for free to read and review. This book gives you a glimpse at a time in our history when people were living with almost nothing and mobs ran everything. As a young teen in a tenament neighborhood with no money and not much hope for a bright future, sometimes the only option is to pick a side, but which one in the new war of the mob bosses. I really enjoyed this book more for the way it was able make you feel like you were there right in the neighborhood through amazing descriptions and language more so than the story itself. Don't get me wrong, I liked the story too. I come from an Italian family that came originally from Contessa, Italy, and according to my father, his grandfather had secret meetings in the back of restaurants and such, so I found this story hit a little close to home. But it was the way the book immerses you with the language, scenery, and feeling that makes the book great.