While most of Iceberg Slim’s (aka Robert Beck) underworld sagas take place in the frigid winters of the East Coast and Midwest, he spent the last three decades of his life (and the period in which he made his mark as a writer) in the relative tranquility of Los Angeles. This idyllic change of scenery proved to be as treacherous as the mean streets of his youth, however. His publisher, Holloway House, gouged him out of his fair share of the considerable profits he earned for them in much the same way that they exploited other chroniclers of the urban experience, like Donald Goins and Joe Nazel.
As a result, Slim’s last known completed work, “Shetani’s Sister” languished for years after it’s completion in 1983, it’s author reasoning that it was better to let the manuscript collect dust than continue to let his publisher exploit his talents, much the same way Slim took advantage of the weaknesses of the streetwalkers in his previous career as a purveyor of carnal vice.
Released in tandem with his biography “Street Poison” by Justin Gifford (see Our Weekly, Sept. 3 edition), “Shetani’s Sister” differs from his earlier work in that it offers a sympathetic portrayal of an authority figure; the intrepid Sgt. Russell Rucker, who strives to clear his Hollywood beat of prostitution, while struggling with heavy drinking and the possibility of a turncoat within his own vice squad. This hapless soul has fallen to the very temptations they are tasked to correct.
The focus of his antagonism is the titular character, Shetani (Swahili for ‘devil’), an amoral flesh peddler who rules his harem with daily doses of heroin and sadism.
As the two square off, the plot is augmented by the dysfunction within each man’s social circle, especially the back story of infighting within Shetani’s stable, an environ rife with intrigue as his working girls vie for hierarchy within this social unit, and the prestige of being their pimp’s “bottom woman.”
“Shetani’s Sister” suffers from a glut of one-dimensional characters, including Shetani, a superficial street demon devoid of compassion for anyone, aside from the newest member of his stable, who may or may not be the long-lost sister from his own chaotic past. Her stable mates are not fully fleshed out either, leaving the reader to wonder why they would devote their allegiance to such a repulsive creature—their devotion broken only when their very lives are in jeopardy.
The book also fails to sustain the momentum that launches it, and peters out toward its conclusion.
Given the circumstances of it being intentionally shelved by its author, Iceberg Slim may well have intended to polish it up a bit before its release. Still it remains an entertaining read, as Slim proves to have a knowledge of the sordid streets of “La-la Land” every bit as intimate as his what he demonstrates about the South Side Chicago, the berg in which he honed his skills as a pimp decades before.
“Shetani’s Sister,” Vintage Crime/Black Lizard Original (Aug. 4, 2015) lists for $14.95; $10.63 at Amazon.com.
