Red Baker by Robert Ward

Red Baker takes place during 1985 in working class white Baltimore; actually, it felt like 1982. It starts off with both Red and his rabid friend laid off from the steel mill. This sparks a journey of despair full of stops at bars, fraternizing with hookers, buying drugs and embarrassing his family. His exploits cause him to receive an ultimatum from his wife.


As a result of this, he is successful in finding a low-paying job that barely pays the bills . This depresses Red  even more  and he and his friend  Dog get into more trouble. This trouble culminates into fight with Vinny, a mortal enemy. it also causes him to go in on a scam with a crooked cop His friend Dog  goes in on it too.

Red Baker is a quirky classic which is a book for its time.  I don't think it is as dark as other I've read; but but that's.  It canbe purchased as hard copy or e-book on Amazon.com.