The Killing of the Tinkers by Ken Bruen

I love Ken Bruen books, but this one was not my fav. It was his second one of this crime series, obviously about the serial killing of Tinkers, or gypsies. His main character, Jack Taylor, is in the midst of a major alcohol/coke addiction, and he is often barely able to walk and breathe, repeatedly screws up his relationships with people around him -- a totally unsympathetic character. But, Bruen also makes Taylor out to be a remarkably literate guy who makes references to various authors like Pellicanos, Harry Crews, Tom Kennedy, Paul Smith, Paul Theroux, Robert Irwin (Satan Wants Me, An Exquisite Corpse), Samuel Beckett, and Lawerence Block. I know Pellicanos' and Theroux's works, so I'll have to check out the others.