It
is always a pleasure to bear witness to an author grow with each book they
publish. Novellas become novels, characters become more fleshed out, plots
become more multidimensional, and their books just have deeper hooks that seem
to pierce your soul in a different way, as if the hook now has a barb that
leaves a piece inside you after the book is over.
I
was bearing witness to such a growth in Tom Pitts when I dug into American Static. This novel, the second offering of his Northern California Quartet, brings
to fruition to all the promise he has shown in his many novellas. The length of
a novel fits Pitts well, as it allows him to stretch his plot over many story lines and allows him to bring his characters to life in a way that leaves
a mark on the reader and leaves you feeling all the right emotions; concerns
for the heroes in peril, anger towards the antagonists, and most importantly in
the journey through a great book, caring about what happens to the characters,
both good and bad ones.
I
always why away from overdoing a synopsis in my reviews; hell you can go to
Amazon or Goodreads for that. This plot has so much going on it is hard to
offer up a paragraph to sum it up anyway. Suffice to say, it’s a great story of
a boy running to escape only to end up in a nightmare way beyond his control.
He encounters a man named Quinn, who may be one of the baddest bad-asses I have
had the pleasure to read about in fiction as of late. Quinn goes where he wants
to go, does what he wants to do, and kills who he wants to kill. The manner in
which Pitts has pitted him against another psychopath, but allows Quinn to
out-psycho him, allows you to see the depth of depravity that lies with Quinn’s
dark, dark soul.
Books
like this is why I love to read books…I was lost in Pitts’ world and loved
every minute of the journey. Books like this are also why I enjoy putting out
reviews…to get the opportunity to spread the word for authors who deserve a
wider audience and to have the chance to put a book on someone’s radar and hope
you opened their eyes to an author that will change them as a reader.
Pitts’
Northern California Quartet is two books deep and is picking up steam. The
first book in the quartet was Hustle and that knocked my socks off. This book
adds to the damage and I am hoping Pitts plans on following this 1-2 combo with
a sharp uppercut and then the big KO. Godspeed on book 3 and 4 in the
quartet…I am breathless in anticipation.
This
is strong uncut shit here and it’s highly recommended.
