Reviewed
by: Sam Waite
Genre:
Noir
Approximate
word count: 20-25,000
words
Availability
Click
on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes &
Noble, or Smashwords store
Author:
Eric
Beetner
is the author or co-author of several novels as well as contributing
short fiction to many magazines and anthologies. He was voted “Most
Criminally Underrated Author” by the Stalker Awards.
Description:
A man
who’s skated the narrow edge of morality all his life gets a shove
into the abyss. At first he struggles against it, but in the end
finds comfort in the dark corners of his soul.
Appraisal:
Warning:
Don’t start reading Nine
Toes in the Grave unless
you have enough time to finish it before your next appointment.
Otherwise you might miss it. The writing style is dead on and pace as
quick as the bite of a cornered rat.
A
decent man making do with hourly wages in a desert pit stop takes up
with the boss’s wife and finds adultery leads to far more grievous
sins. Even as he seeks truth to extricate himself from descent into a
hell created by people he trusted, the outcome is inescapable.
I
thoroughly enjoyed the read, but the story line is a bit over the
top, almost a tongue-in-cheek play on the genre with too many
coincidences happening too quickly. Also the ending is lighter than
expected: Jim Thompson meets Roger the Rabbit.
Still
it’s highly recommended for a quick trip into a world where a twist
of fate might have sent any of us.
FYI:
Some
adult language.
Format/Typo
Issues:
None
Rating:
**** Four Stars
1 comment:
A stripped-down, old-school blast of noir. The story starts with one bad decision and just barrels on to a dark but satisfying conclusion. I read this in one sitting.
Marlene
Skagway Tours Company
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