Synopsis/blurb……
Private military
contractors. They're not just for foreign wars anymore. Jon Cantrell, a
disgraced ex-cop, works for one such company. He's a DEA agent paid on a
commission basis, patrolling one of the busiest drug-hubs in the country:
Dallas, Texas.
When
Cantrell and his partner and sometimes lover confiscate the wrong shipment of
drugs, they find themselves in possession of a star witness in an upcoming
cartel trial that could destroy the largest criminal organization in the
hemisphere.
To
turn a profit, all they have to do is safely deliver the witness to the US
Attorney on the other side of the state. An easy trip, except the witness
doesn’t want to go and a group of competing DEA contractors and a corrupt
Dallas police officer want everybody involved dead.
This
heart-stopping thriller takes readers deep into a strange underworld where the
lines between government officials and mercenaries blur. In this complex
network of drug traffickers, cartels, politicians, and police, no one's hands
are clean.
Another new author and another Net Galley book which on the
face of it……..drugs, corruption, dirty cops, Mexican cartels and hit squads…..ought
to have been up my street. Whilst it was enjoyable up to a point I wasn't
engaged in the outcome and felt somewhat indifferent as to how things played
out.
The author provides a decent back story for our main
character and puts flesh on his bones ….. a troubled job history, family
difficulties with an unstable half-sister looking after his father who is
suffering from dementia, on/off romance with an equally troubled partner, Piper……but
I just didn't feel any connection or empathy towards Cantrell and less for Piper,
the other main figure on the side of the good guys.
Cantrell and Piper take down a drug shipment. Cantrell and
Piper find themselves in possession of a witness in an up and coming trial
against a top figure in one the Mexican drug cartels. Cantrell and Piper
endeavour to deliver her to a US attorney somewhere else in Texas and in return
secure themselves a big pay-day. A road-trip ensues, with numerous encounters
and a fair bit of blood-letting as a variety of miscreants on both sides of the
law try to stop the pair and silence the witness permanently.
Gun fights, death, betrayal, secrets, corruption, drug-addiction,
tech-wizardry, family, Texas, Mexican hit squads, indifference, constant
mind-wandering, page-counting, loss of reading momentum, ennui, swimming
through treacle…… the end, joy, relief, a burden lifted.
I’m possibly being a little bit unfair to the author as the
plot was ok, the characters were more than caricatures and the setting was well-described……..I
just wasn't swept along – when I read a 500 page book, I want it to be epic and
in my opinion this fell some way short. Maybe 200 pages less and it would have
been more.
Better than a 2 – as I didn't contemplate stabbing myself in
the eyeballs with a pen at any point, but only marginally. In the spirit of
generosity a 3 then.
3 from 5
Hunsicker has previously written 3 other books in a series with
a protagonist named Lee Henry Oswald set in Dallas! The first of these – Still River was nominated for a Shamus
Award back in 2005. Whilst this one wasn't to my taste, I think I would be
prepared to give this first book a read.
My copy was accessed via Net Galley website. The Contractors was published in February, 2014.
Col - Good to hear that this wasn't a complete disappointment to you. Still, I know exactly what you mean about feeling a bit indifferent about the outcome. And to be perfectly honest it doesn't sound like my cuppa. But it's always good to learn about new-to-me-authors.
ReplyDeleteMargot - not the worst book I've read in the past couple of months - just not the greatest either. I suppose my disappointment was exacerbated by its length. The lower my enjoyment, the slower I read, which decreases my pleasure, which locks me in a downward spiral. I don't like giving up on books though, as I'm always optimistic that a story can pick up and captivate me.
DeleteI would still try his other book as he can definitely write, just this wasn't the right book for me though.
I think you're convincing us to wait till he writes a better book to try him....
ReplyDeleteI'd struggle to recommend this one to be honest. Maybe it's more of a holiday read where you can plonk yourself down undisturbed for a few hours at a time and eat it up in larger chunks than I was able to digest. It kind of seemed endless at times......a third of the month gone and only 1 book read, not HP!
DeleteVery good review, Col. I am glad you mentioned the bit about if it is that long, it had better be good. If you give the series he writes a try, I will see what you think of that. I have never tried that because the name seems a gimmick. But it may be a great series.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of other books ahead of trying a second from this author, but I won't rule it out just yet.
DeleteI had to smile while I read your review. Message received. Three is generous.
ReplyDeleteGenerous is my middle name! Next......
DeleteThanks for this review, Col. In response to your reply to Ms Kinberg's comment, I feel the same way about books. To borrow from Churchill, "Never give up!" I always find some redeeming feature or other in every book no matter how slow or boring it is. I read till the end.
ReplyDeletePrashant, I also have a bit of cussed-ness about me, thinking that if I give up the author has beaten me, which is kind of irrational.
DeleteI do think sometimes that I'm maybe not clever enough to "get" the author's intention which is why I perhaps don't like books where the ending can be ambiguous.