Synopsis/blurb....
Dan is a con man and a drifter just looking for a ride east. A strange woman in a business suit picks him up on the highway, and soon they’re going 70-miles-an-hour and she’s got a gun pointed at his head. Instead of shooting him, she hits him with a proposition to make some fast money. Against his better judgment, Dan sneaks into her office and steals the key to a safe deposit box. He thinks he’s made a clean getaway until he’s stopped on the way out by Kate, a sultry accountant who knows something is up and is looking for a way in on the score.
Kate offers Dan a better deal, and the two figure out a way into the box. But there’s no money inside. What they do find is enough to track down a shady photographer who holds the promise of even more treasure. But deception, misdirection, and murder keep Dan on the run, as he begins to realize that Kate the office drone is not what she seems, and the lady on the highway who he double-crossed may be the most dangerous criminal he’s ever met.
Sunk Costs is the third book I’ve read and enjoyed from
author Preston Lang. His debut The Blind Rooster was amazing and his second
novel, The Carrier pretty damn good. Sunk Costs is his fourth and didn’t
disappoint.
A con man, Dan meets a couple of like minded souls during the course of Sunk Costs, trading up one crazy lady with a proposition for a score for another slightly less deranged model, Kate and a better slice of the cake.
Steal a key, impersonate a dead man, access a safety deposit box and home free. If only life was that simple. Inevitably complications arise. There's no fortune in the box, just a further puzzle to solve.
Chuck in the unwelcome appearance of a couple of additional parties claiming rightful ownership of the missing money and prepared to back their claims with violence, with crazy lady number one hovering in the background and some ongoing trust issues with Kate and Dan has his work cut out coming out ahead.
A fast pace, an easy languid style of writing, a great story, a shady character or three, some sprinklings of brevity throughout with a couple of scenes which made me chuckle. One in particular with Dan thinking on his feet and persuading the overly helpful neighbour not to assist with demolishing the non-existent wall in front of the bathroom, still cracks me up thinking about it.
Not overly long - less than 200 pages of prose - just about perfect length for me. A great main character, Dan with not much of a back story, just enough to show us he's been around the block a couple of times. A satisfying resolution - it couldn't really have ended any better in my opinion.
Preston Lang writes the kind of books that I want to read. All Due Respect publishes the kind of books I want to read. Hats off to both.
5 from 5
Preston Lang has his website here.
Read in June, 2018
Published - 2018
Page count - 206
Source - review copy received from Chris at All Due Respect (cheers)
Format - paperback
Things never turn out as easily as we think they will, do they, Col? And it sounds as though this novel uses that really effectively. Sounds as though it's got some interesting characters, too.
ReplyDeleteMargot, lots for me to enjoy here and the rails coming off is a big part of the fun with con men and heisters and general ne-er-do-wells.
DeleteI loved The Carrier. Dialogue driven with dry-as-dust humor. I felt Sunk Costs was just as good.
ReplyDeleteLarry, I do like his work. I'll have to catch up on The Sin Tax soon.
Delete5 on 5, eh? It does sound good, very tempted.
ReplyDeleteMy kind of book, I'm hoping you're tempted to give it a go.
DeleteLike Moira said, if you gave it a five, must be pretty good. And not too long either.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely recommend at least trying one from Preston Lang, he may be more my cup of tea than yours but you never know!
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