Friday, January 04, 2008

The Cold Spot -- Tom Piccirilli

When Chase's pregnant mother is murdered and his father disappears, an apparent suicide, Chase's upbringing is taken over by Jonah, his grandfather, a professional criminal. Chase becomes an expert getaway driver, but at age 15, he's involved in a situation (the novel's fine opening scene) that convinces him it's time to break away.

He does, and for a few years he leads more or less straight life. He meets the right woman (a deputy sheriff, no less), marries, and starts teaching school (auto shop, of course).

Then, bad things happen. Violence, and a lot of it, results. Chase, looking for revenge, gets involved with his grandfather again, and their relationship is just as strained and enigmatic as before. At the end of the book, several things remain unresolved, and there's plenty of room for a sequel or two. Because this book was so well done, so sharp, fast, and involving, I'm looking forward to reading them.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

nice cover design. that means a lot ta me. for what it's worth. they credit the guy?

Unknown said...

Cover illustration copyright 2008 by tk. I don't know who tk is.

Anonymous said...

Tom's a real talent, I'm all over this one!


Harry Shannon

Craig Clarke said...

In my experience as a proofreader, "tk" is shorthand for "to come," which just means they didn't have the name ready when that page of your ARC was printed.