Friday 9 August 2013

WAYNE EPPERSON - CHASING BAD GUYS

Synopsis/ blurb.......

Bounty hunter Frank Knott and his new sidekick come face to face with death-threatening odds tracking down hardened killers and crooks across three states.

Frank feels somebody is always trying to rid the earth of his shadow, but he doesn't have to go it alone this time. He has a dependable backup that helps keep him alive while dealing with especially bad outlaws.

Chasing bad guys is the sequel to Epperson's first novel, Crime and Corruption in Texas.

I saw a mention of this book on another website – Crime Fiction Lover and briefly scanned through a mainly positive review. After getting in touch with the author he advised that the book was available on Amazon for free for a short period of time. Always interested in something for nothing, unless its good advice, I went across and down-loaded it.  

It took a week or so to read, which would probably indicate that it didn’t set a fire under me and also conversely that it wasn’t akin to swimming in treacle either, so wasn’t the worst book I ever read. Truth be told it fell somewhere in the middle. (Also bearing in mind that I always have two books on the go anyway and the other book at just shy of 500 pages long was eating more of my time.)

The novel was fairly fast-faced and an interesting set-up with a bounty hunter and his trained Doberman companion beside him. The main character, Frank was on the trail of a bail absconder who skipped out on a murder charge. Whilst this scenario was in play; Knott was looking over his shoulder as another bad guy he had previously crossed paths with - Dale Dunsworth was also gunning for him. Dunsworth, after breaking free from court, was swearing vengeance on Knott and the DEA agents who had put him there.

Fearless Frank in the space of the 170-odd pages of novel and sometimes in a slightly two-dimensional fashion put pay to the aforementioned bad guys as well as a few other miscreants who he happened across along the way. If I was to be overly critical, I would have preferred a narrative that trusted the reader to join some of the dots up themselves – a little bit more of “show not tell!” That aside, I was entertained and didn’t feel the time devoted to reading had been wasted.

As a protagonist carrying the book, Frank Knott is a fairly straight thinking, straight acting type of guy. Maybe a bit gung-ho, stemming in part from his background in the Marines, none too nuanced or cultured, but striving to do the right thing which is admirable. His Doberman is probably more in touch with its sensitive side!

This is the author’s second self-published novel to be released and whilst I won’t be breaking down to doors to back-track on the first book, I think there’s sufficient potential there for his subsequent books to possibly interest me. I have read far, far worse in my time from established authors.

Overall a 3 from 5, with scope for improvement next time around.

As mentioned above, acquired as a free download on Amazon-UK a month or two ago.


12 comments:

  1. Col - Glad you though this was a decent read. It doesn't strike me as my cuppa, to be honest, but it does sound like a solid story with a decent pace.

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    1. Margot, you're probably right....at the risk of sounding non-PC, probably more of a man/lad's book! I'm sure it will have a readership though.

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  2. I saw you were reading this and went to have a look and saw CrimeFictionLover's review on there but I decided to wait to see what your verdict was. It sounds like an interesting read about bounty hunters of which I've only read by Janet Evanovich, heh, but after reading your review of this title, all I have to say is that I already have enough to read *g* I'm actually reading Stieg Larsson's The Girl Who Played With Fire. It's keeping me occupied for the moment.

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    1. Keishon, like you I enjoy reading books that travel under the radar - not always admittedly. Some you like, some you don't and some are okay. This one was okay - I wouldn't expect to see the author at the top of the best-seller charts though anytime soon.
      I haven't read any Evanovich and probably have no plans to either....unless you wholeheartedly endorse her.
      I enjoyed a JD Rhoades book previously about a bounty hunter - Jack Keller which was better in my opinion. (I mentioned it on my recent R-post)
      Hope the Larsson works out well for you - I got to this earlier this year....fairly good.

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    2. Nope, I wouldn't fully endorse Janet Evanovich books. I quit after book four. And I agree with you - I'd love to discover a writer under the radar who writes just as well as the bestselling ones. They are out there...somewhere.

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    3. Ok - Evanovitch - avoid! Thanks

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  3. Oh your sidebar is hilarious...."one of these?" and undecided. I shudder at all the print books lying around. *g*

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    1. You and me both - I'll pick a book or 2 tonight and update the picture over the weekend!

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  4. I am glad I read all the comments.. which I always do. Otherwise, in the fog I am in today, I would have missed the pic of all the stacks of books. Thanks for cheering me up.

    I am undecided on this book. I like dogs but I am not so sure about the setting and the premise. However, glad to have your review of it, in case I encounter it later.

    Also, my husband read Possession, Obsession, etc... by Brennan and liked the stories a lot. His review at goodreads is here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/687151339

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    1. Tracy, I'm glad your other half enjoyed the Brennan.....phew!

      The picture won't stay that way for long, but the sentiment remains!
      I probably would steer away from this one to be truthful - I don't think it's really your thing TBH.

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  5. Col, thanks for the review. There is no way I can add another book, even if it is a good self-published work by a promising new author. I do, of course, add books to my pile that looks a lot like the one in your picture, but those are the ones I want to read and they usually date back several years and even decades. On the other hand, I have downloaded a couple of new free mystery ebooks on Amazon but I haven't read them yet.

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