Caught Stealing: A Novel
by Charlie Huston
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Book Reviews of Caught Stealing: A Novel
Book Review: Heir to Jim Thompson
Summary: 5 Stars
If you liked Jim Thompson's "The Killer Inside Me" and wondered where the heirs are, Charlie Huston's your man. "Caught Stealing" is the awesome start of an awesome pulp/noir trilogy starring Hank Thompson (hmm, "Thompson," coincidence?)
I actually read these books in the wrong order, stumbling across "A Dangerous Man" first and liking it so well that I sought out the first two. For maximum reading enjoyment, start with "Caught Stealing," then "Six Bad Things," then "A Dangerous Man." Though "Six ..." is the weaker of the three, it's to Huston's credit that he sustains the thing through three books and kept this reader wanting more all the way through. The books are a train ride: Once you get on, you do not want to get off, and it's best to have several hours set aside, such as a long flight, because once you start with Huston you're not going to want to stop. He's that good.
The books are liberally -- and I do mean liberally -- spiced with profanity, violence and drug use so if these things offend, choose something else.
The reviewer who called Huston "a poor man's Cormac McCarthy" is right on. While not so similar to the border trilogy, Huston's books get darn close to the standard of McCarthy's "No Country For Old Men," which is another outstanding read for fans of this genre.
Hank Thompson is a violent killer and a singularly sympathetic character and that's part of Huston's achievement. So is the narrative -- not a wrong move, not a bad piece of dialog, not an errant sentence ... it's just spot on. Oh, yeah, and it's also hilarious at times, laugh-out-loud funny. And, somehow, credibility is not stretched -- it's all so strangely plausible, under the circumstances.
This book, and its sequels, get the highest compliment I can give a book: I would happily read it again.
Book Review: A violent and entertaining noir.
Summary: 4 Stars
"Caught Stealing" is an absolute blast. It's violent, it's funny, and it constantly keeps you on the edge of your seat, as the Reaper spares no one in this exhilarating debut (the bodies pile up faster than the twists in the story).
"Stealing" is a classic wrong-man pulp novel -- an innocent guy (in this case a drunk named Hank Thompson who is stagnating in his life as a bartender) watches his neighbor's cat as a favor. Under the cat's blanket is a key. A lot of bad guys, including a police lieutenant, want that key and the money it leads to. Hank doesn't know what the key is for, but he must try to survive as the bad guys disrupt his life and take aim at everyone he cares for.
Huston's greatest accomplishment is Hank himself. He is a believable hero. He's never been in these types of situations before and he's scared. He toughens up as the story progresses, but it's easy to see through his eyes.
And the action is just nonstop. It picks up from the first page, keeps you moving forward, and just when you think things are going to sort themselves out and Hank will slip out of trouble, Huston ably shakes you up all over again. Along with all the chases, shootouts and noirish prose, you get a running commentary about the baseball season from the former player Hank (though, oddly, all the information about the Giants and Mets that Huston gives his reader is made up; none of it actually happened, though it does add a nice element to the story).
The ending was a bit of a letdown, but this doesn't detract from what is a terrific read.
"Caught Stealing" is about as much fun as you can have. I consider Charlie Huston a major find. I look forward to reading his other books, including "Stealing's" sequels.
Book Review: A Bedtime Story for Sam Peckinpah and Quintin Tarantino
Summary: 5 Stars
Hank Thompson, a once California high school baseball star destined for the "bigs", is permanently sidelined in a stolen base gone bad, and now, some ten years later, is tending bar in New York City. Part time alcoholic and full time slacker - albeit a lovable slacker - Hank does a neighbor a small favor and as a result finds his previously ordinary life spinning wildly out of control through a .44 Magnum-sized case of mistaken identity. Hank, whose biggest previous concern was a remedy for sore feet and the fate of his San Francisco Giants, is now the target of a motley crew of Russian gangsters, assorted New York freaks, and dirty cops.
Give first-time author Charlie Huston lots of credit: his irreverent, hip, and uncensored delivery assaults the reader relentlessly and without apology. A poor man's Cormac McCarthy, Huston dispatches the goods with none of the poetry but all of the impact; a visceral personal tour of one man's worst nightmare. Huston's gradual transformation of Hank from the basically docile ordinary guy to a stone cold killer is jolting, and guaranteed to trash any plans for the weekend you may have had. And despite his found talent for violence, you'll find yourself still rooting for Hank who, as the mayhem surrounding him mounts, his most pressing issue remains the outcome of baseball's regular season.
Brutal, blunt, and gritty, Huston's "Caught Stealing" satisfies the deepest addictions of the pop thriller junkie. The first in a trilogy, "Stealing" was followed by the equally outrageous "Six Bad Things", and is scheduled to conclude with "A Dangerous Man" next year. If you're anything like me, you'll be anxiously waiting for Huston to wrap up Hank's crazed odyssey of blood lust and baseball.
Book Review: Getting Away With Murder Shouldn't Be This Funny
Summary: 4 Stars
Hank Thompson was going to be a major league baseball player like Willie Mays or Tom Seaver who everyone would remember long after his career was over. By the time he was in High School, he had played on 2 Little League World Series teams, was the phenom of Southern California HS Baseball, and had Pro Scouts and College Recruiters at his games. All this ended when he was stepped on by a shortstop, who destroyed his ankle.
Hank's dad (a mechanic) helped him build the fastest car in the Valley. One night, while speeding around with his best friend Richard in the car, he wipes out a tree. He's wearing a seatbelt, Rich isn't; Rich is dead.
Hank heads east to get a new start in New York. He tends bar in the Village, and is one of his best customers. One night two guys come into the bar and for no reason, beat him so badly that he looses a kidney. The same night his next door neighbor, Russ, asks him to watch his cat, Bud.
Now things go really screwy. He chases by Asians, Russian Mafia, NYC cops, murderers, and guys who specialize in mid-western bank
robberies. I won't tell you any more of the plot, because that would spoil to many of the surprises.
Needless to say their is a lot, a lot of sardonic humor in this book. Which is sort of like a cross between Jimmy Buffett and Elmo Leonard, with just a touch of Monty Python (someone actually say, "blahblah is no more"). A couple of margaritas and so etoufe, and all bases are covered. Which is not a pun, because running through the whole book is a rehash of the end of the 2000 Major League baseball season.
If you enjoy unmitigated mayhem, you'll like this book. (There is a lot of f..king in this book, but it's all verbal.)
Book Review: Very Entertaining Read!
Summary: 5 Stars
Granted some parts of Caught Stealing are a little bit unrealistic or farfetched but Huston has written a very fast paced thriller that is one of those rare reads that makes the reader forget about the outside world and keep turning the pages until the final page. I will definitely be on the lookout for other novels by Huston who has a similar story told through the main character's eyes style to Harlan Coben but with a fair bit more violence than Coben's work.
In Caught Stealing, once upon a time child sport prodigy Henry (Hank) Thompson through injury never accomplished his dreams and now works as a bartender. Being the nice guy that he is Hank reluctantly takes possession of his neighbour's cat while Russ his neighbour goes to visit his sick father. One night at work some disgruntled Russians beat Hank to a pulp over the poor quality of their drinks. Hank low on money decides to just suck it up and not go to hospital but when he lapses into a coma when keeping an appointment with his doctor about an unrelated foot problem and wakes up with one less kidney and other problems, he finds out the Russians did some serious damage. Shortly after release he is terrified to see them across the street while doing his laundry and hides on the roof of his apartment block as they ransack Russ' apartment across the hall. Upon reporting them to the police he learns through torture to himself and the cat that his neighbour wasn't the average guy he thought he was and that Russ gave him the cat for a reason. With those around him being killed until he hands over what the criminals want, Hank has no choice but to discover Russ' secret and win their deadly game.