Caught Stealing: A Novel
by Charlie Huston
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Book Reviews of Caught Stealing: A Novel
Book Review: Strong debut, but lacking great character development
Summary: 4 Stars
In some ways a disappointment and yet an overall strong novel. Charlie Huston is a well hyped New York author with a local and national following. His East Village setting is the highlight of the book. The subtle details are dead-on (from the description of the ads in the subway to the view of the changing socioeconomics of the people living in the neighborhood).
However, in a manner that is similar to Tarantino and Ritchie movies Huston produces numerous quirky and artistic minded thugs. His characters lack depth and often have difficult to reconcile motivations which is inexcusible in a book but easier to live with in a stylized movie. It is good writing but unlike Ellroy or even for the most part Elmore Leonard it lacks great characterization which is what it takes to be great.
Book Review: Pulp Fiction meets Kill Bill (Parts I & II)!
Summary: 5 Stars
Meet Henry "Hank" Thompson (ex-high school baseball player/star turned alcoholic and all around nice guy), add a favor for a friend (to watch a neighbor's cat "Bud", who ends up being the "key" to the mystery) + a crooked/sadistic cop + some sweat-suit-wearing Russian bad guys + countless other bad guys (two extremely bad brothers)+ a secret key (hidden in Bud's crate) that opens a storage room with 4.4 MILLION dollars + 1 lost kidney + countless gun fights and lots of killing = a novel that will leave you breathless until the final scene. Some will survive and some won't. People will do things they never thought that they would, but overall the theme is that sometime you can get "caught up" in events that are beyond your control. Both visceral and gritty, this novel leaves you wanting more.Book Review: Auspicious Debut
Summary: 4 Stars
This book is quite action packed. Hank Thompson was formerly a high school baseball player in California who seemed to have a promising future until being involved in a vehicle accident. He found his way to New York and worked as a bartender on the lower east side. A neighbor who lived across the hall was in a hurry to leave town ostensibly to visit his ill father upstate. He left Hank with his cat Bud and a key for a storage locker. Of course unknown at the time to Hank the locker held $4.5 million that were ill gotten gains. Of course, other coconspirators were hot on the trial of the money. Such as a crooked cop who was highly placed, as well as Russian and Black criminals. A lot of violence ensued thru these pages as the quest continues. Reasonably good read.Book Review: High Octane Crime Novel
Summary: 5 Stars
Very very impressive book. One of the blurbs on the backcover "reads like The Maltese Falcon on crack" is pretty
accurate. High octane book where a nice-guy bartender, Hank Thompson, through no fault of his own (or maybe because he mixes a bad cosmo) is first tortured and then on the run from a gang of ruthless thugs, including one of NY's finest, all in pursuit of the 4 1/2 million bucks. Lots of twists, lots of
interesting little mannerisms such as when Hank is on the phone with the corrupt cop trying to work out a deal, and then you have the awkward moment at the end where Hank finds himself having to say "good-bye". The writing in this is near pitch-perfect, and what make this even more impressive is that it's Huston's first book.
Book Review: A reason to stay in
Summary: 5 Stars
I first read Charlie Huston's "Six bad things" and had no idea I was caught in the middle of a trilogy until I was a few chapters in. After I finished that I went backwards and picked up Caught Stealing here at Amazon. It starts off a little slow compared to six bad things but it picks up quick. I had trouble getting into the book until Huston begins to make remarkable every day observations about how decent people can fall into bad situations out their own kindness. It's the kind of writing style that speaks to you.
Huston creates a confounding protagonist in Hank and you're not quite sure where he's going when he's not running for his life or even if he cares but it's definitely addictive. A serious buy.