Six Bad Things: A Novel
by Charlie Huston
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Book Summary Information
Author: Charlie HustonEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-06-28
ISBN: 0345464796
Number of pages: 305
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Reviews of Six Bad Things: A Novel
Book Review: Decent Shoot'em Up
Summary: 4 Stars
Crime is probably my favorite genre, be it literature or film, and this book came strongly recommended. After letting it gather dust on the shelf for over a year, I finally dove into it and was instantly hooked. The story kicks off with protagonist Hank lounging on a quiet Mexican beach, hiding out from all manner of villains seeking him and the $4.5 million he made off with following a rather violent and complicated weekend in New York three years previously. I loved how the book just launched in without spending too much time explaining the specifics of what had brought Hank to this point. However, after about fifty pages I started to have a sneaking suspicion that this ultraviolent backstory had all been detailed elsewhere. So I checked online and discovered that this is the second book in a trilogy, and that the first (Caught Stealing) follows Hank's journey from nice catsitter to FBI Most Wanted list. Unfortunately, this violates one of my pet peeves, which is reading a series out of order. But already committed to the book, and having absorbed enough of Hank's backstory to make reading Caught Stealing redundant, I read on.
The book is basically one long chase scene, hurtling from Hank's hideaway on the Yucatan Peninsula, to Tijuana, to suburban California, to Vegas. Hank's problem is that the Russian mob has finally tracked him down and threatened the lives of his parents, so he's forced to make a move. A move that involves sending his cash to his one friend back in the U.S. and going back to his parents' house. It's not really clear why (other than sentiment), after being so cautious, careful, and crafty, he would make the colossally stupid move of showing up back home -- but the chase must go on. It's all very Tarantinoesque, or perhaps Pekinpaughesque -- there are Russian mobsters, a corporate blackmailer, a pair of psycho surf burnouts, and a truckload of white trash vigilantes after Hank and his loot. Many of these highly colorful supporting characters will die along the way, as will many of the equally memorable people Hank enlists in his bid to keep his parents safe. It's not just the outsize characters and violence that remind one of Tarantino though, it's also the dialogue, which is snappy and permeated with dark humor (which is also somewhat reminiscent of Elmore Leonard).
Ultimately, one's appreciation of the book will more or less depend on your taste for shoot 'em ups. That, and the extent to which you find Hank a sympathetic enough character to follow in his blood-soaked wake. Hank is enough of an everyman to be likable, but he's also killed in cold blood and caused the deaths of several innocent people. And while he wrestles with this at length, going so far to tattoo hash marks on himself to reflect the number of deaths he's caused, it feels kind of proforma, as if all the agonizing is there to keep him sympathetic to the reader. As entertaining as the lengthy chase is (for those who like such frenetic hijinks), my major problem is that the book shouldn't be a standalone. It ends in limbo, and one really has to read the next book (A Dangerous Man) to finish Hank's story. The trilogy should really have been published a a single longer volume and having it split up among three books feels like profiteering by the publisher (ie. I don't blame the author).
Summary of Six Bad Things: A Novel
Hank Thompson is living off the map in Mexico with a bagful of cash that the Russian mafia wants back and many, many secrets. So when a Russian backpacker shows up in town asking questions, Hank tries to play it cool. But he knows the jig is up when the backpacker mentions the money . . . and the family Hank left behind. Suddenly Hank?s in a desperate race to get to his parents in California before anyone can harm them. Along the way he?ll face Federales and Border Patrol, mafiosi and vigilantes, extortionists and drug dealers, and a couple of psychotic surf bums with an ax to grind. From the golden beaches of the Yucatán to the seedy strip clubs of Vegas, Charlie Huston opens a door to the squalid underworld of crime and corruption?and invites the reader to live it in the extreme.Literature & Fiction Books
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