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Friday, October 5, 2012

Book Review - The Outlaw Among Us - Nathan Dodge


The Outlaw Among Us
Title: The Outlaw Among Us

Author: Nathan Dodge

Review: Over the top, or OTT as we said back in the 80’s.  I would like to think if you name your lead character/shady individual Johnny Outlaw you were going for ironic humor.  If the author was going for irony then he was much too subtle for me to pick up on it.

Basically you have a master sociopath with unlimited funds who decides to befriend a neighbor – let’s just forget the fact sociopaths do not befriend anyone.  That aside he takes several steps to isolate his target and bring him onto his team, including removing individuals who would derail that goal; like the targets wife.  He seems to kill and without consequence (but to be fair you probably kill a random punk in the back city streets of New Jersey and get away with it).  No one is immune to the charms or influence of Johnny Outlaw, no one.

From strippers, neighbors, cops, and federal agents; Johnny Outlaw just moves through life doing whatever he pleases.  It is just that easy when you put your mind to it.  It seems like the goal was to get the gritty realism of The Dark Knight (well, real when compared to) and yet we end up with the cartoonishness of Adam West with all the vibrant colors.  

I guess I just wasn’t sure for what the author was going for.  Maybe he achieved exactly what he was looking for, but it wasn’t made clear for the reader to know it.  That said it was a fun read and the writing style was solid.  This was an easy book to get through, but forgettable in a Holy Sitcom sort of way.

Publisher: PocketStar
ISBN: 978-1-4516-7737-9
Copyright: 2012
Pages: 358
Quick Review: 3 stars out of 5
Why I Read It: I can go for a good thriller
Where I Obtained the Book: Sent to me by the publisher for review

Synopsis: A suspenseful and intriguing original eBook about some mysterious new neighbors in an otherwise quiet suburb—from a popular bestselling thriller author (writing under a pseudonym). Martin Tucker is a working-class average Joe from New Jersey who lives a simple life: husband to his high school sweetheart, father to two young sons, and retainer of a ton of bills, even though most months the mortgage gets paid on time. It may not be the ultimate realization of the American Dream, but Martin’s gotten comfortable with it, and he’ll take what he can. That is, until new neighbors Johnny and Rachel Outlaw move in two doors down, and everything changes.

Johnny’s the youngest partner at a high-powered Manhattan law firm, and Rachel is probably the hottest woman Martin’s ever seen. For the life of him, Martin can’t figure out what people like the Outlaws are doing in this quiet suburban neighborhood. But as Martin tries to uncover the truth, Johnny Outlaw shows him a devil of a good time and Rachel captivates him with her irresistible beauty and charm—right before everything starts heading straight to hell….


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