Caught Stealing

Rating:
Summary: One of the most memorable debuts of the year
Review: A very powerful narrative voice is what drives this debut novel which just so happens to be one of the best of the year so far. The author, Charlie Huston, is also a screenwriter and as expected the dialogue is dead on.
Hank Thompson is a bartender on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. His life has been a bit of a disappointment in that he was slated to become a major league baseball player until he broke his leg. His humdrum existence comes to an abrupt end when Russ, a neighbor, leaves his cat with him while he visits his sick father for a few days or a few weeks. That night Hank gets so severely beaten up in a bar by two thugs that he requires surgery to remove a damaged kidney. This is just the beginning as Hank is chased, beaten, tortured for an unknown reason. As friends start to die, Hank realizes he must get to the bottom of the problem as his life depends on it.
Hank is a complex character. He is tormented by an accident in the past and, in a sense, continues to punish himself with guilt. He is a sympathetic figure to the reader in that it seems everybody else in the book is evil. Rooting for this underdog drives the rapid pacing as the thrills continue one after the other. It is difficult to put the book down until the highly satisfying conclusion. With the superb characterizations, realistic dialogue and riveting story line, CAUGHT STEALING is one of the most memorable debuts this year.

Rating:
Summary: Excellant old school crime drama
Review: Break neck pace and vivid charactors. A good read

Rating:
Summary: A Crisp, Gritty and Just Plain Good Thriller
Review: Henry "Hank" Thompson is what many would call a likable loser. He was a high school baseball star in California, but he broke his leg, sliding into third and there went his major league career. He tried college for about six years and left without a degree. Plus he's tormented by an auto accident where he was the driver and one of his friends was killed, so he doesn't drive anymore. He moved to New York with his girlfriend and she left him. Hank is complex, tormented, intriguing, interesting and at times he doesn't seem very bright, but he is likable and now he tends bar six nights a week, which works out okay for him, because he's a drinker.

Then a friend named Russ Miner has to leave town to visit his sick father and he asks Hank to care for his cat, Bud. However it seems Russ is a crook who was in charge of an awful lot of laundered money. Some serious bad guys named Roman, Bolo, Red, Bert and Ernie want the money back and they believe Hank knows how to get it. Poor Hank suffers unmentionable beatings and torture at their hands and if that isn't enough, a second set of bad guys come after him, the brothers Ed and Paris Durante, and they're not very nice either. Hank finally figures out where the money is, but he's not going to give it up.

As the bodies start to pile up, many of them Hank's friends, Hank blames himself for not acting earlier, but when he does act, violence is the order of the day in this gritty book. Hank may be a likable loser, but even a likable loser can be pushed too far. The climax here is so satisfying that as soon as I finished this book, I started it again. This is a thriller with crisp and gritty dialogue, a gritty plot and gritty characters, just plain gritty, just plain good.

Rating:
Summary: I was hooked right away!
Review: I enjoyed Caught Stealing so much while reading my brother-in-law's copy on vacation that I had to go out and buy it once I got home. I was hooked immediately and rooting for the flawed hero right away. I'll be watching for more books by this author.


Rating:
Summary: Sometimes You Just Have to Root for the Underdog
Review: In a past life Hank Thompson was on his way to the Big Leagues, but a broken leg kept him from the Show, ruining his Major League career. So now Hank tends bar on the Lower East Side of Manhatten, dreaming about what could have been, then one day his neighbor asks Hank to watch his cat while he leaves town to visit his sick old dad.

Later that night a couple thugs come into the bar and beat Hank so badly that he loses a kidney. They give no reason for this and Hank hasn't a clue. Then his friends start to die and Hank decides that he has to get to the bottom of what's going on before something really bad and really permanent happens to him.

Mr. Huston painted Hank's portrait on his pages so well, that I felt like I was him. I hurt when he hurt, got mad when he did. That is truly a mark of a remarkable writer and this is a remarkable book, just remarkable.

Rating:
Summary: Charlie's Life Goes from Boring, to Bad, to Worse
Review: Once upon a time it looked like Hank Thompson was good to go, he was going to the Show. He was going to be a Major Leaguer, every boy's dream, a professional baseball player. However he broke his leg, one thing led to another and now he tends bar on Manhattan's lower East Side and he lives sort of a boring, same-o, same-o life.

Then one day his neighbor asked him to watch his cat while he was out of town and that was the day Hank's life stopped being such a bore. That night two tough guys beat him within an inch of his life, damaging one of his kidneys, which he had to have removed and what follows is almost a none-stop horror show for Hank as he's chased, beaten again and even tortured for reasons he can't figure out. Then his friends start to die and now he knows he has to find out what's going on, because sure as the stuff you scrape off the bottom of your shoes, Hank is on someone's bad list.

Hank is an underdog who is complicated, complex and tortured by what might have been. But he is also sympathetic and I found myself caring about him deeply in this book where just about everybody else is pretty doggone evil. Mr. Huston has a strong narrative voice and is able to capture the reader's attention without only a few words of dialogue. His descriptions put you in the scene and his characters are as real as any you've ever read about. This is one very good book written by someone who knows how to tell a story.

Rating:
Summary: Make This Into a Movie Tarantino -- It Rocks!
Review: Some of my favorite flicks involved extraordinary ordeals encountered by ordinary people: wrong place wrong person scenarios. "Caught Stealing" was just that sort of novel. Henry Thompson was introduced as an alcoholic bartender anguishing through his adult years after two wretched life-changing events. First, a younger Henry (Hank) had seen his dreams of baseball stardom smashed by a career ending accident to his leg (clue: the title of the novel has something to do with baseball). Second, Hank accidentally killed his best friend when he swerved his car to avoid a baby calf and catapulted his childhood buddy through the windshield into a tree. Eventually, Hank escaped his hometown in California and picked New York to live out the rest of his pitiful existence. One day a neighbor (and an acquaintance) asked Hank to take care of his cat so he could visit his ailing father. From one seemingly meaningless/innocent favor all hell broke loose and Hank's nightmarish existence dropped a few more levels deeper into the abyss. Hank found himself the target of various bad guys, each with their own unique personality traits (I'd love to pick all the actors to play these guys in any potential movie) and each with their own lethal techniques of assault and torture. The action packed thriller was so much fun to read that I completed it in two days. Hank's heart-pounding adventure was pure pulp fiction bliss, and I could only picture Quentin Tarantino making a movie adaptation worthy of the super prose provided by Charlie Huston's pure-adrenaline-laced story unburdened by needless evocative details. Fancier authors sometimes get caught up in writing hundreds of descriptive sentences on unnecessary particulars in order to show off their command of the English language via the utilization of wacky adjectives, tacky adverbs and esoteric verbs. Trust me; this would be a fantastic beach book. I loved it and I can't wait until it is transformed into an action-packed movie extravaganza.

Jay's Grade: A
May 21, 2004

Rating:
Summary: Take flight with a great summer read
Review: Thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's perfect for the cross atlantic or cross country business trip, the summer vacation poolside read, or the daily commute on the train. The only part you'll have a hard time with is putting it down when you get to your station. That said, it will give you something to look forward to at the end of your day and the return commute. If you have a problem with the Tarantino movies, this book's probably not for you. But if you like action thrillers with a truly unique voice, you'll really enjoy this book.

roman

Rating:
Summary: perfect beach read for this summer!
Review: What a fun, rolicking read.
Although not literary in scope nor nature this is a perfect read for the beach and tough to put down.

There's no mistaking that Charles Huston has screenwriter on his resume. This book reads like the script of the newest Tarantino flick:
* violence- yep- lots of it but it is not gratuitous
* great characters- yep- including a cat-loving protagonist
* plot twists- yep- and most of them even make sense
* fun dialogue- makes you want to be as cool as these characters

Pick this book up and enjoy. It's the perfect summer light read!

Rating:
Summary: perfect beach read for this summer!
Review: What a fun, rolicking read.
Although not literary in scope nor nature this is a perfect read for the beach and tough to put down.

There's no mistaking that Charles Huston has screenwriter on his resume. This book reads like the script of the newest Tarantino flick:
* violence- yep- lots of it but it is not gratuitous
* great characters- yep- including a cat-loving protagonist
* plot twists- yep- and most of them even make sense
* fun dialogue- makes you want to be as cool as these characters

Pick this book up and enjoy. It's the perfect summer light read!