April 1, 2022
An unexpected inheritance from his father thrusts an ordinary Joe into a shady criminal world. After a post-prizefight brawl leads to a suspension for rising North Carolina boxer Hudson Miller, he decides to keep body and soul together by taking a job as a bouncer at the Red Door Taproom. The news that Hudson's father, Leland, has been shot and killed in an apparent botched robbery hits Hudson hard despite their estrangement. And why had Leland called the night before? Visits to Mom and to Tammy, Dad's coarse, chain-smoking wife, produce few answers, but the police offer a more complete picture of the murder scene as well as the speculation that Leland, who ran a salvage yard in rural Flint Creek, may have had a side hustle as a gun dealer. When Hudson inherits Miller's Pull-a-Part, he decides that his current dead-end situation makes it worth a try to run it himself, especially since Leland's old pal Charlie is there to shepherd him. Hudson's smoothly flowing first-person narrative allows the reader to explore a hardscrabble new world full of sleazy characters in tandem with him. The appeal of Blackburn's debut novel rests mostly on the Everyman credentials of its two-fisted hero as he navigates the hard knocks life has thrown his way. Mystery fans may be disappointed, though, that the criminal aspects of his story simmer slowly and come to fruition only gradually. A last-minute subplot involving feisty Lucy Reyes provides a welcome jolt of adrenaline and hints at further adventures for Hudson. An engaging tale of redemption wrapped in a gritty crime yarn.
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April 4, 2022
Hudson Miller, the narrator of Blackburn’s strong debut, had a promising boxing career until the North Carolina Boxing Commission suspended his license because he threw a punch in a post-bout melee that seriously injured an opponent’s trainer who had taken a cheap shot at him. Miller, who now supports himself as a security guard at a seedy bar, is shaken out of his doldrums when he gets the news from an officer of the Flint Creek PD that his father, Leland, has been fatally shot at Leland’s salvage yard business in the town. The emptied cash register suggests a robbery gone wrong, but Miller’s troubled that, shortly before the killing, he ignored two incoming calls from his father. He digs into the crime after a search of the salvage yard yields a surprising discovery—an array of guns stored in a hidden cache under a floor—that casts a different light on the homicide. Blackburn does a fine job evoking his leads’ conflicting emotions and the pace of small-town life in this carefully crafted mystery. Lou Berney and Michael Kardos fans will look forward to more from this gifted author. Agent: Martha Wydysh, Trident Media Group.