Gunpoint Review: THE HARD BOUNCE by Todd Robinson

Time for another guest review from my friend Lauren, whom I have to coerce into writing for me—hence, the “gunpoint”—by making her fill out the form below. This time, she offered to submit a review before I had to get rough and take away her Girl Scout cookies. (For Lauren’s previous review, click here.)

by Lauren O’Brien

Title: The Hard Bounce

Author: Todd Robinson

Length: 300 pages

Genre: Crime fiction, hard-boiled goodness, literary thugitude

Synopsis:

William “Boo” Malone and Junior, best friends since they both resided at Saint Gabriel’s Home for Boys, are, by all appearances, a couple of tough, tattoo-laden biggies who provide security at a Boston nightclub, The Cellar. Boo and Junior run 4DC Security (“Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” what’s not to love about that?) and take the occasional side job. When 4DC is hired to find a young runaway, we find out all is not as it seems, including those tough-guy exteriors.

Your thoughts in five sentences or fewer:

We all know from last time how good I am at this “five sentences or fewer” rule. So bear with me. When a work is published by Tyrus Books, I know there’s going to be something nifty between the covers. But I (kinda) never saw this one coming. Simple perfection. A smart, moving story; outstanding dialogue; wicked humor; and well-drawn characters (even the secondary ones, which are all too infrequently done well)—I could have read it again as soon as I finished. And I rarely reread.

I say I “kinda” never saw this one coming because I had the pleasure of meeting Todd at Bouchercon last year. I knew his book was coming out early this year, and after spending some time with him, I remember thinking, “If this guy writes anything like he is, this book is going to knock folks’ socks off.” Consider me barefoot.

I read this book in January and proclaimed at the time that I would bet my mortgage it will be in my top 5 reads this year. It’s only March, but I’ve read almost thirty books thus far. Boo and Junior are still kicking ass.

Verdict: Tyrus has another winner. READ IT.

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