Reviewer: Lucille P Robinson
Alternative-Read.com
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Link to book on Amazon UK | USA
Brendan Fishback, his twin sister Edna, and his friend Cobb Kuzawa hitched up their bass boats and took off for Lake Charles for bass fishing. It turned out to be one fishing trip Brendan wanted never to repeat.
Danger stalked them every step they made on and around Lake Charles. Kill or be killed became the order of the day. Brendan, just a good ol' boy who only wanted to work during the day, smoke pot and have sex most of the night, was faced with choices he did not want to make. Having already suffered through being convicted of one murder he did not relish the idea of another killing on his record, but he had no choice. Kill or be killed...Sometimes bad situations turn out to be good for the person who must face them. Sometimes they don't.
The beginning set the atmosphere of a regular fishing trip: spend the day on the water reeling in large bass, peace and quiet while doing so, with a little sparring between husband and wife. Then all hell breaks loose. Nerves tense: flight or fight? I hope all readers decide to stay and read to the end of this story. The things Brendan faces on this fishing trip are so prevalent in today's world, I doubt that the reader will be shocked, but the story should give readers pause for thought. Take the many flashbacks as intended. This is how the back story is fed in and they are interesting in their own right. They fit the description of a story running simultaneously with the main plot line and they give us necessary information on the horror of being accused of murder and how it leads up to the fishing trip. The first, and maybe the second, flashback will have the reader saying, "What do I need these for? It's a waste of time." However, bear with them a short time and I promise you they will do their job well.
Brendan, his sister Edna, and her husband Cobb Kuzawa are all memorable characters. I like Brendan because he is such a gentle man and he's suffering torment in a situation that perhaps could have been avoidable, but like all humans, he made poor choices before this fishing trip. We will always suffer the consequences of our choices whether they be good or bad. Edna wants a good marriage like most women do. She just has trouble putting up with Cobb's drinking and raises a lot of ruckus over it which in turn threatens to tear her marriage apart. Cobb is just a 'good ole boy' who wants only to drink and to fish. He can't understand why Edna must fight against his drinking.
Ed Lynskey's story belongs to Brendan despite the fact that many readers will enjoy Edna and Cobb more. It's a writer's pitfall in which the author has given too much of the story to the supporting characters and his main character isn't strong enough to dominate the tale. I truly like the snappy way this story is told and I believe both young adult readers and older readers will enjoy the tale.
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AUTHOR BIO [from Amazon.com]
Ed Lynskey is a crime fiction writer residing not too far from the Pentagon. His P.I.Frank Johnson mystery series include Pelham Fell Here, The Dirt-Brown Derby, The Blue Cheer, Troglodytes, and The Zinc Zoo. His small town cozy mystery is Quiet Anchorage, featuring his amateur sleuth sisters Alma and Isabel Trumbo. His standalone Appalachian noir is Lake Charles. Ed lives with his family and one black-and-white cat named Frannie after P.I. Frank Johnson. Ed and Frank are both Washington National baseball fans.
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