Jim Heskett

This review originally appeared on my blog at www.gimmethatbook.com.

Thanks to the author for gifting me this review copy!

In this chapter of Micah Reed’s life, he has gotten on the wrong side of an angry drug dealer (purely by mistake, of course). He decides to kill two birds with one stone: leave town for a while until things cool off, and visit his sister in the meantime.

Unfortunately, his sister isn’t that overjoyed to see him – and neither are her roommates. Apparently she has show more gotten herself mixed up with a religious cult. Micah is offered room and board there, and he immediately starts snooping around. What he finds is nothing but trouble. He has to un-brainwash his sister in time to save both their lives.

This book is truly action packed and funny. Micah is still asking the head of Boba Fett for advice, shakily remaining sober (even managing AA meetings in his newfound home), and missing his family. He is frustrated and confused by his sister’s lack of interest in him, and this lack of interest adds more information to his backstory. We learn more about why Micah had to go into Witness Protection, and we continue to see him as a somewhat reckless but always goodhearted hero.

I’ll admit, NAILGUN MESSIAH is a strange name for a book, but it all becomes clearer towards the end. Heskett’s knack for sly humor and off kilter action is front and center at the denoument. Also evident is the author’s knowledge of the Nederland area and the Frozen Dead Guy festival (it’s all true). Setting the story here provides an unusual and refreshing backdrop to the story; the things that happen here seem so much more plausible given the locals.

We also get to know his sister. Personally, I think she is way too hard on Micah – she treats him to stony silence and sneers, even after he apologizes for his past actions and gives her a thorough explanation. He loves her, though, and sticks to his rescue plan long after I would have given up on her and left her to her fate with the religious nuts.

But that is what makes Micah a wonderfully flawed leading character. As I mentioned in a previous review, he is clearly human, with a knack for helping people at his own expense. I think he is sometimes lonely but doesn’t really want to admit that. His relationship with his AA sponsor is the most multi leveled thing he has in his life, and it keeps him steady and grounded.

The ending of the story paves the way for many story lines; I’ll be eagerly awaiting to see what lies ahead for Micah in the future! show less

The Legend of Kareem continues the story that began with Wounded Animals and is part 2 of The Whistleblower trilogy.
Our protagonist, Tucker Candle, just wants to relax back home with his pregnant wife who is still recovering from the previous events, when he receives a letter from Kareem urging him to save his brother Omar. Thus, another adventure starts sending Tucker to Texas and on towards Mexico. This was one madcap road movie full of action and fantastic characters that Candle meets show more along the way. I loved his relationship and interactions with Omar.
I ended up listening to the entire audio book in one go again. Jim Heskett's writing is so engaging, and William Coon's narration so easygoing and fun to listen to, plus there's so much happening, there's never a good moment to pause. The plot is full of twists and turns, sad moments, funny moments and great dialogue. Candle has developed quite a bit since his previous encounter with the bad guys and is more confident and hero-like but his observations and musings are just as witty. What I really appreciate about this action adventure series is its unpredictability. There were plenty of developments that came as complete surprises, and as this part ends with further questions, I need part 3 to find out how it'll all end for Tucker Candle!
I received a free copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! show less

4 and a half stars!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The opening chapter immediately drew me into the story with a scene describing Micah being tied to a chair and threatened by a low-life drug dealer. Luckily, Micah is resourceful and I’m glad he lived to see another day. Yes, he did have problems in the past, he is a recovering alcoholic and made many mistakes, but he tries really hard now to do right by his sister and you can't help but sympathize with him. The writing was fluent and that show more niggling feeling that something was indeed wrong with Lilah and the house they live in kept growing stronger page by page. All the residents of the house on Caribou Road seem deep under Lilah’s control, which was rather unsettling, but there are also a lot of things at play in the house and more secrets than it seems at first sight. To add to all that, Lilah is extremely volatile the last days and she’s counting off the days for Cyrus to come home because apparently Cyrus alone has the key to understanding the words in the book. His release falls together with the chapter countdown and Mr. Heskett plays it just right in selling us this suspenseful foreboding feeling that something is going to happen after 21 days. Time is running out for Micah to get his sister out of there. He was not wrong, secrets are revealed, plotlines come together and at the end of the book Micah gets himself, again, in a pretty dire situation, being chased after by all of his enemies and he gets a real adrenaline rush. Well I felt it too as I raced through these last pages and could only hope for the best in what seems an impossible and dangerous situation to get out of. I can only say that it ends with a grand finale with a big bang.
*I received a free copy of this book from GenuineJenn in exchange for an honest review* show less

This has been sold on Amazon with the subtitle "Three Short Stories" and "Three Dark Short Stories". Certainly the dark part appealed to me when I picked up a free download. After reading them, you'll see that it may not be the type of dark you were expecting--but in hindsight, it is definitely a real kind of dark. Heskett writes very well, and the first two stories provide different aspects of failed relationships, both of which will stick with you in their own way, especially "The Meaning show more of Words." The last tale, about a party with strippers is also very well done. This makes me want to read some of his other work. show less