John Stonehouse (2)

All hell breaks out one night in the dusty heat of the Texas-Mexico borderlands. Freshly-minted US Marshal John Whicher is on border patrol, staring into the dense, dangerous darkness of desert scrub. He’s there to snag up a coyote, a trafficker, one of the modern-day bandits who benefit from the misery of the Mexican illegals they shepherd (or abandon) in the badlands.

There’s a flash of light; the crackle of rifle fire and all hell breaks loose. The combined / competing / conflicting US agencies couldn’t care less about five dead wetbacks. But Whicher is tasked to assist with the investigation into the murder of an American, and soon finds out he can’t draw the line between one dead human and another…

This is notionally the second in author John Stonehouse’s ‘Whicher’ series, but none of ‘An American Outlaw’ is relevant here as ‘Kill’ takes place a couple of decades earlier. So start with this novel, to immerse yourself in the dust and grime, the abrupt escalation of violence and scheming political intrigue on both sides of the border. Stonehouse has a real talent for dragging the reader through the prickly palms and dry river beds to dim, derelict hunting camps, where bad men brood and life is dirty and cheap.

There’s real cadence to the writing; you can hear the lilt and drawl in the speech. I’m reminded of James Crumley – The Mexican Tree Duck and many others – although Whicher is not beyond redemption, unlike many of Crumley’s characters. He is confused, however, feeling his way through a complex investigation which snakes back and forth across the border. He knows for almost-certain that some person in some law enforcement agency is rotten. But he doesn’t know who, and can’t even trust his own superior.

An American Kill demands your attention throughout. If you’ve read ‘Outlaw’ then you may be surprised by the pacing; ‘Kill’ is far less breathless and a much more measured read. Stonehouse also takes some risks with his central character. We don’t become intimate or comfortable with Whicher; he remains distant from us, although we perceive events from his perspective. In the final resolution, the protagonist remains – perhaps deliberately – indistinct and isolated.

It’ll be fascinating to see what happens next in Whicher’s career. If, indeed, that IS what happens in the next 'American' novel…
8/10… (more)

“American Outlaw,” by debut author John Stonehouse, is a powerful, smart, action-packed inverted detective story. Readers know from the beginning what the crimes are and who is doing them, it’s the reader’s job, and the job of the detective in the novel, to figure out the motives and how justice might best be rendered. The book has one of the most gratifying endings I’ve encountered in fiction this year. When I read the last page, I experienced such an emotional high that I immediately wanted to tell all my friends about this book just so they could eventually feel that good, too.

The action takes place in a little over a week and is set in the wide desolate spaces of Western Texas. During the process of the action, readers learn about the lives of four Second Gulf War U.S. Marine Corps combat vets: Gilman James, Michael Tyler, and brothers Steven and Nate Childress. The men are all in their late twenties and early thirties. We also learn about the life of a beautiful, twenty-two-year-old Hispanic woman named Tennile Labrea who gets caught up in the action. Then of course, there’s the detective. He’s Marshal John Whicher, a Texas lawman not much older than the outlaws he’s pursuing…and Whicher is a veteran, too.

Slowly, through backstory driven by relentless action, readers learn about how the four men are related to each other and what happened to them during and after their multiple tours in Iraq. In a similar fashion, we also lean about Tennile and her motives for joining fortunes with these outlaws.

What are the goals of these outlaws? What price do they pay along the way? Are they really outlaws or not? Was justice served?

I was impressed with Stonehouse’s skill as an author: the dialog was effective and authentic; the character development was driven almost totally by action; and the prose was sparse, no-nonsense, and minimalist…every word counted and every word propelled the plot forward. This was exactly the type of writing that most effectively tells this type of story.

It was a fun book. I easily read it in one day. Honestly, I would not be surprised to see it take off selling like hotcakes; it’s that good. It’s also the type of book that would make a great movie. (In my mind, I’ve already got some great stars picked out to play the three leading character roles.)

If my review has piqued your interest in reading this book, trust me, you can’t go wrong. This is a very good book.… (more)