mattlava's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
hannxm's review against another edition
4.0
Good read
A good well rounded read. I liked how things intertwined so well amongst the characters. Didn't have excessive details in it either which I found allowed me to fill in the spaces in my own imagination; it got straight to the point and was easy to follow.
I imagined Ronnie as being a lot like Harley Quinn which made her character even better for me.
I look forward to reading more of Sean's books.
A good well rounded read. I liked how things intertwined so well amongst the characters. Didn't have excessive details in it either which I found allowed me to fill in the spaces in my own imagination; it got straight to the point and was easy to follow.
I imagined Ronnie as being a lot like Harley Quinn which made her character even better for me.
I look forward to reading more of Sean's books.
locobeans15's review against another edition
4.0
Good for a quick read. Simple storyline without too much substance but enjoyable anyways.
weaselweader's review
3.0
Northern Ontario … so where are the butter tarts?
On page 1, Costello revs the engines and the tach is in the red banging against the stop. On page 2, he pops the clutch and SQUALL is off and screaming down the track in a billowing cloud of R-rated dust filled with drugs, violence, sex and off-colour gutter talk. If you like your thrillers a little more cerebral and a little less graphic, then you should be warned that SQUALL will not be your cup of tea. But it worked for me and, if you set it aside even one time for a breather and a bathroom break, then that’s one more time than I did. At only 178 pages, it’s an easy one sitting read through.
The story, though far-fetched, is simple enough. Tom Stokes, a northern bush pilot is out on a routine winter flight doing some maintenance on a cottage property that he and his very pregnant wife own. A winter storm forces him down and he crash lands on a cabin that (are you ready for this?) Dale Knight, a heroin addict and small time drug mule, and Ronnie Saxon, his erstwhile very bad girl fiancée, are holed up in. They’re on the run from Dale’s brother after they ripped him off for $250K in cash plus the heroin that the cash was supposed to pay for. Drug kingpin Randall Copeland wants his merchandise and the money back and he’s not in the mood to accept any excuses. Two ruthless enforcers are hot on their tail and Tom is about to encounter a little difficulty as he gets caught in the cross-fire.
The narrative is well-written and the plot unfolds at breakneck speed. There’s even a couple of absolutely hilarious laugh out loud moments that Costello achieves without breaking the mood or the pace. And that had to be a pretty neat writing trick all on its own. But I just couldn’t see my way clear to giving SQUALL any more than three stars. My problem was the ending. It was just a little bit too pat, too comfortable and, frankly, if not actually predictable, then far too neat and tidy for the gritty nature of the story and the characters. It just didn’t fit and I might describe it best by saying that the ending took me out of the mood and out of the story. It didn’t work.
I enjoyed SQUALL and I’m pleased that I took the time to read it but I have to admit I don’t have any stars in my eyes.
Paul Weiss
On page 1, Costello revs the engines and the tach is in the red banging against the stop. On page 2, he pops the clutch and SQUALL is off and screaming down the track in a billowing cloud of R-rated dust filled with drugs, violence, sex and off-colour gutter talk. If you like your thrillers a little more cerebral and a little less graphic, then you should be warned that SQUALL will not be your cup of tea. But it worked for me and, if you set it aside even one time for a breather and a bathroom break, then that’s one more time than I did. At only 178 pages, it’s an easy one sitting read through.
The story, though far-fetched, is simple enough. Tom Stokes, a northern bush pilot is out on a routine winter flight doing some maintenance on a cottage property that he and his very pregnant wife own. A winter storm forces him down and he crash lands on a cabin that (are you ready for this?) Dale Knight, a heroin addict and small time drug mule, and Ronnie Saxon, his erstwhile very bad girl fiancée, are holed up in. They’re on the run from Dale’s brother after they ripped him off for $250K in cash plus the heroin that the cash was supposed to pay for. Drug kingpin Randall Copeland wants his merchandise and the money back and he’s not in the mood to accept any excuses. Two ruthless enforcers are hot on their tail and Tom is about to encounter a little difficulty as he gets caught in the cross-fire.
The narrative is well-written and the plot unfolds at breakneck speed. There’s even a couple of absolutely hilarious laugh out loud moments that Costello achieves without breaking the mood or the pace. And that had to be a pretty neat writing trick all on its own. But I just couldn’t see my way clear to giving SQUALL any more than three stars. My problem was the ending. It was just a little bit too pat, too comfortable and, frankly, if not actually predictable, then far too neat and tidy for the gritty nature of the story and the characters. It just didn’t fit and I might describe it best by saying that the ending took me out of the mood and out of the story. It didn’t work.
I enjoyed SQUALL and I’m pleased that I took the time to read it but I have to admit I don’t have any stars in my eyes.
Paul Weiss
govmarley's review against another edition
2.0
I was on a survival kick, and picked this one up for free. Probably a good thing. I mean, it's not terrible, but it didn't earn the third star.
Drugs. Bad decisions. Remote setting. Mary Sue and Gary Stu people caught up in the middle of some bad things. Very bad things. With very bad people. Implausible in parts, ridiculous in others, I still gave it the 2 star "it was ok" rating because, in the end, I was entertained more than I was rolling my eyes.
The ending was cheesy, but I still thought it was ok.
Drugs. Bad decisions. Remote setting. Mary Sue and Gary Stu people caught up in the middle of some bad things. Very bad things. With very bad people. Implausible in parts, ridiculous in others, I still gave it the 2 star "it was ok" rating because, in the end, I was entertained more than I was rolling my eyes.
The ending was cheesy, but I still thought it was ok.
whatemsreadingx's review
3.0
On the whole, I did enjoy reading this book, probably a lot more than I thought I would, the plot was completely different to anything I'd read before, and I think that contributed to my enjoyment.
Whilst the book itself left a lot to be desired, I'll get onto that in a second, I did feel that for the length and plot of the book it was good and it definitely captured my attention.
However, the swearing was completely over the top. I'm not one to shy away from a few swear words (more than a few lol) but it was just too much and kind of distracting as every other sentence had a swear word included.
I also felt the same about the drug use, it was extremely graphic and I personally felt it didn't need to be so descriptive, it didn't add anything to the plot...
The ending though, well the final couple of chapters, were brilliant! It was just the fast paced round up that we needed to see this story out.
Overall, this book was just average, there is no other way to describe it, hence my 3 star rating...
Whilst the book itself left a lot to be desired, I'll get onto that in a second, I did feel that for the length and plot of the book it was good and it definitely captured my attention.
However, the swearing was completely over the top. I'm not one to shy away from a few swear words (more than a few lol) but it was just too much and kind of distracting as every other sentence had a swear word included.
I also felt the same about the drug use, it was extremely graphic and I personally felt it didn't need to be so descriptive, it didn't add anything to the plot...
The ending though, well the final couple of chapters, were brilliant! It was just the fast paced round up that we needed to see this story out.
Overall, this book was just average, there is no other way to describe it, hence my 3 star rating...
evanbondauthor's review
5.0
I loved this book. The story was fast paced and exciting. I found myself unable to put this book down. Really got me hooked on this author!
billy_girlxx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
erockwell729's review
4.0
I got this Kindle book with low expectations - I chose it because it was free on Amazon and I was planning a long plane trip. I was pleasantly surprised! I found the story riveting and intriguing with the characters all becoming entwined in each others lives. The whole plot takes place in a single day, and the drama that unfolds is intense.