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zachkuhn's review
4.0
Someone dies in this novel. Not really a spoiler. But the scene in which he/she drifts into death is one of the best I've ever read.
A crime-thriller, I guess, but I liked it a lot more than I usually like such books. I can see why hardcore mystery people don't like it. It's more of a literary thriller than a crime novel. Whatever. It's good.
A crime-thriller, I guess, but I liked it a lot more than I usually like such books. I can see why hardcore mystery people don't like it. It's more of a literary thriller than a crime novel. Whatever. It's good.
leticiamendez's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. I won this book in a giveaway and I'm grateful that I got to read it. I liked how this book brought attention to the realistic aspects of the novel. It showed the hardship and struggle each character had to face. Throughout the novel, you begin having sympathy for both sides of the conflict. The ending was wonderful in the sense that I didn't really expect it. This was an amazing book and I would definitely recommend it to a friend.
rosseroo's review
4.0
Picked this up after thoroughly enjoying Lange's debut short-story collection, and then his LA crime novel "This Wicked World." This one is set in Tijuana and nearby border area, and then up in Los Angeles. It's got a pretty simple setup -- a young beautiful woman is the captive wife of a terrifying narco boss in Tijuana and set out to make her escape to Los Angeles with $500,000 to start a new new life with the 4-year-old daughter she left up there.
Three men are soon involved: El Apache is a former narco trying to go straight who is set on the trail of the wife by the boss, and the stakes for his success or failure are very high. Malone is a loser alcoholic from San Diego who makes ends meet smuggling people across the border in car trunks. Finally, there's a corrupt Border Patrol agent with a gambling problem who sees a possible way out of his current tight spot.
It all unfolds like a relentless chase film -- with Lange's usual attention to vivid details that put the reader deeply into each scene, whether it's a shootout in a dusty canyon, a dingy motel room, or a hectic amusement center. I found the characters here a little too one-dimensional for a book, and the theme of family perhaps slightly overdone. But I could easily imagine this working quite well as a film, and it's hard to imagine this won't end up as a movie at some point.
Three men are soon involved: El Apache is a former narco trying to go straight who is set on the trail of the wife by the boss, and the stakes for his success or failure are very high. Malone is a loser alcoholic from San Diego who makes ends meet smuggling people across the border in car trunks. Finally, there's a corrupt Border Patrol agent with a gambling problem who sees a possible way out of his current tight spot.
It all unfolds like a relentless chase film -- with Lange's usual attention to vivid details that put the reader deeply into each scene, whether it's a shootout in a dusty canyon, a dingy motel room, or a hectic amusement center. I found the characters here a little too one-dimensional for a book, and the theme of family perhaps slightly overdone. But I could easily imagine this working quite well as a film, and it's hard to imagine this won't end up as a movie at some point.
mcf's review
5.0
Reminded me of Don Winslow in its insistence upon finding hope in the midst of undeniable tragedy, as well as in its tone and characterizations. Not derivative at all, just occupying the same wonderful, nervy space that Wilson's best work does.
tundragirl's review
4.0
It's a good thing this is a short book because everyone in it makes terrible life decisions and I was starting to get mad at them.
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