A devilishly satisfying work of twisted comedy starring the exploits of an unrepentant alcoholic joker.
In Kempf’s horror novel, a troubled addict adds revenge to his long list of missteps.
Prolific horror writer Kempf’s knack for deft characterization is on vivid display with his Pennsylvanian protagonist Jack Lively, a recovering alcoholic, raging drunk driver, wife batterer, father of one, and “three-time loser.” After a series of drunken blackouts and arrests, resulting in “three DUIs in two years,” he is placed on nine months of house arrest. Oddly, he is allowed a travel radius that includes a small bar where he performs onstage. Lively is a comedian whose penchant for raunchy black humor often leaves audiences angry. Adding misery on top of despair is Emily—his embittered “heartless, cruel, and mean” ex-wife—for whom he harbors a seething resentment despite the temporary relief found at Twelve Steps meetings and regular romps with Riley, a local escort. Between check-up visits from his community corrections officer and random breathalyzer tests, recurring dreams of murdering Emily haunt him. While his comedy routine is consistently offensive (including a skit involving a bloody stuffed bunny), Lively’s interactions with his appalled, heckling audiences result in several rousing sequences in Kempf’s short novel. Also notable is the author’s realistic portrayal of Lively’s alcoholism, which manifests itself in painful cravings he calls his “sleeping giant.” In the ultimate vengeance ruse to rob and murder Emily, Lively conspires with Riley, who desperately needs a cash infusion to repay her pimp, and the expected mayhem ensues. Kempf’s first-person narration dives deep into Lively’s psyche to expose his fear of failure, his devotion to alcohol, and the dark, murderous nature of a revenge plot. The author manages to evoke sympathy for his protagonist within his innate struggle to survive and to make sense of his misled life. In Kempf’s world, there are no happy endings, but there are unquestionable comeuppance and wry humor in spades. This potent novel will appeal particularly to fans of bleak humor and bad-guy characters who remain shameless from beginning to end.
A devilishly satisfying work of twisted comedy starring the exploits of an unrepentant alcoholic joker.Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 172
Publisher: Graylyn Press
Review Posted Online: May 25, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Fast-moving excitement with a satisfying finish.
The feds must protect an accused criminal and an orphaned girl.
Maybe you’ve met him before as protagonist of The 6:20 Man (2022): Ex-Army Ranger Travis Devine, who’d had the dubious fortune to tangle with “the girl on the train,” is now assigned by his homeland security boss to protect Danny Glass, who's awaiting trial on multiple RICO charges in Washington state. Devine has what it takes: He “was a closer, snooper, fixer, investigator,” and, when necessary, a killer. These skills are on full display as the deaths of three key witnesses grind justice to a temporary halt. Glass has a 12-year-old niece, Betsy Odom, and each is the other’s only living relative—her parents recently died of an apparent drug overdose. The FBI has temporary guardianship of Betsy, who's a handful. She tells Travis that though she’s not yet 13, she's 28 in “life-shit years.” The financially well-heeled Glass wants to be her legal guardian with an eye to eventual adoption, but what are his real motives? And what happens to her if he's convicted? Meanwhile, Betsy insists that her parents never touched drugs, and she begs Travis to find out how they really died. This becomes part of a mission that oozes danger. The small town of Ricketts has a woman mayor who’s full of charm on the surface, but deeply corrupt and deadly when crossed. She may be linked to a subversive group called "12/24/65," as in 1865, when the Ku Klux Klan beast was born. Blood flows, bombs explode, and people perish, both good guys and not-so-good guys. Readers might ponder why in fiction as well as in life, it sometimes seems necessary for many to die so one may live. And what about the girl on the train? She's not necessary to the plot, but she's a fun addition as she pops in and out of the pages, occasionally leaving notes for Travis. Maybe she still wants him dead.
Fast-moving excitement with a satisfying finish.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781538757901
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.
A young woman’s experience as a nurse in Vietnam casts a deep shadow over her life.
When we learn that the farewell party in the opening scene is for Frances “Frankie” McGrath’s older brother—“a golden boy, a wild child who could make the hardest heart soften”—who is leaving to serve in Vietnam in 1966, we feel pretty certain that poor Finley McGrath is marked for death. Still, it’s a surprise when the fateful doorbell rings less than 20 pages later. His death inspires his sister to enlist as an Army nurse, and this turn of events is just the beginning of a roller coaster of a plot that’s impressive and engrossing if at times a bit formulaic. Hannah renders the experiences of the young women who served in Vietnam in all-encompassing detail. The first half of the book, set in gore-drenched hospital wards, mildewed dorm rooms, and boozy officers’ clubs, is an exciting read, tracking the transformation of virginal, uptight Frankie into a crack surgical nurse and woman of the world. Her tensely platonic romance with a married surgeon ends when his broken, unbreathing body is airlifted out by helicopter; she throws her pent-up passion into a wild affair with a soldier who happens to be her dead brother’s best friend. In the second part of the book, after the war, Frankie seems to experience every possible bad break. A drawback of the story is that none of the secondary characters in her life are fully three-dimensional: Her dismissive, chauvinistic father and tight-lipped, pill-popping mother, her fellow nurses, and her various love interests are more plot devices than people. You’ll wish you could have gone to Vegas and placed a bet on the ending—while it’s against all the odds, you’ll see it coming from a mile away.
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781250178633
Page Count: 480
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
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