IT DIES WITH YOU

An unexpected inheritance from his father thrusts an ordinary Joe into a shady criminal world.

After a post-prizefight brawl leads to a suspension for rising North Carolina boxer Hudson Miller, he decides to keep body and soul together by taking a job as a bouncer at the Red Door Taproom. The news that Hudson’s father, Leland, has been shot and killed in an apparent botched robbery hits Hudson hard despite their estrangement. And why had Leland called the night before? Visits to Mom and to Tammy, Dad’s coarse, chain-smoking wife, produce few answers, but the police offer a more complete picture of the murder scene as well as the speculation that Leland, who ran a salvage yard in rural Flint Creek, may have had a side hustle as a gun dealer. When Hudson inherits Miller's Pull-a-Part, he decides that his current dead-end situation makes it worth a try to run it himself, especially since Leland’s old pal Charlie is there to shepherd him. Hudson’s smoothly flowing first-person narrative allows the reader to explore a hardscrabble new world full of sleazy characters in tandem with him. The appeal of Blackburn’s debut novel rests mostly on the Everyman credentials of its two-fisted hero as he navigates the hard knocks life has thrown his way. Mystery fans may be disappointed, though, that the criminal aspects of his story simmer slowly and come to fruition only gradually. A last-minute subplot involving feisty Lucy Reyes provides a welcome jolt of adrenaline and hints at further adventures for Hudson.

An engaging tale of redemption wrapped in a gritty crime yarn.