Tuesday, April 15, 2014

The Contractors (Jon Cantrell) by Harry Hunsicker

As a fan of Hunsicker's previous book (the Oswald series) I was excited to read this new novel, especially since it's been quite some years since his last one.
What can be found between the pages of this one is the same dark vision of Dallas, fast-paced plot and dialogue and a fair amount of action. The tone is bit grimmer though, where the Oswald series had a fairly goofy bunch of characters this one's characters are a bit darker and less prone to quips. The action is even bigger than in Hunsicker's last Oswald book. Yeah, where the Oswald books were mysteries in the vein of Robert Crais this is a thriller in the vein of Lee Child.
Jon Cantrell is a private contractor, working for the DEA on a commission basis, which I found an interesting situation. Together with his partner and sometime-lover Piper he ends up in possession of a star witness. What follows is a road trip through Texas with several violent encounters with past and new enemies. There's some time for good characterization among the explosions and firefights though, as a result of Cantrell's dysfunctional family, ex-cop past and Piper's remarkable hobby.
All in all an action-packed and dark ride that will appeal to lovers of general action thrillers but probably less to readers craving a bit more mystery.
I will be sure to pick up the next one in this series to see what happens to Cantrell and Piper.

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