Saturday 27 August 2011

CLAN by Harry Shannon


This is a short review I wrote for Amazon.com:

I'm a chronic reader. Because of this, it can be difficult to find a book that will knocks my socks off. I was lucky enough to come across Harry Shannon's CLAN recently, and now I must tread barefooted.

All silliness aside, CLAN is a lot of fun to read. Case is an ex detective and recovering alcoholic. His sister is worried about her scumbag husband, who has disappeared. She has asked Case to look for him. Kelly is an assistant to a small movie production company who has just lost her boss's Russian mob money and is now on the run for her life. Both journeys lead these two dynamic characters to the small town of Salt Lick, where bodies have been recently found torn to pieces.

What fascinates me about this book is that the genre crossing is so well done, it all makes perfect sense and is very easy to suspend your disbelief. The characters are also so well-drawn that they feel like real people, and by the end of the novel it feels as though they've become close friends.

I love it when that happens.

Shannon is so good with characterization, in fact, that even the lesser characters get their moment to shine.

What this really comes down to is that if you don't read this book, you're missing out on a great time. I don't rave about books like this very often. As I said, I am a chronic reader. It's difficult to get me excited about a book. So do yourself a favor and lose your socks.

I also recommend his book of short stories A Host of Shadows. This book contains some of the best short fiction I've read in a long time.

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