Jedidiah Ayres

With a title like this, Ayres probably figured he won't be hitting the bestseller lists. But like the Oscars and the Emmys, the people who produce those lists haven't a clue about quality. This volume is filled with mindblowing quality stories that are meant to shock you. If you are uncomfortable with hard, gritty stories from the underbelly of society, you'll have to pick up something else, The stories here are frightening and unnerving and often a story told from one point of view is then told from another point of view. It is a world of stripclubs, of money stealing thieves, of broken limbs and broken skulls. There are wet T-shirt contests and necrophilia. There are dark corners and one-night stands. There are sex-crazy women and insane guys. The action is nonstop and the stories race by on pure adrenaline.… (más)

Backwoods American noir is all the rage right now and Peckerwood is among the best of them. It takes all the usual ingredients – small-town sheriff, probably corrupt; meth-labs and whore-houses run a by local hard man; three-time losers looking for a big score; wayward sons and daughters – and blends them together in a romping plot at a pivotal moment.

Along the way, heads get broken big time in a melange of shootin’, shaggin’, jackin’, whorin’, thievin’ and blackmail, but there’s more to this book than a mere criminal rampage. The author has gifted his characters with fully fleshed-out lives and an extended supporting cast. Along the way it becomes obvious that some of their situations aren’t so clear-cut as they first appear – that some of these folks may be choosing the lesser of the evils before them. Others are satisfyingly bad as can be and heading for a righteous come-uppance. It’s fascinating to watch their overlapping lives spiral towards apotheosis.

The writing and the chopping between characters takes a little while to get used to, especially if you’re not entirely familiar with the slang used. But hey, that only adds credibility to the uncomfortably realistic feel of this sordid, scuzzy rural backwater. There are a few moments of brutally blunt violence, and casually explicit encounters of the narcotic and erotic kind.

A real hot-rod of a read. It’s dark and it’s dirty and it’s nasty. I entirely enjoyed it and will grab more by this author.
8/10… (más)