Essentially an Elmore Leonard novel, but with more description.

This action novel takes place in San Francisco over a short period, perhaps a week or more. While the action is exciting, the book labors on at 280+ pages...the book could have been much shorter with more taut writing. The author plods through basic character visits from point A to point B, perhaps over-narrating every single time expenditure and logistical movement of each character. This stretches out what could be a much more pointed novel. The story ends with a bit of a thud rather than with any astounding revealed truth or climax of note.

That said, the characters are solidly developed, and certainly don't overlap--except perhaps one of the Eastern European ex-KGB thugs--and are larger-than-life. The varied, colorful characters make this perhaps a neo-pulp work when combined with the movement, crime, and action. The book moves around crime, drugs, a slick car, spies, murder, betrayal, and mystery. With all these ingredients the book has much promise, and will keep a reader engaged throughout.

In the book, a washed up movie actor, Jack, ex-heroin addict has moved, with his slick car, to San Francisco from LA. As his money has run out he takes a job early on where he meets a larger-than-life group of Eastern Europeans with interest in a local drug deal. When Jack gets caught up in murder, a new girlfriend with ties to a potential perpetrator, current and aspiring drug lords, he surprises himself by engaging and leading an effort to unravel a crime and injustice. ( )

Seth Harwood used social media and the blogging world to take his first novel Jack Wakes Up climbing up the sales ranking charts at Amazon.com and into a book deal with Random House. Over 10,000 people are avid listeners, tuning in to his podcasts. And the new release from Random features a cover blurb from one of my favourite crime authors Michael Connelly. I just had to read it.

Jack Palms was an action film start until drugs scuppered his career. He's been clean and sober for three years now, but money is becoming an issue. When an old Hollywood friend asks him to help show some clients a good time while they're in San Francisco, he agrees. But the clients are Czech drug dealers, possibly ex-KGB, their buyers are Columbian kingpins and the female bartender he's sleeping with may be serving up more than just drinks.

It's getting a little crazy...and you know what? Jack's having a blast.

Non stop action, a crazy plot, raw dialogue and yes, some laughs all add up to a really great read. Harwood's writing put me in mind of Elmore Leonard. Lots of pulp and violence. I can totally see this being made into a movie, a la Quentin Tarantino or Get Shorty.

I don't think Harwood will have to work so hard to get his next book noticed..... ( )

Jack Palms is down on his luck-- after some bad tabloid press, his acting career bottomed out after only one action film. During his time of fame, he developed a heroin addiction and an abusive relationship. These are the two major reasons that his one film remains just one film. Now he is trying to pick up the pieces of his life and pay his piling bills. When his friend Ralph offers him a couple thousand to help him show a few Czech visitors a good time and help them with their Colombian cocaine deal, Jack does not turn him down.

Unfortunately, Ralph ends up dead and Jack wants to know who did it and why. The Czechs know nothing, but someone does and Jack doesn‘t want to be the next one on that hit list. Pretty soon Jack is dealing with a couple of crazy ex-KGB Czech's, a Colombian drug dealer's crew, a blood thirsty club owner named Tony, and a cop who wants information about the drug dealers in the area or else Jack is going to take a fall for the carnage that is following him everywhere he goes. Not to mention that Jack has also met a woman, a desperately sexy woman named Maxine who nurses the wounds he inevitably incurs during his harrowing adventures through the dangerous San Francisco underworld.

One would think that this would be enough to send anyone in to the nuthouse. But not Jack. No. This is the first time he has felt alive in a long, long time. After such a long period of inaction, it feels good to Jack to be in the midst of things again. Like a movie... but real. So real that you end up with broken ribs, knife wounds, machine guns going off around you, and people really out to kill you.

This book is crazy like an action movie. I can actually imagine the guy from The Transporter running around in this book ducking sprays of bullets (though yes he is a bit too skinny to be Jack, but still, you get what I am saying). Standing up to big time drug lords and doing major drug deals seems to come naturally to Jack, which is a bit strange because if you put most normal people in a situation like that, they would run around like their heads are cut off or cower somewhere. I guess being an action hero comes naturally to some people, because it comes naturally to Jack. Even if it means getting arrested, killed, or maimed, Jack is determined to see things through to the end. It was all very exciting-- action packed, I think the correct phrase would be.

The Czechs are great, too. Coked up, waving guns, speaking broken English, and listening to techno music is their profile. If not for the whole you might get shot and 'they bring danger and Russian terrorists' elements, they would be great to hang around with. They were really a lot of fun to read about. The best scenes are with one of the Czechs, Al, flipping out and wanting to kill someone. Though I will admit that I was surprised none of them turned on Jack. Not knowing how the story would turn out, I figured it was only a matter of time before the Czech's would make their escape and let Jack handle the mess, but they were with him to the end.

This is a man's man kind of book-- the men are masculine and immune to the fears of life threatening danger and the women are unnaturally hot, things men admire and women usually scoff at. Of course women can be in to this kind of stuff, too, but the genre belongs to men. I did enjoy the book, though, girly-girl though I am. Harwood wrote a very riveting and intense book with Jack Wakes Up, so you get caught up in it and can't put it down. I mean, you have to know who the one at the head of the plot is. You have to know if Jack will get the girl in the end. You have to know if Jack is going to end up getting himself blown away. No, no, I won't spoil it by answering all of those questions. You will just have to read the book for yourself. ( )

Three years ago action movie star Jack Palms was arrested in front of several paparazzi and his movie career tanked leaving his chances for a sequel to Shake ‘Em Down at next to nothing. But that was the wake up call he needed. He divorced his troubled wife, left Hollywood and successfully kicked a serious drug habit. Now all he has to look forward to is his rationed one cigarette per day, a bowl of cereal and working out at the gym.

When one of his old friends, Ralph Anderino, calls upon him for a favor it’s a no-brainer for Jack who’s fending off the creditors and he accepts. Ralph offers him $2,000 to take some Czech businessmen out on the town to use Jack’s celebrity to open VIP doors for the group. The only catch is that Jack also has to be the go between for a drug deal that will get the Czech’s foot in the door to start dealing big time. After a night of partying and drugs Jack amazingly was able to stay clean and he was proud of himself for it. When he goes Ralph’s house the next day to initiate the drug trade he finds Ralph dead.

Partnering up with the Czech businessmen Jack hunts down Ralph’s killer but soon he’s pulled right into the middle of an all out drug war that includes dueling drug lords, a prominent local businessman and both dirty and clean cops.

I sincerely hope that Jack Wakes Up is made into a movie. This was an action packed thrill ride that I didn’t want to end. I could totally see Johnny Depp speeding along in the ’66 Mustang Fastback that Jack drives. The characters were as endearing as thugs and drug dealers can be and I was sincerely rooting for them throughout the book.

Visit author Seth Harwood’s website to listen to the entire book free! I had finished about 2/3 of the book when I found the podcast version and I listened to all but the last few chapters online. It was so much more action packed with music and sound effects. I can't wait for Harwood's next book Young Junius. This is a highly recommended read for all action and crime fiction lovers. ( )