C.J. Howell

This book is not your run of the mill, boring, and unoriginal processed rubbish like I find with many crime novels these days. The Last of the Smoking Bartenders is a high speed joyride laced with beautifully vivid prose. When author C.J. Howell describes the Arizona desert you feel transported right to the scene. I am talking to the point of smelling the wretched stench permeating from Tom’s sparsely washed clothing.

Howell wonderfully weaves a story of a drifter who believes he is an undercover agent tasked with thwarting a terrorist plot to blow up the Hoover Dam. The cast of characters in the book are absolute train-wrecks of colossal proportions. But, I do love watching, or in this case reading, a good train-wreck! I remained glued to this book and was reminded of the Cormac McCarthy in terms of the vivid descriptions of the southwest. Howell took the time to draw me in to each and every facet of the story, but not to the point of overkill.

C.J. Howell unequivocally hit a home run with this book, and I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys an original story wrapped in eloquent writing. I look forward to future endeavors from this author, and have even put other publications from New Pulp Press on my radar.… (más)