Boot Tracks - Softcover

Jones, Matthew

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1933372117 ISBN 13: 9781933372112

Publisher: Europa Editions, 2006

Synopsis

"Brilliantly chilling. A nightmare thriller with the power to haunt." - Kirkus Reviews *Starred Review

"Jones is a rare stylist - readers looking for an intense, affecting experience shouldn't miss this one." - Peter Handel, Pages Magazine

"An artful novel enlivened by some of the best low-life dialogue this side of Elmore Leonard." - Patrick Andersen, The Washington Post

"Superlatives have been sapped of their meaning by overzealous critics, and somehow it sounds fake to say that a book is one of the "best things" you've "read all year." It's just that, sometimes {as in the case of Matthew F. Jones's "Boot Tracks"} that happens to be true. I haven't read something that made me empathize with a bad guy this intensely since I read "In Cold Blood" in high school." - Katie Haegele, The Philadelphia Inquirer

"The sense of horrible inevitability is almost overpowering here. If only Jean-Pierre Melville (Bob le Flambeur) were still alive to make the movie version." - Bill Ott, Booklist

"'Boot Tracks, by Matthew F. Jones, is a stunning crime novel - and one you won't soon forget." - Guy Savage, Mostly Fiction Book Reviews

Boot Tracks is a commanding tale of a man and a woman struggling against a destiny they cannot control, told in Matthew F. Jones' characteristically taut, economic style. An assassination gone terribly wrong; a couple searching for one last chance to find a safe place in a hostile world. With these elements Jones weaves a harrowing tale of suspense, violence and compassion.

Charlie Rankin has recently been released from prison, but prison has not released its grip on him. He owes his life to "The Buddha," who has given him a job to do on the outside: he must kill a man, a man who has done him no harm, a man he has never met. Along the road to this brutal encounter, Rankin meets Florence, who may be an angel in disguise or simply a lonely ex porn star seeking salvation. Together they careen towards their fate, taking the reader along for the ride.

About this title

About the Author

Matthew F. Jones is the author of the novels Deepwater, The Elements of Hitting, A Single Shot, Blind Pursuit, and The Cooter Farm, each critically acclaimed. His novel Deepwater, named by critics as one of the best novels of 1999, was made into a film starring Lucas Black, Peter Coyote, and Lesley Ann Warren. He lives with his family in Charlottesville, Virginia.

From the Inside Flap

Charlie Rankin has recently been released from prison, but prison has not released its grip on him. He owes his life to "The Buddha," who has given him a job to do on the outside: he must kill a man, a man who has done him no harm, a man he has never met. Along the road to this brutal encounter, Rankin meets Florence, who may be an angel in disguise or simply a lonely ex porn star seeking salvation. Together they careen towards their fate, taking the reader along for the ride.

Reviews

This dark novel by Jones (Deepwater) follows a damaged, unstable jailbird named Charlie Rankin and a porn actress named Florence Jane on a violent road trip toward possible redemption. Fresh from a four-year prison sentence (for robbing a vending machine and breaking a security guard's jaw), Charlie begins a trek to carry out a murder for his jailhouse friend and mentor William "the Buddha" Pettigrew, meeting insecure, trusting Florence along the way. In the dark of suburbia, Charlie accidentally chooses the wrong house; haunted by memories of childhood abuse, Charlie kills the couple living there, believing they are his mom and her abusive boyfriend. Battered and bloodied, he takes refuge at Florence's apartment and is surprised by her unquestioning acceptance. As the two lost souls take to the road, cautiously exploring the blossoming love between them, Charlie must decide between completing his duty to the Buddha-and letting loose the violent urges within him-and the alien feelings he's developed for Florence. The love story between Charlie and Florence makes an interesting juxtaposition with the novel's ultra-violent streak, but Charlie's internal struggle grows repetitive, and the long, explicit passages devoted to murder and beatings weigh down the narrative, giving these promising characters little room to prove themselves worthy of readers' sympathy.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The ex-con just out of prison with one last job to do is a familiar noir premise, and Jones does it proud in this powerful tale of Charlie Rankin, sprung from the joint and honor-bound to kill a man on orders from "Buddha," the lifer who kept him safe in prison in exchange for sexual favors and spiritual guidance. We know it's bound to go wrong, and, boy, does it. After hooking up with a porn star with a heart of, well, not exactly gold but perhaps a mushy alloy, Rankin sets off to do his duty--hoping that, once the job is finished, he can find a new life. But we know--and he does, too--that there's no such card left in the deck. The hit goes bad from the get-go, as Rankin wanders about on a golf course in the dark, trying to find the intended victim's house. The sense of horrible inevitability is almost overpowering here, but Jones has us following Rankin's boot tracks anyway. If only Jean-Pierre Melville (Bob le Flambeur) were still alive to make the movie version. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Europa Editions
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1933372117
• ISBN 13: 9781933372112
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208