“It started with a
girl. It always starts with a girl, doesn’t it?”- Nine Toes In the Grave
It seems the name Eric Beetner is on everyone’s lips in the
crime fiction/noir world. He’s on a record breaking pace as he’s been
publishing books left and right in 2015. After reading and loving Rumrunners earlier this year, I was
excited to sink my teeth into Nine Toes in the Grave. This book does everything right and further demonstrates that
Beetner has a keen eye on how to plot a book that never allows the reader a
chance to catch their breath.
When Reese gets work at a roadside diner, he finds more than
he bargains for. He begins an affair with Moira, his boss’ wife. What he
envisions as a quick fling turns into a request for a murder. Knowing he’s capable
of having an affair with a married woman, but not capable of murder, he refuses
to be a part of Moira’s plot to kill her husband.
But Moira’s plan was never as simple as taking no for an
answer. She commits the murder herself, and, with a willingness to lie and some
DNA evidence she covertly squirreled away, she sets up Reese to take the murder
rap for her while she plans to sell the diner and disappear into the sunset.
As Reese attempts to get away with his freedom intact, he
stumbles into an even deadlier plot involving crooked lawmen and murder. If
Reese has any hope of making it out of this predicament with his freedom, or
even his life, he’s going to have to stay two steps ahead of the shady cast of
characters Beetner has put on his tail.
Beetner’s plotting is the key to this great book. Every
chapter seems to bring on a new twist and leaves you racing into the next
chapter to see what he has in store for you. It is criminal how entertaining
Beetner makes this book. Why criminal? Because murder, double crossings, and a
woman with no heart shouldn’t be this fun to read about. I enjoyed reading
Reese’s decent into hell and you will too.
“… There was a girl.
We fucked, then she fucked me. I … bit on the first bait that was dangled my
way because I’m an idiot. Turns out the bait was bad news …”
Bad news for Reese . . . but great news for us.
Highly Recommended
Review by Derrick Horodyski
