Josh Stallings has a habit of writing books that elicit
strong emotions from his readers. The Moses McGuire series deals with topics
that are heavy-handed, leaving most readers feeling righteous indignation
towards the treatment of some of his secondary characters. His ability to
elicit these strong emotions is what made the Moses’ trilogy such a favorite to
lovers of dark, hard-hitting fiction.
Stallings, who commented that the Moses’ trilogy took a lot out
of him emotionally, takes a shot at writing a “softer” novel, Young Americans,
a straight-up heist novel that takes place in the 70s. The big question for me
was could the magic he displayed in his previous books carry over into this one, or would taking away the brutal subject matter render him less effective.
Sam is an accomplished thief. Taught to crack safes and live
a life of crime by her grandfather and her father, she enjoys the criminal upbringing until her father gets sent to prison for life. Losing
her father causes her to rethink her choices, like moving away from her family
and barely eke out a living as a stripper in Humbolt County. After she vouches for a
boyfriend in a drug deal, she's left holding the bag. She winds up in debt
to a big time criminal and forced to reconnect with her old crew to pull off
the robbery of a mafia owned nightclub to pay off her debt.
Stallings’ amazing writing talents are on full display
throughout this fast-paced story. His characters do more than just appear in the book, they jump off the page and come to life. Stalling has a way of making each
character unique in their motivations, yet meld them together. And they
work well as a team in planning the heist.
As with his previous three novels, Stallings knocks this one
out of the ballpark. Like an accomplished actor switching roles from a heavy
drama to a more light-hearted role, he makes you forget about his previous body
of work and you become immersed in the new world he has created. This world is
a lot of fun and it’s a blast from start to finish. Stallings shows his readers
they need not worry what subject he chooses to tackle; they need only buckle up
and enjoy the ride.
Highly recommended.
Reviewed by Derrick Horodyski
