Reviews

Caught Stealing by Charlie Huston

Only show reviews with written explanations

slichto3's review against another edition

5.0

Just thrilling. A book that really defines the phrase "I just couldn't put it down." But it's also very human - the protagonist, Hank, isn't some superman. He's not some guy who was born to be the hero. He's a guy who's already very hurt, both physically and psychically, when the story begins, and does not take to the seedy action of the book very well. He suffers, realistically, and, as a reader, you feel like you are really in this action yarn.

thewallflower00's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

An excellent crime novel. It's one of those "wrong place at wrong time" capers that involve fifty different parties trying to get the Maltese Falcon, and the main character has no idea what's going on, but in the end, he successfully screws everyone. There's corrupt cops, mafia, gangs, car chases, and gym bags full of money. Every trope that makes this genre great.

What you don't expect is how sharp and clean the writing is. Short sentences. Short words, but popping with description and energy. It's a fast read, it's satisfying, and there's no element that goes past your head. Everything is well understood and there isn't a trace of purple prose. My only beef is that sometimes you feel like characters are running in circles just to fill words. The bad guys beat him up. Then some different bad guys beat him up. But I think that's a crutch of this type of mystery-crime novel. I rarely read fiction that doesn't have some surreal element to it, but this is one of the best I read.

ris_stitches's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

This is so not the kind of book I would normally read, I got this one and the other two in the Hank Thompson series for free to read using the Stanza iPod reader and so I figured I'd give it a shot... only to find that it was gripping, intense, and written in a great format for reading on the go. It was so good that as soon as I finished the last page, I opened the next book in the series! It was pretty graphic, but a great plot, and really good characterization. I agree with those that liken this to a Tarantino movie in novel form - if you are a Tarantino fan you will definitely enjoy this book.

newfylady's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I like Hank very much but I can't help wondering how Joe Pitt would handle the same situation

sandin954's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Loved this dark tale of a former high school baseball star who is just drifting through life until his neighbor asks him to look after his cat. Great narration by Christian Conn, though some of the more violent scenes were pretty toe-curling.

jeffmauch's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

This is one of the better stories I've read predicated on being the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time. Hank's an every-man, just a guy grinding along without real purpose trying to figure out his life. He's living and working in New York, but lately things have been rough. Drinking is catching up with him and starting to have some serious health effects so he starts to make some big changes. The repercussions of Hank watching his neighbors cat had repercussions he could never imagined. Just like that he was thrust into the world of organized crime and fearing for his life. What a hell of a time for him to get clean and stop drinking. As the injuries and bodies start to pile up, things just get more and more interesting. Just when you think things can't go any more sideways, they do, as Hank takes a very memorable trip into the criminal underworld.
Huston's writing style is gritty and to the point. I especially like his dialog both internal and between characters. If you like stories of hapless criminals and the seeing how far normal people will go when pushed, this is your jam.