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piccoline's review against another edition
4.0
Good, dark, fast-paced modern noir. First-person narrator's got a great voice and the narrative's got some nice zags along the way.
moreadsbooks's review
3.0
This was a good, quick read for a Friday night. Maybe a little goofy. I was slightly non-plussed at a few things, especially that if you're on the run from some bad Croatian dudes who are right outside the building, might it not be the best idea to just take a time out to bang a porn star on a live webcam? I mean, I get that live webcam is probably a safe-ish place to be, but don't you have other things to worry about? Maybe that's a guy thing. The body count was depressingly high and I'm still sad about poor Hank, but I want to read the earlier books in this series.
corrie's review
5.0
I never knew I would love hard crime noir this much, but man do I love Christa Faust’s writing. After Butch Fatale and Money Shot I was ready to dive into the next Angel Dare adventure.
Choke Hold is just as dark, just as violent and just as crazy intense as Money Shot. After taking down the sex slavery ring, former porn-star Angel ‘Vigilante’ Dare is biding her time working in a small Arizona diner, when a ghost from her past, ex-boyfriend and scene partner ’Thick’ Vic Ventura shows up there to meet his estranged son. All seems to go well until 3 Mexican guys come in and bullets start to fly. Vic gets hit and Angel makes him a deathbed promise to look after his son Cody, an aspiring MMA fighter.
Clueless as to who and why they’re after Vic’s son (and now Angel as well), they end up seeking help from Cody’s friend and mentor Hank ‘The Hammer’ Hammond, a damaged former fighter. With bad guys all over the place (the thugs from Angel’s past have picked up her scent as well) the trio needs to get the hell out of Dodge to stay alive.
The wife looked like she should be in the business. Bright red Miss America hair. Big fake tits. Collagen trout-pout. Tiny, surgically bobbed button nose. Her body was flawless, jacked and shredded, with an astounding bubble butt that looked like it could crack walnuts. She was in a g-string bikini in most of her photos, except the fight shots, in which she wore loose pink satin shorts and a sports bra. There was also a photo of the grieving widow standing graveside in a tacky and inappropriate dress that showed way too much plastic cleavage. “Hi there,” a female voice said behind me. “Are you one of the mothers?” I turned to face the real live Truly Richland. There had clearly been a lot of Photoshop action in those pictures, but the body under her Richland MMA Academy tank top and tiny shorts was still amazing. She was my age or maybe a little older and had a brittle, anxious smile. Her voice was syrupy and Southern. Up close, her nose job was appalling. It made me glad I never got mine fixed.
m/f explicit
Themes: damage is the overall theme here, on the run again, Angel does more flight than fight this time around but she will do whatever she needs to do to survive, there’s a high body count, don’t get too attached to people, Faust has a way with describing people, places and things. Just love it and wish she would write more.
5 stars
Choke Hold is just as dark, just as violent and just as crazy intense as Money Shot. After taking down the sex slavery ring, former porn-star Angel ‘Vigilante’ Dare is biding her time working in a small Arizona diner, when a ghost from her past, ex-boyfriend and scene partner ’Thick’ Vic Ventura shows up there to meet his estranged son. All seems to go well until 3 Mexican guys come in and bullets start to fly. Vic gets hit and Angel makes him a deathbed promise to look after his son Cody, an aspiring MMA fighter.
Clueless as to who and why they’re after Vic’s son (and now Angel as well), they end up seeking help from Cody’s friend and mentor Hank ‘The Hammer’ Hammond, a damaged former fighter. With bad guys all over the place (the thugs from Angel’s past have picked up her scent as well) the trio needs to get the hell out of Dodge to stay alive.
The wife looked like she should be in the business. Bright red Miss America hair. Big fake tits. Collagen trout-pout. Tiny, surgically bobbed button nose. Her body was flawless, jacked and shredded, with an astounding bubble butt that looked like it could crack walnuts. She was in a g-string bikini in most of her photos, except the fight shots, in which she wore loose pink satin shorts and a sports bra. There was also a photo of the grieving widow standing graveside in a tacky and inappropriate dress that showed way too much plastic cleavage. “Hi there,” a female voice said behind me. “Are you one of the mothers?” I turned to face the real live Truly Richland. There had clearly been a lot of Photoshop action in those pictures, but the body under her Richland MMA Academy tank top and tiny shorts was still amazing. She was my age or maybe a little older and had a brittle, anxious smile. Her voice was syrupy and Southern. Up close, her nose job was appalling. It made me glad I never got mine fixed.
m/f explicit
Themes: damage is the overall theme here, on the run again, Angel does more flight than fight this time around but she will do whatever she needs to do to survive, there’s a high body count, don’t get too attached to people, Faust has a way with describing people, places and things. Just love it and wish she would write more.
5 stars
eleellis's review
4.0
In Choke Hold by Christa Faust, Angel Dare is back for another novel of hard-core noir and danger.
The book opens with Angel Dare working in an out of the way diner trying to save money to purchase high-quality identification, including a passport, so she can continue living under the radar, possibly in Mexico.
Don't worry, Ms. Faust fills in the story of how the first Angel Dare novel Money Shot ends and how this one continues.
While in the diner, a man from Dare's past appears to have randomly arrived and after a violent shootout-bloodbath, the man from her past gets Dare to promise to protect his estranged 18-year old son, which then leads to Dare becoming entwined in the world of mix-martial arts brawling, cocaine deals and run-ins with assorted violent thugs.
Choke Hold keeps moving and is highly recommended to those that enjoy rough and tumble noir and aren't bashful when it comes to reading about a former adult film actress/producer who is not afraid of who she is and what she has become.
Also, to add to the enjoyment of the writings of Christa Faust, it is recommended one read more about this amazing writer and noir professional.
The book opens with Angel Dare working in an out of the way diner trying to save money to purchase high-quality identification, including a passport, so she can continue living under the radar, possibly in Mexico.
Don't worry, Ms. Faust fills in the story of how the first Angel Dare novel Money Shot ends and how this one continues.
While in the diner, a man from Dare's past appears to have randomly arrived and after a violent shootout-bloodbath, the man from her past gets Dare to promise to protect his estranged 18-year old son, which then leads to Dare becoming entwined in the world of mix-martial arts brawling, cocaine deals and run-ins with assorted violent thugs.
Choke Hold keeps moving and is highly recommended to those that enjoy rough and tumble noir and aren't bashful when it comes to reading about a former adult film actress/producer who is not afraid of who she is and what she has become.
Also, to add to the enjoyment of the writings of Christa Faust, it is recommended one read more about this amazing writer and noir professional.
mediumdave's review
4.0
While just as intense, fast and ballsy as it's previous entry, Choke Hold doesn't quite hum as well as Money Shot. Part of it may be the former's explosive shot to the face of crime fiction, but that doesn't mean Choke Hold isn't good or worth it. It's just that any follow-up to Angel Dare's first scene would be a tough act to follow. Or something something something sloppy seconds.
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