Rating: 3* of fiveThe Publisher Says: “Mackie dreaded the mail.” From this simple beginning, Peter Abrahams opens the curtains on a mesmerizing world down on the Mexican border, a world of complex and passionate people whose ambitions will lead them on a relentless collision course, a desert world that rises to the mythic in Their Wildest Dreams. The suspense will grab you and not let go, the surprises will shock you, but in the end it will be the wonderful characters who linger in your mind.Characters like Mackie Larkin, a suburban mother desperate for money, who finds she can earn it as a stripper; Kevin Larkin, her ex-husband whose get-rich-quick schemes left her with a mountain of debt, and who now dreams up an even better one; Lianne, their beautiful, impulsive teenage daughter, for whom almost anything, even bank robbery, is possible; Jimmy Marz, the wrangler she loves, who gets a dangerous onetime offer that could take him to the life he’s always wanted; Buck Samsonov, the charismatic strip-club owner building a southwestern empire in the lawless style of a 19th-century robber baron; Clay Krupsha, a twenty-first-century captain of detectives in a border town where no crime is what it seems; and Nicholas Loeb, a struggling mystery writer whose encounter with an unstable muse entangles him in a web of true crime more mysterious than anything he imagined.Utterly original, multilayered, and marked by the gripping suspense, sharp wit, and fascinating psychological insights for which Peter Abrahams has been acclaimed, here is a major work—a riveting story of modern-day desperadoes living their wildest dreams. My Review: At the apex of the Mouldering Mound of ~Meh~ one finds thrillers with silly sex and sad women who don't quite have it. And here we are.Plots revolving around trusting women getting taken by smooth-talking con men, whether husbands, boyfriends, or strangers on a train, annoy me. And here we are.Teenaged girls who fall for older bad boys, lose their virginity to them, and lose big, tick me off. And here we are.Why go on, if the picture's not clear yet it won't get clearer. These are well-worn paths in thrillerdom and there is not one bit of this book that's “utterly original.” It's multi-layered, I suppose. It's competently written, I suppose. It's fast enough paced, I suppose.And I do not give the hairs on the ass of a rat. It's fine, yes sure, fine fine, nothing to complain about except how completely forgettable it all is, and in an hour I won't remember if Lianne was the mom or the daughter, or Nick was the writer or the daddy. In a month, I won't remember the title, and by next birthday, you can show me this review and my only question will be: “Did I read that? I didn't read that.”But I'll say it in my best Bette Midler voice, so you'll get the joke. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
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Abrahams has got something - talent for invention and plotting!This was a really enjoyable one day read. A novel with some of the twists of an Alistair MacLean and then some. This is a saga of larceny, marital chaos, adolescent lust and misguided passion, helplessly lost characters in the morass of the USA - Mexican border culture, black humor, the 'Old West' and of course good old sex and money.It is a tale of 6 characters whose lives come together in a disjointed blend of violence and intrigue around the traditional 'easy' bank caper. Oh yes, and just as traditionally things do not quite go as planned - but just how is where the enjoyment lies. That said though, this is not a predictable book and the author deserves praise and recognition for that. Just as you think you know exactly what will happen it doesn't. There are lots of twists and turns that sting just when you relax.This is not great prose though I did love the characterizations and yes it is the worst of American culture on display but it demonstrates a thoughtful author working to entertain his readers. It is entertainment - pure and unadulterated. My mind pictured another big bloody Technicolor Tarantino movie as 'Kill Bill' flashed past my eyes.I laughed at what I thought were colorful, enjoyable images:"He took the bottles, opened them with his teeth, both at once, handed one to Loeb. Loeb suspected they'd reached the high-water mark of their friendship, might never again be this close." (p206, ISBN 0141011300)Abrahams runs an interesting subplot (or maybe it is the real plot) of an author struggling to get back into his creative realm and real enjoyment comes along as this budding sleuth accompanies the reader bumping his way through the plot. Along the way some well placed reflections of the state of publishers and literature find voice. Initially, I found this additional character annoying; but everything comes together and harmony ensues.A tale that satisfies and will lead you to read more. A good airport and wet day yarn.
—David
