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CONS
by Timothy Watts
Soho Press, August 1993
231 pages
$10.00
ISBN: 1569470340


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

If you are a fan of noir, you are going to be thrilled with this delightful debut novel by Timothy Watts. You wouldn't expect a book set in Beaufort, South Carolina, to be as edgy as Cons turns out to be. The lead character, Frank Cullen ("Cully") has been released from Raiford Prison in Florida after serving a 5-year term for armed robbery. Although he carried a gun during his robberies, he never used it and indeed feared the fact that he might have to. He's taken a job as a mechanic in Beaufort, but the owner, Dave Ross, has stiffed him out of his wages. When Cully demands payment, he gets a little carried away and pulverizes Ross and another man, Earl Marsh. As a result, he's put into the local jail. Fortunately (well, maybe not) for Cully, he is bailed out by a local well-to-do farmer by the name of Herb Dorrance. Dorrance hires him to serve as a chauffeur. Dorrance is a real mean piece of work who delights in playing mind games on others. He tries to keep Cully on a short leash by threatening to invent some malfeasance that will land him back in jail if Cully doesn't do whatever he wants him to do.

Dorrance has a delectable wife by the name of Michelle whose first husband, Benny, also served at Raiford Prison and is the brother of Earl Marsh. Michelle has had it with Herb and his evil doings. She and Benny plan a daring robbery of Dorrance's diamonds from the local bank. But rather than risking their necks by doing the robbery themselves, Michelle comes up with a plan to get Cully to do it for them. At the same time, Cully has become involved with Michelle's sister, Kristin, who is turned on by his past. It is her deepest desire that she and Cully pull off a bank heist together. Cully is indeed a popular guy. Herb wants him to kill Benny. And Cully, well all he wanted to do was play it straight, maybe open a restaurant or something.

The job is planned, and as may be expected, the plans go awry. The fact is that nobody trusts anybody else, and everyone is double crossing one another. How it all plays out is great good fun for the reader with many unexpected moments.

In addition to weaving a nicely suspenseful plot, Watts has done an excellent job of characterization. Each of the characters is unique and well developed, and each acts exactly as they should. The only negative is that they all seem extremely cognizant of one another's motivations which didn't feel realistic. But the way that the resolution plays out is totally believable.

An impressive debut and a very enjoyable read.

Reviewed by Maddy Van Hertbruggen, November 2001

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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