"Hard-boiled action...Camaro Espinoza, who did tours in the Middle East, is tougher than an army boot....it's deeply satisfying to watch her take out an animal like Lukas."—Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review
"A trifecta of triumph . . . A complex and compelling protagonist (coupled with richly defined secondary characters), authenticity of voice and vista, and resonant timeliness. . . . Camaro Espinoza is a name to remember, and readers will find themselves rooting for her despite the many liberties she takes with conventional law and order. Justice is in the eye of the beholder, after all."—John Valeri, Strand Magazine
"Fast, violent, and starring a lead character with a private code, and to hell with those law books. . . . Like a good action hero, Camaro is solitary, vengeful, and fond of beer and motorcycles-a female 'tough guy' who defies stereotypes with engaging bravado. Hawken calls her 'a lean, mean thrilling machine.' He's nailed it."—Booklist
PRAISE FOR THE NIGHT CHARTER:
"Sign on for The Night Charter, Sam Hawken's hot new thriller captained by Camaro Espinoza, a protagonist that'll light up the literary seascape unlike anything before."—Craig Johnson, bestselling author of the Walt Longmire mysteries, the basis for Netflix's Longmire
"The Night Charter is a heck of a book by a fine writer. Camaro Espinoza is a captivating heroine, whether shooting it out with the bad guys or standing, unflinching, in the face of the law. Drawn into this saga by a strong moral code and her own dark past, Camaro is impossible not to root for, and Sam Hawken's deft, assured prose keeps the pages turning—and your heart pounding—all the way to The Night Charter's adrenaline-soaked finale."—Owen Laukkanen, author of The Professionals and The Stolen Ones
"The Night Charter caught me completely by surprise. In precise, neon-soaked prose, Sam Hawken launches a promising new series headed for the high seas of John D. MacDonald and the relentlessness of Lee Child. Camaro herself is a wonderful creation, an uncompromising heroine whose adventures many readers, including this one, will look forward to for many books to come."—David Morrell, bestselling author of Inspector of the Dead and Murder as a Fine Art
"The Night Charter is a terrific thriller. Riding her Harley and settling scores, Camaro Espinoza takes us on a gritty, fast-paced adventure. Sam Hawken has produced a great riff on the lone wolf hero, a kind of female Jack Reacher."—Matthew Quirk, bestselling author of The 500 and The Directive
2016-11-07
Hawken continues the exploits of Camaro Espinoza, a tough female former Army medic, in this shoot-'em-up, action-packed installment set in the sleepy communities that ring Los Angeles.Camaro's younger sister, Annabel, has finally broken free of her abusive boyfriend, Jake Collier, but she can't get him to leave. She talks her sister into coming to her aid, but while Camaro's straightening him out, Jake's big brother, Lukas, is busy murdering the bail bondsman who tried to take him into custody in Denver. Meanwhile, Camaro faces off with Jake at his job in a local lumberyard and things don't go down well for him. As Lukas works his way closer to California to finalize a scheme with his brother, he drags behind him a trail of people set on revenge, including Yates, the father of the bail bondsman he killed, and Way, a deputy U.S. marshal whose partner he murdered. As Camaro seeks to protect her sister, Way and Yates find themselves on opposite sides of Camaro's cooperation even though all three of them seek the same resolution. Plenty of guns and fisticuffs, as well as a twisty trail to follow, fill this action enthusiast's tale. And Hawken certainly knows how to keep the action going: Camaro goes from scrape to scrape with barely enough time to treat her own wounds and regroup before the next ambush or assault. But while Hawken writes excellent action/adventure, where he falls down is in bringing his characters to life. Camaro is basically a man with breasts: there's nothing about her that feels female (although her sister is as domestic as Betty Crocker). The bad guys—Lukas the killer and Way the deputy U.S. marshal—are so deranged they devolve into caricatures. Only Yates, the old man whose son has died, resonates as a human being. While action's fine when it's plentiful, more attention to character development could have made Camaro more relatable and provided both villains with some badly needed dimension.
