Product DescriptionThe first stand-alone thriller by critically acclaimed author Charlie Huston, The Shotgun Rule is a raw tale of four teenage friends who go looking for a little trouble–and find it.
Blood spilled on the asphalt of this town long years gone has left a stain, and it’s spreading. Not that a thing like that matters to teenagers like George, Hector, Paul, and Andy. It’s summer 1983 in a northern California suburb, and these working-class kids have been killing time the usual ways: ducking their parents, tinkering with their bikes, and racing around town getting high and boosting their neighbors’ meds. Just another typical summer break in the burbs. Till Andy’s bike is stolen by the town’s legendary petty hoods, the Arroyo brothers. When the boys break into the Arroyos’ place in search of the bike, they stumble across the brothers’ private industry: a crank lab. Being the kind of kids who rarely know better, they do what comes naturally: they take a stash of crank to sell for quick cash. But doing so they unleash hidden rivalries and crimes, and the dark and secret past of their town and their families.
The spreading stain is drawing local drug lords, crooked cops, hard-riding bikers, and the brutal history of the boys’ fathers in its wake.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - not the same Charlie Huston
I've read everything from Charlie Huston I can get my hands on, but The Shotgun Rule falls short of the high expectations I've set for his novels. Set in the summer of 1983, four friends are harassed by local family/gang, the Arroyos, which leads them into the Arroyo's home where they find a crank lab and steal a bag to sell.
The Shotgun Rule is a luckluster look into the lives of four friends and their families. Sorry, Chuck. Maybe it's just me.
Rating: - I love you, Charlie, but...
Huston's Caught Stealing trilogy was an amazing series of work, and I get a big kick out of his vampire series. I was so excited to read his standalone, and I was a bit let down. As ever, the writing is sharp, and Huston pulls no punches. There are thrilling moments here, but this feels a mite bit familiar in a way that Huston's other books haven't, and the characters seem a touch underdeveloped. This is worth a read, for sure, but if readers are looking for someplace to start, I'd go back and meet ... Read More
Rating: - Teen Rebellion Meets The Great White Father
The problem with this book is that it's being promoted as a daring, taboo-shattering thrill ride, a high-speed tale of teen rebellion, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE for the Metallica set.
Alas, nothing could be further from the truth. The first half of the book does indeed detail the adventures of four "bad" teens -- Paul, George, Andy and Hector. But contrary to the fawning blurbs from shills and veteran schlockmeisters like Stephen King, these clowns couldn't hold a candle to Alex and his droogs. ... Read More
Rating: - Do you really have to see it - to call it?
Hector, Paul, George and his younger brother Andy are four teen-aged friends, free from school for the summer in this coming of age novel set in the 1980's in a California suburb. The four boys - likeable enough as fictional characters - are not exactly the type of kids that you'd want living on your street. They spend their days smoking, drinking, scoring drugs and robbing their neighbor's houses. While attempting to retrieve a stolen bike from a rival, the foursome discover a meth lab and the temptation ... Read More
Rating: - Brilliant!
First, I must say Charlie Huston is one of the most provocative, creating, and brilliant and thought provoking authors of our time. He doesn't scare away from difficult topics like racism, drugs, alcoholism, violence, sexual abuse and parental relationships.
The latest Huston novel examines the lives of four troubled and rebellious teens who are struggling to find themselves during the summer of 1983. Reminiscent of "Pulp Fiction" meets "Stand By Me", this novel was a pleasure to read. Like one ... Read More
- not the same Charlie Huston
- I love you, Charlie, but...
- Brilliant!
