Rumrunners by Eric Beetner

4 out of 5 Pistols

An endorsement of this book might be that it wasn't even the one I intended to read next. I just happened to pick it up and have a look over the first few lines as I am sometimes wont to do. This look turned into reading the first chapter, then the second chapter and then I was reeled in.

The book introduces us to the McGraw family, who have been driving and delivering goods for the Stanley crime family for a century. Octogenarian, Calvin McGraw, is the patriarch of the family and is struggling with his retirement out in Omaha. His son, Webb, still works for the Stanleys and is tasked with delivering a truckload of unprocessed meth. Tucker McGraw, Webb's son, has diverged from the family tradition and ia a divorced insurance salesman with visitation rights every other weekend.

Webb goes missing with his cargo and this brings one of Stanley's men to Tucker's door to inform him the $10 million debt is now his. Tucker calls his Granddad Calvin in an effort to find out what's happened to Webb and clear the debt. Chaos ensues.

There's plenty of death within these pages, but the book is a smooth-flowing light-hearted romp. There aren't many 86 year olds kicking ass and taking names in crime fiction these days, so Calvin is a wonderful creation. There's no real description of him that I can remember and I pictured him as more a wiry scrapper than an Eastwood figure. As befitting a book about a driving family, there is plenty of action and car chases to go with the laughs.

There was a bit of repetition with similar events/conversations taking place, but there are enough reveals and thrust in the narrative to stop this being a major issue.

"The hardest working man in crime fiction" has done it again and I'm looking forward to reading the prequel and the eventual third entry in this series.

Synopsis: Smokey and the Bandit and The Dukes of Hazzard meet Justified and Fargo in this crime-family saga.

Meet the McGraws. They're not criminals. They're outlaws. They have made a living by driving anything and everything for the Stanleys, the criminal family who has been employing them for decades. It's ended with Tucker. He's gone straight, much to the disappointment of his father, Webb.

When Webb vanishes after a job, and with him a truck load of drugs, the Stanleys want their drugs back or their money. With the help from his grandfather, Calvin-the original lead foot-Tucker is about to learn a whole lot about the family business in a crash course that might just get him killed.