Last month, I borrowed ‘The Dummy Line‘ by Bobby Cole from the Kindle Lending Library and sped through it in just two nights. Although the plot is pretty simple, the events that happen and the way the story is written keep you on your toes and provides a very exciting book. The narrative takes some getting used to since it switches to different people constantly, but after a while you understand why the author wrote it that way. It’s just a little jarring at times.
Jake Crosby, father to nine year-old Katy, loves to take her hunting with him. His wife doesn’t feel the same and stays home for some alone time. The father-daughter duo head out together on a turkey hunting trip at a remote hunting cabin and are about to turn in for the night when a gang of local hoodlums stops by to drink and party at the cabin. They encounter Jake and after a violent exchange in which Jake makes the decision to shoot their leader with his shotgun, Jake and Katy take off in their truck and head deeper into the woods to escape and the nasty men hastily give chase.
While driving away, Jake calls an old friend nearby named Mick, but poor cell service makes his call almost completely unintelligible. Mick calls it in to the local sheriff, setting into motion a chessboard of characters all crawling around on this remote property trying to figure out just what is going on.
Although just local hoods, the three remaining men prove to be deadly. One is the cousin of the dead leader and therefore is hellbent on revenge. Once he discovers that Jake has a child with him, he decides that he’ll kill the girl first with Jake watching. Taking a magazine he found in Jake’s camper, he makes a call to a friend and has him head to Jake’s house to kidnap his wife. Then when the other two men run into a teenage couple and nearly beat the boy to death, you suddenly realize just what’s at stake for Jake and Katy.
With all the moving pieces of the story, you start to wonder when these people will cross paths. The story moves quickly and is a very exciting read. Once I got about a third of the way in I simply couldn’t put it down. It’s got some graphic scenes involving rape, so parents should probably read this and determine whether their kids are ready before passing it on to younger readers.
The book has “A Jake Crosby Thriller” next to it, which makes me wonder if the author intends to write more books with Jake. I’m not entirely sure I understand where that could lead since Jake is just an average joe, but I’d give it a go for sure.
Note: I originally posted this review on ReviewAddicts.com, a domain I no longer update.