Book Review

The Shotgun Rule (2007)

Charlie Huston

Reviewed by Ken Tucker | Aug 24, 2007

Ken Tucker

Ken Tucker is critic-at-large for EW

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EW's GRADE

A-

Details Writer: Charlie Huston; Genres: Crime, Thriller; Publisher: Ballantine

RIDING SHOTGUN Huston sets up a wild ride for four young teen bike riders in his latest thriller

Ooo-wee, what a righteously nasty imagination Charlie Huston has. If you don't know this perfervid writer of thrillers (Caught Stealing) and comic books (Moon Knight), this stand-alone novel is a great place to start. It's 1983, and four young teens ride their bikes into peril: What begins as a prank theft turns into home-meth-lab gonzo peril. And one father's long-buried past helps set up an explosive ending. Huston terrifically re-creates the time period — read the boys' squabbling debate about the bands Devo, Depeche Mode, and A Flock of Seagulls. The Shotgun Rule is wise about the way boys grow into men, and roots its violence in understandable emotion.

Originally posted Aug 21, 2007 Published in issue #951 Aug 31, 2007 Order article reprints

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