The Shotgun Rule (2007)

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.