Scared Money

It doesnt take long. Within the first few chapters of this, the second pairing of retired Texas Ranger Jeremiah Spur and Washington County Sherrif Clyde Thomas, the reader will know that they are in for a special ride. The first indicator is the multiple narrative viewpoints, and the distinct voices that accompany them. None of them first person, but written in such a precise manner that youd think three different people were responsible. Hime fires up this terrific book with the murder of a drug dealer on a dark night in an empty lot. Unremarkable on its face, but well-staged by the author and heavy with tragedy. Then, we find Clyde Thomas in the midst of a pleasant evening of basketball and bathing with his girl, who also happens to be a DA in the same county. We soon shift to Jeremiah Spur, retired Texas Ranger, Cattle Rancher, Reformed Smoker, sitting in a grandstand enjoying that most Texan of pursuits, high school football on a Friday night in Brenham. This folds into a historical narrative, that of a young boy witnessing history and revolution in his post-war Hungarian homeland. And off we go! As Clyde gets rolling on the drug dealer murder, Spur is approached by a Shadowy Government Type, to perform a special mission for a man known only as The Wolf. He is whisked away to Dallas where he is presented with the parameters of his task, almost none of which are satisfactory, but he takes the job anyway, mostly out of boredom while he waits for his beloved wife to return from alcohol rehab in Maine. Hime takes these two threads, along with the story of the young Hungarian boy, Jonathan Farkas, and weaves all three into a fascinating web of violence, betrayal, and family dysfunction. I wondered if he wrote each narrative separately, then edited them together, or if he knew from the get-go how he would sequence them. But Im obsessive about that stuff, mostly so you as a reader dont have to be! Along the way, youll meet Leslie Whitten, who runs the company that hires Spur. She is a most intriguing character, both appealing and appalling, for many reasons. Hime mixes in assorted situations and characters to roll things along, but keeps the focus on the three main characters. Its to his credit that youll feel mixed emotions about at least two of the three, because of course, there is no black and white in the real world, only shades of grey. The only minor quibble I have is that as he brings events to a boil, Hime is forced to spin his narratives down to a single thread. Its necessary, of course, because he has a slam-bang ending to tell us, but I was a bit wistful as the amazing trio of story lines became one. But the bottom line is that SCARED MONEY is that most refreshing of novels, full of action, humor, character and theme. It makes your heart race and your brain cogitate. After all, as our new hero, Jeremiah Spur would say, a thing can only be what it is. And this book, friends, is the real deal.