Nothing Short of Dying

June 13, 2016
Clyde Barr, the hero of Storey’s adrenaline-fueled first novel and series launch, has returned to the States after years roaming Africa and Latin America, assisting various underdog causes. When Clyde learns that his sister, Jen, is being held by her boyfriend, Lance Alvis, a ruthless and dangerous man with a meth empire in the mountains of Colorado, he sets out to rescue her. Accompanied by bartender Allie Martin, Clyde must make his way through the wilderness and a nearly endless supply of goons, relying on his skills in tracking, marksmanship, and hand-to-hand combat. Storey trots out the usual action tropes—the good-hearted but damaged hero, the budding romance with a strong-willed woman, really evil bad guys, and bushels of violence. Readers will have to suspend their disbelief at Clyde’s ability to sustain horrendous injuries and continue to fight and prevail against formidable odds. Agent: Darley Anderson, Darley Anderson Literary, TV and Film Agency.

October 3, 2016
Storey’s debut novel, the launch to a series featuring underdog-champion and soldier of fortune Clyde Barr, is an explosive but not always credible adventure fueled by a heady combination of adrenaline and testosterone. Barely back in the States to settle down after a 16-year drift across three continents, including prison time in South America, Barr is off to the Colorado mountains on an all but impossible quest, smashing and slaying teams of killers and continuing to survive savage beatings and gaping wounds to save his sister, Jenny, who is in mortal danger. Barr chronicles his own propulsive tale in a matter-of-fact, nothing-can-surprise me manner. Reader Bobb has a properly husky voice, but his attitude isn’t the kind of been-there-done-that cool you might expect from the text. It’s flat and so emotionless it seems to lack empathy, even when the protagonist is blaming himself for the death of a friend. Bobb’s interpretation of the other characters is spirited and on the money, whether they are snarling, slow-witted thugs, twerpy little bullies, or kindly but tough pals from his youth. A Scribner hardcover.

March 1, 2016

Clyde Barr, who's wandered the world as a hunter, adventurer, and soldier of fortune, has returned home to Colorado after 16 years, still skittish about his past there. Then he gets a desperate call from his sister Jen, who begs for help before the line goes dead. With a five-city tour; called the year's best thriller by William Kent Krueger, who also has a book coming in August (stay tuned).

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2016
Clyde Barr, hero and narrator of this immensely enjoyable novel, lets us know he's an ex-jailbird, ex-mercenary, and all-around bad boy. Like everybody in the book, however, we're not fooled. We know he's a Grail Knight in disguise, rescuing the good and punishing the bad, and when he gets a call from his sister asking him to roar into the Rockies and save her from a kidnapper, what's he going to do? Clyde is joined on his quest by a sassy lady bartender (she asks him if the zoo knows he's escaped), and unexpected things happen. When their jeep breaks down, she's the one under the hood while he stands by helplessly. Clyde displays a visceral fascination with odors. Cheap coffee smells like a parking lot puddle. A public park is dried leaves and dumpster trash. Encounters with bad guys along the way are appropriately, cinematically violent, and the rich, sensory descriptions enhance a well-told story. The bartender does, too. She says she wants to see how the Clyde Barr movie ends. So do we.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)