The Dart League King

A dart game in a small-town Idaho bar offers the backdrop for examining how small choices can have big consequences. Russell Harmon tries to win the championship, but is that all he craves? Brice Habersham stalks Russell's every move, but to what end? Nick Landrum captures both the simplicity and the depth of rural life, where not everything or everyone is as they appear. His dry tone conveys both humor and fear, often together. Landrum wastes little effort on accents or gender differentiation, giving the weight of his performance to timing and irony. As he reveals the back story behind each player, we appreciate the layers of their lives, and Morris's nuanced work. R.L.L. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

Starred review from August 4, 2008
In this absorbing and intelligent novel, Morris (The Greyhound God
) follows five characters through a handful of hours culminating in a dart contest on a Thursday night in Garnet Lake, Idaho: Russell Harmon, who lives for the dart league and his cocaine habit; teammate Tristan Mackey, who is haunted by having not prevented the drowning of a classmate; Kelly Ashton, who wants desperately for someone to rescue her and her young daughter from this small town; Russell’s darts rival Brice Habersham, a DEA agent posing as the owner of a gas station; and drug dealer Vince Thompson, who, tonight, is carrying a 9mm Beretta to his meeting with Russell. As each chapter shifts from one voice to the next, Morris cranks up the tension so that by the time the dart match arrives, the book is impossible to put down. Morris explores how even the most banal choices we make—to get in the car or not?—can have a life-altering impact.