"A solid tale of a normal guy." Homeowner With a Gun by @samuelhawley1 #thriller #review
Cover links to Amazon.com
Homeowner With a Gun
Written by Samuel Hawley
Genre(s): Thriller, Suspense
What would you do to protect your family...
if you had a gun?
It’s the middle of the night. You’re awakened by a noise. Someone's in your house. What do you do?
When it happens at 148 Maple Drive, homeowner Jeff Shaw gets his gun and goes downstairs to investigate while his wife calls 9-1-1. It’s their home, after all. Jeff has to protect it. He finds two men in the kitchen and shoots them both. Dead.
The incident puts great strain on Jeff and his family. He wants to believe they just need to get on with their lives and everything will return to normal. But it’s not that easy. The dead intruders belonged to a gang, ANG, “Ain’t No Game,” that now wants revenge. And one of the gang, an ex-con who goes by the name I-Man, knows more about the break-in than he’s letting on.
It starts with a threatening phone call. Then it gets worse. The police, unable to protect the Shaws, suggest they move away for a while. But Jeff won't be intimidated from his own house.
Homeowner With a Gun takes the reader on a suspense-filled thrill ride as this everyman fights to save himself and his family, while something a detective said plays in the back of his mind: Maybe the intruders broke into the wrong house. Happens all the time. You wouldn’t believe how often...
Steve's Review
Jeff Shaw is everyman.
He and his wife, Allison, are raising two kids in a quiet, two-story brick house in Everywhere, America. He works as a supermarket produce manager, a low-prestige job that actually requires significant skill. Allie works in an office.
They don’t make much money. Their house is beautiful but needs a little work. They drive two aging cars that seem to spend lots of time in repair shops. They’re comfortable and well regarded; solid citizens living the American Dream.
Until that horrible night when they’re awakened by a noise downstairs. What happens next changes their lives, profoundly affects their kids, and propels them into the dark whirlpool of urban crime.
Homeowner With a Gun is a story well-told. It should resonate with just about everyone. As author Samuel Hawley notes, there about two million reported U.S. burglaries every year, with another million or so unreported. And in about 162,000 instances the burglar encounters … a homeowner with a gun.
If we’re lucky enough to avoid such a 21st Century nightmare you’ve probably thought about it. As every journalist knows, people consume crime news, often hanging on every word if they recognize a person, a neighborhood or the circumstances.
Why? Well, it could be the guy next door. It could be a family member.
It could be you.
And this is what makes Homeowner With a Gun such a fascinating read. In clear yet compelling prose, Hawley tells us how Jeff Shaw and his family cope with the random nature of crime. They are burglarized. Why? They don’t own fancy jewels or any rare collectables. Why them?
As he pursues the motives, Jeff finds himself sucked into the vortex of drugs, gangs and the not-so-bright people who prey upon others. He’s failed by law enforcement, which literally leaves his family defenseless. Instead of fleeing, Jeff decides he will defend HIS home, his property, and find the people who have turned his idyllic life into a nightmare.
The writing is solid, the characters vivid. While Jeff turns out to be surprisingly good with weapons - for a guy who served his country in a mess hall - his reactions, and the circumstances, are plausible.
If you want to read a solid tale of a normal guy who faces our worst nightmare, Homeowner With a Gun is a book for you.
He and his wife, Allison, are raising two kids in a quiet, two-story brick house in Everywhere, America. He works as a supermarket produce manager, a low-prestige job that actually requires significant skill. Allie works in an office.
They don’t make much money. Their house is beautiful but needs a little work. They drive two aging cars that seem to spend lots of time in repair shops. They’re comfortable and well regarded; solid citizens living the American Dream.
Until that horrible night when they’re awakened by a noise downstairs. What happens next changes their lives, profoundly affects their kids, and propels them into the dark whirlpool of urban crime.
Homeowner With a Gun is a story well-told. It should resonate with just about everyone. As author Samuel Hawley notes, there about two million reported U.S. burglaries every year, with another million or so unreported. And in about 162,000 instances the burglar encounters … a homeowner with a gun.
If we’re lucky enough to avoid such a 21st Century nightmare you’ve probably thought about it. As every journalist knows, people consume crime news, often hanging on every word if they recognize a person, a neighborhood or the circumstances.
Why? Well, it could be the guy next door. It could be a family member.
It could be you.
And this is what makes Homeowner With a Gun such a fascinating read. In clear yet compelling prose, Hawley tells us how Jeff Shaw and his family cope with the random nature of crime. They are burglarized. Why? They don’t own fancy jewels or any rare collectables. Why them?
As he pursues the motives, Jeff finds himself sucked into the vortex of drugs, gangs and the not-so-bright people who prey upon others. He’s failed by law enforcement, which literally leaves his family defenseless. Instead of fleeing, Jeff decides he will defend HIS home, his property, and find the people who have turned his idyllic life into a nightmare.
The writing is solid, the characters vivid. While Jeff turns out to be surprisingly good with weapons - for a guy who served his country in a mess hall - his reactions, and the circumstances, are plausible.
If you want to read a solid tale of a normal guy who faces our worst nightmare, Homeowner With a Gun is a book for you.
Disclaimer: Book provided by the author free of charge in exchange for an honest review.
