Mark Pepper

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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THE PROPER MINDSET
Do you like movies (or shows) like Fargo,* where regular, everyday folks find themselves in the middle of some sort of large criminal activity? Things go quickly out of control and before they know it, this regular guy is kidnapping people, covering up killings, disposing of bodies, planning heists, and whatnot. If that's your kind of thing, buckle up, because you're in for a ride.

*I had a handful of other titles I was going to invoke, but as soon as I started the sentence, they vanished.

If Fargo ain't your thing, if Elmore Leonard or Eoin Colfer's Crime Novels don't work for you, well, you might want to skip Man Down, unless you're looking for someone to change your mind about this type of thing.

WHAT'S MAN DOWN ABOUT?
Matt Spiller is our Everyman—he's a taxi driver, he's a devoted dad, he's separated from his wife, and his life is about to be turned upside down. And then shaken up, bounced around, chewed up, and spit out.

One Christmas Eve night, after dropping off a fare, he sees a couple of men who look like they're about to attack her. Without thinking about it, Matt steps in and prevents that—they won't be harming anyone for a while. This isn't something he typically does, but the woman he rescued doesn't know that. Which leads to an interesting business proposition...

Meanwhile, his 16-year-old daughter doesn't make it home for Christmas—she's off with her new (older) boyfriend. When she eventually gets home, Matt and his wife are told that she'd been prevented from leaving or calling them. Also, a police officer warns Matt about the boyfriend—his criminal C.V. is truly impressive if you're the sort who's impressed by that sort of thing. Matt and his wife are going to have to do something drastic to keep this creep away from their girl. But maybe they go too far...

That's a thumbnail of the first 12% of the book. There's no way to summarize the next 88%, even if I was the kind of guy who'd do that. Where those two storylines take Matt and his family can only be read to be believed.

HELEN
It'd be easy to give all of your attention to Matt and his antics while reading/talking about this book, but that'd be a mistake. The women in his life really deserve a lot of attention.

His daughter Sophie, a Minions addict, is one of the cutest kids you'll encounter in print this year. Sammy, the girl with lousy taste in men, is strong, determined, and would probably have found a way out of her trouble on her own, thank you very much. Emma, the fateful fare...okay, I don't know how to describe her—but man, she's intriguing (and then some).

But Helen, Matt's wife (at least for now), is something else. She's had it up to here with his Depression, his dead-end job, and any number of other failings he has. She still loves him, but she has to do what she can for herself and their daughters. This spills over to how she approaches a boss who's been harassing her constantly, Sammy's boyfriend, the repercussions of what happens after Christmas, and everything else to do with Matt. Helen's the kind of character you'd like to meet in real life, just to hang out and get to know a little bit.

THAT REVEAL
There's a reveal that's so big that I want to spend a few paragraphs talking about it. I won't, don't worry, but I want to. When you get to it, you'll know exactly what I mean.

If you're anything like me, you'll cackle a bit. Then you'll have to flip through the pages to check a few things to see how Pepper played you. Then you'll chuckle some more and dive back in to see how this new understanding of everything plays out—and you'll be eager to do so, because this book that had been a compelling read has become something new, something richer, something more twisted and fun. What you won't know is that there's another reveal or two coming, and that you shouldn't get comfortable.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT MAN DOWN?
This was a bonkers read—that's a compliment, in case that wasn't clear. On the one hand, it's impossible to predict how Pepper is going to start at Point A and end up anywhere near Point Z, but he does, and when you look back at it, the logic is clear and sound.

I can't tell you how many times he pulled the rug out from under me (he does the same to Matt almost as often)—sometimes eliciting a laugh, sometimes shock and dismay, sometimes I was so dumbfounded as not to know how to react. But there's a lot more going on than just unpredictability—Matt keeps coming across as a poor guy just trying to do the best he can—and failing with horrible results. But you never stop pulling for him.

The humor is dark, the action is frequent and dynamic, with characters that you want to get to know better and see more of. I'm not sure what else to say at this point without giving away everything, so let's just go with if you're in the mood for a Mr. Toad's Wild Ride of a thriller, get your mitts on this one pronto.… (mere)

I've found it really difficult to write a review of Veteran Avenue: how do I write a review to show how brilliant it is without giving anything away? I've deliberated over it far too long so I'm biting the bullet and attempting a no-spoiler review.

What is so clever about Veteran Avenue is how you take the main character of John to your heart straight away. As an eight year-old he already feels unloved and invisible so when a stranger tempts him away from his parents, John is only too eager to follow. This strange meeting will stay with John for the rest of his life and puts him on a path he doesn't even know he is following. With fate pulling all the strings, John's destiny awaits.

Veteran Avenue is SO SO good. I really wanted to do a review that would do it justice without releasing any spoilers, so I went for a minimalist approach. This is a book that defies genre and will burst out of any box you try to put it in. Whatever your usual genre, you will love Veteran Avenue as it has a bit of everything from the military to romance with a sprinkling of the unexpected.

I firmly believe that life is a journey and we are travelling down a path that is already mapped out for us. John's life is certainly like that, nothing is left to chance and everything is meant to be. Veteran Avenue is Thought-provoking with a capital 'T' and I am encouraging friends and family to read it so I can talk to them about it, as I am positively fit to burst being the only person in my circle to have read it. Mark Pepper has written such an amazing book that it deserves to be sitting at the top of the charts for a long time to come.

If you're looking for something different to read: look no further! I wholeheartedly recommend Veteran Avenue to readers of any genre. It's a book that you will remember long after turning the final page; I know I will never forget it and it deserves every single one of the five stars I have awarded it.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.… (mere)

“Humans are capable of amazing behavior at both ends of the moral spectrum”.

When a young boy, John Frears met a strange man who gave him a picture of his granddaughter and told John “if you are the one, you’ll need it”. The one what? It took several years to find out what the man meant.

Virginia Chester was worried about her father Dodge after her brother Donnie’s suicide. Who is this friend of Donnie’s, and can he help her father slay his demons?

See my complete review at The Eclectic Review .… (mere)