Good Day in Hell

This was my first Jack Keller novel and I found it a worthy addition to my predilection for thrillers featuring tough guy loners. The atmosphere is steeped in rural North Carolina and many of the characters, while not necessarily new, are colorful nonetheless. Jack is a bail enforcement officer (bounty hunter) and while he apparently has the credentials to a bygone era of violence, most of the violence in this novel occurs around him rather than by him. While flawed and suffering from post traumatic stress disorder from his war experiences, Jack is still able to build and nurture our interest, especially as he interacts with his girlfriend, Marie Jones, who carries her own baggage into the relationship. The fascination in this book revolves around the character motivations and evil depredations of Laurel Marks and Ron Randle, modern day traveling serial killers pursuing righting the wrongs imposed upon them by the vagaries of life. They have a "plan" of vengeance that they are following and along the way, they attract Stan, a rudderless wannabe, and the attention of an ambitious yet loosely principled TV anchor, Grace Tranh. Granted, many of the subplots and characters are predictable, maybe even a bit hackneyed (Grace Tranh's get-the-story-at-all-costs and the bumbling, yet hard case FBI characters come to mind here). But Rhoades moves the story line at a fast pace and his depiction of the conflict between Jack and Marie, lovers conflicted with their own emotional baggage, is enough to keep the reader engaged.

A great guilty pleasure for anyone who enjoys a lightning-fast read. I started "The Devil's Right Hand" wondering if it would be TOO graphic, but both of Rhoades' books are unoffensive in their depiction of sex, drugs and violence. The seductive and sadistic female killer stood out in this one. Looking forward to the next one.

J. D. Rhoades is quickly becoming the master of "redneck noir," a classic description for dark thriller fiction set in the deep or rural south. William Faulkner arguably is the godfather of this genre and James Lee Burke is his heir, but there are such authors as Ace Atkins, Jack Kerley, Jim Born and Jonathon King who also can be counted among its practitioners. Rhoades is one of the most recent additions to this list. His latest novel, GOOD DAY IN HELL, is but his second, yet his voice is as steady, confident and strong as a seasoned journeyman with a groaning shelf of books to his credit. Rhoades's primary protagonist is Jack Keller, a bail enforcement officer who travels the rural areas that lie between North Carolina's growing urban centers, resulting in an uneasy and often deadly mixture of old and new South. Keller's target in GOOD DAY IN HELL is Laurel Marks, a good girl gone bad who is wanted on a parole violation. His girlfriend, Deputy Sheriff Marie Jones, is simultaneously investigating the robbery of a gas station and the murder of its proprietor, as well as the apparent abduction of the proprietor's son. Neither Keller nor Jones anticipates that their respective assignments are about to intertwine into what is only the beginning of an explosive, angry and senseless rampage, reminiscent of the Starkweather/Fugate murders in the late 1950s. What results is a dark character study of individuals on opposite sides of good and evil who are alike in that they are drawn to their inner, dangerous darkness even as their actions spring from opposing motivations. The ending, which ironically takes place in an area far removed --- geographically and socially --- is perhaps inevitable, but carries with it a hope, however faint, of redemption. Rhoades's main strength is his ability to imbibe his characters with subtle and conflicting complexities that by turns make them interesting and extremely, almost painfully, real. Keller in particular has miles of bad road within him that undoubtedly could be explored for however many books Rhoades chooses to write about it. Keller's venue of North Carolina is in such a state of change and growth that he should have plenty to keep him busy in the years to come. And the winner, of course, will be the reader of this fine series. Recommended. --- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

North Carolina bounty hunter Jack Keller and sheriff's deputy Marie Jones are dating. Marie likes Jack and even wonders if her squeeze would be a good step-father for her son, but fears his scary flashbacks to his Gulf War days that frighten even his boss Angela, owner of H & H Bail Bonds, who has seen everything. Reluctantly Angela sends Jack after bail jumping Laurel Marks, who skipped with a 75K bond posted; she is charged with assault. At the same time Marie goes after Laurel and Roy who killed a gas station owner and apparently took his teenage son Stan with them. Soon mass murders occur at a church and factory. The police believe someone who has media savvy with an unknown ax to grind leads the coked pair on their savage trek. Jack and Marie team up even as the killers begin to take advantage of the media enabling them to tell their side of the homicide run. This regional thriller stars two intriguing individuals with post traumatic stress disorder syndrome as Jack still suffers from his military days and Marie from the killing of her partner. The story line is gory from the moment that Laurel pulls the trigger in the face of the stepfather and never stops flowing blood until the final gruesome confrontation. Fans of violent tales will appreciate this non-stop action novel and its predecessor (see THE DEVIL'S RIGHT HAND)while wondering who will be left standing and if both Marie and Jack survive will they remain together? Harriet Klausner

Jack Keller, stressed out war veteran and bail enforcement officer, is back. He's still subject to terrifying flashbacks of his harrowing war experience, still boils over with murderous rage now and then and still has trouble establishing normal human relationships. Overall, a very satisfying kind of action oriented guy. Author Rhoades must be described as a brilliant writer. His plots are meticulously constructed, his characters come alive with only a few words and the story literally leaps from one page to the next. "Good Day In Hell" is great evening reading if you don't mind staying up late: it's that hard to put down. This story opens with Stan, a 16 year old, being beaten by his abusive step-father in the latter's gas station. While Stan is repairing his battered face, a car pulls in with a young woman and an older man. The girl, Laurel Marks, encounters Stan and says she understands his situation. A few moments later, Laurel and her older boyfriend each put a bullet into the stepdad's head. Stan is given an invitation he can't refuse: get in the car himself or die. Within a few moments, Stan is possessor of every teenage boy as Laurel "entertains" him in the back of the van. Gotta admit: Rhoades knows how to start a story. Jack Keller in the meantime is chasing down a bail jumper. His girlfriend, Marie Jones, a county cop, is called to the station where the murder occurred. It doesn't take long before Keller and Marie Jones are pursuing the same goal together in their own distinctive styles. Jones is always the cop. Keller simply wants the financial reward from apprehending his next bail jumper, none other than Laurel Marks. Laurel is a character and a half. Young, drug addicted, allegedly abused by her father, she has teamed with Randle, twice her age. Randle is a failed small-time player in the movie business. Together they intend to gain fame in a simple way. The beginning of their quest is murder and mayhem. It takes a while and a lot more corpses before the police, FBI, Keller and Jones figure out who they are after. Rhoades, as noted, doesn't let the action slow for a moment. He doesn't need to resort to super-hero trickery. Jones, Keller, Stan, Laurel, Randle are all human, perhaps too much so as I explain below. The tension mounts with every page with a series of near-misses. Grace Tranh, an anchor on the local TV station (and a real piece of work, which is not a compliment) becomes involved. The FBI agents, overbearing and oppressive, stick their noses in. I don't like to give away too much of a story and I won't here. Rhoades packs a lot of twists and surprises into his story and it's better to encounter them in the book, not in a review. Suffice it to say that this is a smash-bang thriller and could very well be one of the best to be released in the past several months. If you like complex plots, fully developed characters and action that never lets up, have a "Good Day In Hell." Jerry