Welcome back to Books With Cause. Let’s dive straight into my latest review.
I have a fascination with anyone who does anything creative. Maybe it’s because of the two Oasis books I reviewed recently, but lately I’ve found myself extra interested in the putting together of albums. There’s something about somebody starting with nothing and having a blank canvas to work with. The journey from there to a finished album can blow my mind. I often think the process of putting together a collection of stories is akin to making an album. If each story is the equivalent of a song, there’s still a case of choosing which order the stories go in. The order of stories can flow much like an album can flow.
These thoughts happened separately from this book, because I’d requested it from my library a few months ago and waited some time for it to arrive. Broken is a collection of six novellas by Don Winslow. I don’t remember how I first became aware of Winslow. He’s a brilliant writer, mostly in the crime genre. And he follows me on Twitter. I have no idea why, but I’m not complaining. I’d previously read Winslow’s novel, Savages, which was adapted into a film starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Blake Lively. I thoroughly enjoyed it and have been intending to read more of Winslow’s work ever since. It all comes down to my number one problem. So many books so little time.
The title story, Broken, tells the story of a New Orleans police dispatcher who loses her son to a drug gang, so she sends his cop brother on a lethal mission for revenge. The second story is Crime 101, which was recently adapted into a movie with Chris Hemsworth, and it focuses on a master jewel thief who plans his final score, but his exit strategy is threatened when a relentless detective breaks the rules to catch him. In The San Diego Zoo, a chimpanzee gets hold of a gun and escapes the zoo. A burnt‑out cop arrives at an absurd crime scene. The fourth story is Sunset, where we see a veteran bondsman’s final case drag him and his crew into a hunt where loyalty, addiction, and past sins collide. Paradise features the main characters of Savages shows us what happens when criminal violence arrives uninvited, ruining a quiet life in an idyllic town. Finally, in the aptly titled The Last Ride, a U.S. border patrol agent’s absolute loyalty to the line begins to crack when a single child forces him to choose between the law and his own morality.
This was a fun book to read. It’s akin to enjoying a variety of cupcakes rather than indulging in one massive cake. Sometimes it makes for a change. I find my reading tastes are similar to my food tastes. I’m in the mood for different things at different times.
Crime 101 might have been the most accessible, partly because I’d already seen the film and knew what to expect. The disadvantage of seeing the film first is that the film is lengthy, and things have time to breathe. In comparison, reading the story felt rushed. The San Diego Zoo was also enjoyable. The setup wasn’t ridiculous in the way it might feel when you read my one-sentence summary above.
If you haven’t read any Don Winslow before, this might be a great place to start. You get a smorgasbord of tasters before you try something longer. I also recommend following Mr Winslow on Twitter, where he can regularly be found fact-checking all the nonsense that Donald Trump spouts. In times like these, Don Winslow is the hero we need, even if we might not necessarily deserve him.
My Goodreads Rating: ★★★★☆ (4 stars)
