01/19/2015
The discovery of the body of reporter Dwayne Mays, in a Southern Illinois coal mine, with a minirecorder wrapped around his neck and a notepad stuffed in his mouth, kicks off Miller’s uneven first novel. Mine owner Matthew Luster asks Slim, a miner who has a reputation for finding lost people, to locate Guy Allan Beckett, Dwayne’s photographer and Luster’s son-in-law, who’s gone missing. Lured by the promise of a guaranteed pension, permanent security for him and his 12-year-old daughter (for whom he’s the single parent), Slim takes on the assignment, despite misgivings. Slim must quickly determine whether Guy is a victim or the killer and, if so, what the motive was for Dwayne’s murder. The author does a good job evoking the bleakness of life in Illinois coal country, but the author’s heavy-handed attempts to make Slim quirky may annoy some readers. Agent: Anthony Mattero, Foundry Literary + Media. (Mar.)
Down Don't Bother Me: A Novel
Narrated by Johnny Heller
Jason MillerUnabridged — 6 hours, 53 minutes
Down Don't Bother Me: A Novel
Narrated by Johnny Heller
Jason MillerUnabridged — 6 hours, 53 minutes
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Overview
A hugely entertaining debut-the first novel in a wickedly funny gothic mystery series set in the withering landscape of the southern Illinois coal country known as “little Egypt”-that blends the wry humor of Kevin Wilson, the dark violence of Urban Waite, and the electric atmosphere of Greg Iles.
In the depths of the Knight Hawk, one of the last working collieries in downstate Illinois, the body of a reporter is found, his mini-recorder tied around his neck and a notepad stuffed in his mouth.
The Knight Hawk's owner, Matthew Luster, isn't happy. He wants answers-and he doesn't want the cops or any more press poking into his business. To protect himself and the operation, he turns to Slim, a mine employee with a reputation for “bloodhounding”-finding lost souls when the police can't or won't. Luster needs Slim to locate a missing photographer named Beckett, a close associate of the victim . . . who just happens to be his son-in-law.
A hard-working single father barely making ends meet, Slim accepts the job-after Luster offers him a guaranteed pension and job security for life. But when you make a deal with the devil, you're going to get burned . . . . and now Slim is all too close to the flames. Circumstances have lead him into the grimy underworld of Little Egypt, Illinois-a Babel's Tower of rednecks, rubes, freaks, tweakers, gun nuts, and aging hippies-and it quickly becomes clear that he's much more involved in the murder than an innocent man should be.
Down Don't Bother Me marks the emergence of a wildly assured mystery novelist, and of a series set in the fresh and brutal landscape of southern Illinois.
Editorial Reviews
Long stretches of this unusual first novel would seem to require guitar accompaniment. The genre conventions-treacherous women, double-crossing friends, greedy moneymen-seem fresh in Miller’s sensory-rich language….Here’s a strong talent just getting under way.” — Booklist
“Fans of FX’s Justified TV series, as well as the show’s Elmore Leonard source material, will welcome the tough-talking Slim and the eccentric cast of characters he meets along the way in this series launch by the coauthor of the graphic novel Redball Six.” — Library Journal
“Down Don’t Bother Me marks the emergence of a wildly assured mystery novelist, and of a series set in the fresh and brutal landscape of southern Illinois.” — New Orleans Public Library
“In his first novel, set in the hardly welcoming world of southern Illinois coal country, he is funny, smart, and extremely self-assured in his writing, creating a book that is almost as addicting as the meth that has taken over the town of Little Egypt, Illinois.” — Mystery Scene
“Miller brings the reader into the cold Illinois landscape with his vivid imagery.” — Life Sentence
“Miller’s first novel is raw, gritty and darkly comedic. The first-person POV is perfect for this telling, and readers will fall for Slim quickly. His relationship with his teenage daughter Anci, while typical of the teenage years, is refreshingly real. Overall a fantastic debut novel.” — RT Book Reviews
“While this novel is funny and violent, it also chronicles the soul-sapping meanness and danger of work in the mines. — Memphis Commercial Appeal
“Jason Miller has delivered a crime novel with all the satisfactions of the genre, coupled with a serious, resonant subtext and the promise of more adventures to come for his offbeat protagonist.” — Chapter 16
“Slim is, right out of the gate, right up there with Spenser, Walt Longmire, Patrick Kenzie, and so on. Right there, Miller’s given people a reason to enjoy this book and come back for a sequel or three.” — irresponsiblereader.com
Long stretches of this unusual first novel would seem to require guitar accompaniment. The genre conventions-treacherous women, double-crossing friends, greedy moneymen-seem fresh in Miller’s sensory-rich language….Here’s a strong talent just getting under way.
Down Don’t Bother Me marks the emergence of a wildly assured mystery novelist, and of a series set in the fresh and brutal landscape of southern Illinois.
Slim is, right out of the gate, right up there with Spenser, Walt Longmire, Patrick Kenzie, and so on. Right there, Miller’s given people a reason to enjoy this book and come back for a sequel or three.”
Jason Miller has delivered a crime novel with all the satisfactions of the genre, coupled with a serious, resonant subtext and the promise of more adventures to come for his offbeat protagonist.
While this novel is funny and violent, it also chronicles the soul-sapping meanness and danger of work in the mines.
Miller brings the reader into the cold Illinois landscape with his vivid imagery.
In his first novel, set in the hardly welcoming world of southern Illinois coal country, he is funny, smart, and extremely self-assured in his writing, creating a book that is almost as addicting as the meth that has taken over the town of Little Egypt, Illinois.
Miller’s first novel is raw, gritty and darkly comedic. The first-person POV is perfect for this telling, and readers will fall for Slim quickly. His relationship with his teenage daughter Anci, while typical of the teenage years, is refreshingly real. Overall a fantastic debut novel.
Long stretches of this unusual first novel would seem to require guitar accompaniment. The genre conventions-treacherous women, double-crossing friends, greedy moneymen-seem fresh in Miller’s sensory-rich language….Here’s a strong talent just getting under way.
★ 03/01/2015
It's hard to escape the grime and grit of coal in Little Egypt, a tiny southern Illinois town with some of the area's last working collieries, including Knight Hawk, which employs Miller's quirky narrator, Slim. A lifelong miner who is equally adept at raising his young daughter as a single father and finding people who'd rather stay hidden, Slim gets roped into tracking down a missing newspaper photographer after the man's reporter partner turns up dead. The clues aren't subtle—a recorder is tied around the victim's neck and a notepad is shoved in his mouth—but Slim suspects there's more to the story than just a disgruntled reader, and he's right. Mining executives' dirty dealings—emphasis on dirty—are just part of the shady practices Slim uncovers as he digs deeper into a story that everyone seems to want buried. VERDICT Fans of Daniel Woodrell's "Ozarks Noir" books (Tomato Red) and FX's Justified TV series, as well as the show's Elmore Leonard source material, will welcome the tough-talking Slim and the eccentric cast of characters he meets along the way in this series launch by the coauthor of the graphic novel Redball Six. The violence is authentic, if heightened—there's no shortage of grisly deaths in the mines, but they're in keeping with dangerous work.
Living in a dying, hardscrabble region can be a depressing existence, and the part of southern Illinois known as Little Egypt, with its dwindling coal mines, would definitely qualify as such a place. Despite being stuck in a thankless job in the Knight Hawk mine, Slim maintains an upbeat outlook, largely due to his precocious tween daughter, Ancy. Narrator Johnny Heller excels with the twangy-voiced Slim's wry observations about the saints and sinners around him. When the Knight Hawk's owner hires Slim to track down his missing son-in-law, a photographer, Slim accepts to ensure his daughter's financial future. Soon the bodies are piling up quicker than the coal, and Slim wants to find answers and a way out. With a cartload of accents and other speech variations, Heller skillfully brings to life the tweakers, thugs, and old hippies that populate Little Egypt as a conspiracy goes out of control, much to listeners' delight. D.E.M. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940173458278 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins |
| Publication date: | 03/24/2015 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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