Book Review of SHE RIDES SHOTGUN by Jordan Harper

SHE RIDES SHOTGUN by Jordan Harper (Simon & Schuster, June 2017) Hardcover, 257 pages. 2018 Barry Award Nominee for Best First Novel. 2018 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. 2018 ALA Alex Award. ISBN # 1471158942 

Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . .

Eleven-year -old Polly is smart beyond her years. But she's a loner. Her mother tells her she has 'gunfighter eyes', like the father she's never met.

In prison, about to be released, Nate runs afoul of the powerful leader of the Aryan Brotherhood. Marked for death on his release, Nate soon realizes that everyone he has ever loved is a target - including his daughter, Polly. 

Now, forced into hiding by the greenlight placed upon them, Nate finds himself having to teach his estranged daughter how to survive in a kill-or-be-killed world, all the while observed by Polly's teddy bear, who is soon the only outlet for the little girl's emotions. Soon the two of them find themselves on a non-stop struggle for survival, and along the way, discover the bonds that eluded them for so many years...

  

My Five-Star Review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

     When a debut novel pulls me into the story immediately like this one did, I have to share the reason why - - - the opening sentence and paragraph - - - His skin told his history in tattoos and knife scars. He lived in a room with no night. And he was to his own mind a god.

     The two page prologue seals the deal. A death warrant goes out from a maximum security prison on a recently released convict and his family - - as if to clue in readers for what lies ahead. Great foreshadowing. I'm in!

     I love the economy with words so far, and I'm less than 50 pages in. For example, like this introduction to Nate's eleven-year-old daughter, Polly: She wore a loser's slumped shoulders and hid her face with her hair, but the girl had gunfighter eyes."

     And a dramatic scene on Page 22:  NOT TODAY, NOT EVER, he thought, standing over her corpse. His fingers grasped useless air. He wanted to choke the world if he only could find its fucking neck. 

     I'm not going to spoil the fun for anyone else by revealing too much of the plot. Suffice to say this is a break-neck crime thriller with all the right moves: action, family relationships, second chances, justice, humor, warm touches and a kick-ass supporting character in Nate's daughter Polly.