Gray Bolton has a secret worth killing for. He just doesn't know what it is. His life as a pawnbroker in a Mississippi town is good. He has a beautiful family and the future looks bright. Then an armed robber walks in and changes everything. Bolton kills the man, then discovers that he was anything but a common criminal. Trouble cascades upon Bolton from the police, from home, and from unknown parties who may be the most vicious of all. They all appear to be after the same thing and they will all do anything to get it. Unfortunately, Bolton has no idea what that thing is. His battle to find out will test him in ways he couldn't have imagined, and the stakes are simple: Everything.
Jerry Hatchett is a digital forensic expert who works cases across the country and around the world. A lifelong technogeek, he has also consulted for hit TV shows like The Blacklist, Blind Spot, and more. When not forensicating or writing, he loves reading other authors, watching great movies, and trying to survive his too-smart dog Data.
While I initially enjoyed the short bursts of chapters which allowed me to pop in and read a quick chapter whenever I wanted, it became cumbersome later in the book when chapters with the lead character would lead to another chapter still with the lead character in nearly the same point in time and place.
The story was curious enough until the explanation of the missing item jumbled the point of the crime. The lead character had no point being involved in the plot outside of poor coincidence and his wife making a poor decision through boredom. The bad guy's motive explanation spent too much time on how they connected to the lead character when it really was more a matter of coincidence overall.
Other nit picks: - If you have a Spanish speaking character who is emotional and speaking out loud, full Spanish sentences are more believable than pieces of non-grammatical Spanish chunks of words. - The character introduce in the very beginning of the book were missing for so long that you almost had to remind yourself that they had any bearing on the story. With nearly 200 chapters, the indirect characters should have popped up more interspersed in the main body to stay important. - The most troubling part of the book for me was how little I cared about the main character. I supported him in defending himself at the beginning but every emotional outburst made him seem like a petulant child and less like able.
Hatchett's a gifted writer who knows how to set the scene without going overboard (I could SMELL that stench, could SEE that shop) and tell a story. Great characterization--Gray is witty and tough, a relate-able narrator you can root for. And I admit I'm biased for stories set in the South. A lot of richness comes through that makes you feel "right there." Great job, highly recommended.
The book from the very beginning was kind of predictable. To me it felt like a low budget thriller and nothing more. I read it only because I could get it for free.
I received a free download of "Pawnbroker" by Jerry Hatchett through the NetGalley Book Review Program, in exchange for an honest review.
Gray Bolton was a pawnbroker and had his own shop in a small town,Montello, Mississauga.His life was good. He was happily married to his high school sweetheart, Abby with two children.Then one day his life changed drastically. An armored robber broke into his store, and Gray acted in self defense, by killing the intruder, John Patrick Homestead. But this person turned out to be a cop. Why was a cop trying to rob a pawn shop in Montello, Mississauga? When the detectives, Tommy Mitchell and Bobby Knight, showed up they acted like Gray had murdered someone. They were out to get him.Gray was arrested for first degree murder in the store.When leaving the store Gray saw Abby fall into the arms of one of Bobby Knight.Was his wife having an affair? Gray hired a top notch lawyer, Lucas Benton to get him out on bail.In less than a week, Gray's comfortable life had been turned upside down.He had to find out what was going on.
I loved this book.This book had a bit of everything in it to keep the reader's attention and intrigue...criminals and goons, threats, corruption, conspiracy and people turning up dead all over the place.
The novel was fast paced with short chapters which kept the reader glued to their seat. A very enjoyable read.
After reading countless dystopian, vampire and zombie apocalypse books, I took a break to read something I haven't read in a long time...a THRILLER. And I was in for a treat! PAWNBROKER written by an author who lives in the same area as I do, did NOT disappoint! It had me hooked from the very beginning and was very difficult to put down.
Jerry Hatchett has skillfully woven a story of corruption, murder and lies. Grey Bolton is a simple pawnbroker, living a simple life in small town Mississippi. He kills what he thinks is a would-be robber, is thrown into a mess of government corruption, and must survive to prove his innocence, save his family and stop a terrible plot to take over power.
Hatchett is a skilled writer, making both the characters and the setting very believable. The secondary character development added a great deal to the story as it unfolded. The plot twists kept me rapt with curiosity, and I couldn't help but read "just one more chapter" to find out what would happen next!
I highly recommend PAWNBROKER to lovers of thrillers and intrigue. You won't be disappointed!
If you like your thrillers to be taut then this is just for you. I have a penchant for story-line centered around an average Joe who gets caught up in tale where he is innocent but he becomes submerged in a web of intrigue that most of us would not survive. Well Jerry Hatchett has crafted a great story here that catches the reader's attention with a dark prologue and carries them along at roller coaster pace. Highly recommended.
The stink was enough to choke a moose or an elephant if there would have been one in Pontocola County, Mississippi. This smell was so strong it hung in the air, as almost a visible mist that burned your eyes and possibly coated your tongue, sending your taste buds into turbo overdrive. The stench filled the hot, damp, Mississippi air for literally miles. As seasoned hunters Rocky Shackleford and Ray Earl Higgins picked up on its essence and knew exactly what it was; death in its worst form. The smell was bad but their curiosity was greater. They were determined to find out the cause or causes for this hideous stench of death. After less than a mile the path was blocked with a fence, gate and warning sign that made it very clear that their presence beyond this point wasn’t wanted. The barrier stood between them and their quest (and neither were particularly bright) so the shouldered their hunting rifles and pushed past the obstacle in their path. One, two, three miles were traversed with the stench increasing with each score of yards. The heavy, hot, damp air and absence of the slightest wind or breeze to stir or mix the smell physically caused the two men to stoop under its oppressing weight. Finally the trees cleared and the two men spied a large building that had to be the source of the hideous smell. Curiosity won from revulsion and the two approached the building and open the door……96 chairs filled with 96 bodies in various states of decomposition now assailed their eyes as well as their noses. This was just the prologue. Jerry Hatchett had me hooked. An unexplainable but not particularly unusual robbery attempt at Gray’s Green Cash, a small town pawnshop, is the catalyst for a nightmare for Gray Bolton and the town of Montello, Mississippi. Cavalcades of colorful characters guide you through a tale with international implications and proportions. Colorful similes and metaphors keep a smile on your lips as your eyes devour the book. With the short chapter format made popular by authors as James Patterson, Jerry Hatchett displays a literary ability that may launch him to the pinnacles of the international best seller lists. This won’t be my only encounter with this author and I highly recommend him to all aficionados of suspense and thrillers.
UPDATE: I am reading Sylvia Day's One with You, and maybe 40% in, I have to give this book, one, that as you can read by my review below, I had only given 1 star cause it was bad, but compared to the horrible mess I'm reading, THIS was better.
It took me 5% to reality he narraration was being done by a man. I swore it was a woman, just cause of the detail of describing a man. The wife was irritating at 16%. But the curiosity of the crime has me intrigued to keep going - even though a lot is going in beside the main story (the illegal immigrants & the prelude storyline)
Ok part of this story makes the lead couple seem like the couple from Gone Girl. I'm not saying it's as good as Gone Girl - but the messed up part of their relationship does. 25% at a critical plot point, when he turned the light off and said "good night" I couldn't help but laugh out loud. I'm on a plane & not paying $20 for wifi so keep reading. A sentence at 28% sums this up quite nicely, “This sounds like a bad movie"
I honestly am having the hardest time finishing this! I'm at chapter 120 ( yes, one hundred and twenty) and at 83% and there are too many open stories and the main story line is just way too absurd in my opinion. Had the "drug" been explained or disclosed earlier ( rather than at 76%) I would have dropped this like a hot potato! I mean, I have no clue if that type of drug exists, but it is completely too far fetched for me. If this was labeled sci-fi, maybe, but not a thriller.
Huge pet peeve. If you are going to write in another language, do better than Google translate. I speak Spanish fluently, and the dialog that is in Spanish is not accurate. Just skip it if you're not sure.
Predictable conclusion, (figured who the boss was way too early) but the reason "why", was absurd & comical.
There’s a heavy feeling of camp in “Pawnbroker” by Jerry Hatchett. Well-played stereotypes in an extraordinary situation. There’s a fitting desperation to the rapid-fire pacing and the sense that the author intended a visual action movie kind of read. “Pawnbroker” is truly a read to be better enjoyed when not dissected. There are some elements that simply don’t hold up to scrutiny.
Gary “Gray” Bolton is well mapped for those characters type he represents. He’s a strongly framed character. Gray is the true focus and in development Hatchett does not let the reader forget that. When Gray goes on the run with the super hot Penny, he’s having problems with his wife so there’s a strong will he or won’t he sexual tension.
Where the plot line does start with a strong thriller focus, Hatchett struggles with a cross-genre melting pot. There seems to be a lost focus that is not intentional chaos as the story goes on.
Despite my comments in this review, I did truly enjoy this read. “Pawnbroker” is a novel that sweeps you away but when asked to look in depth for this reader elements fell flat. If you’re reading on a trip or for enjoyment or have a free afternoon, “Pawnbroker” is an excellent book to pick up and read in one sitting.
Jerry Hatchett has done a great job creating a page-turning, intense thriller in Pawnbroker. I had a hard time putting it down. The Epilogue alone had me hooked...........lots and lots of dead bodies.
Gray Bolten owns a pawnshop in Montello, Mississippi. He has a family and life is relatively good till a crazed man comes into the pawnshop demanding Gray give him 'what he is holding' and Gray shoots him fearing for his life. Then all hell breaks loose. The county is run by the Sheriff who is psychotic. He has it in for Gray because he needs a scapegoat to deflect attention from the latest 'drug' that really isn't a drug but is super addicting and literally fries the brain of the user. I know that doesn't make sense but read the book and it will.
Gray decides he wants his life back. His wife has been acting strange, the body of the person that he shot has disappeared and no autopsy was done. The police are following him everywhere and he is on the run.
Jerry Hatchett has well developed characters that have depth. The story line which some may say is too far-fetched has, in my opinion, never been done before and is very inventive.
I received this ebook for free from the author for review purposes.
Far from the glitz and show of Pawn Stars, Gray Bolton runs a real pawn shop in a small Mississippi town. It's a quiet life, a good life, but when Bolton kills an armed robber, what follows is a harrowing fight for survival that dwarfs any reality TV.
Despite the fact that the shooting was self-defense, trouble slams Bolton from every direction. He scrambles to recover, but his enemies are desperate and relentless. They also appear to be growing in number. He doesn't know who he can trust but he must have help, so he teams up with Penny Lane, a beautiful investigator who adds yet another complexity into his life, especially his marriage.
When he thinks it can't get worse, it gets much worse, as a lethal mix of betrayal, deceit, and violence roils around him. The web reaches beyond the known criminal element and into the local power structure. His world crumbles. His family is threatened. Even though Bolton doesn't know what they're after, he is utterly certain of one thing: He's going to make them pay dearly for it.
Now here is a story with a new and different twist. The prize everyone seeks in this fast paced thriller will really blow your mind. I liked this book because Hatchett pulled out all the stops. Even though some of the scenario is not believable, he makes it work, without the reader stopping to say...seriously? Love a ballsy author that just goes for it. It’s a quick easy read and you will love how the plot snakes around to bring back to the very first clue. God, I love fiction. Read more of this guy...
Too many characters, tried to figure out and keep up with good and evil. Mind altering device, cooks brain cells. Unsavory, corrupt people. Different kind of thriller, but couldn't put my Kindle down.
It is an ok book. Fairly quick read, not a bad mystery. I did not feel it was very "thriller". I felt that the relationship between Abby and Gray wasn't fully fleshed out, especially at the end it left with some confusion.
This was an awesome read ! Murder, mystery, intrigue and a great plot with great characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish. I highly recommend it !
I've had this book on my kindle shelf for a while and could have skipped it. Pawnbroker Gray stops a robbery in his store by unfortunately killing the robber. Next thing, he is being accused of murder, the video in his store erased.
There's something weird going on, a new "drug" that is cooking brains. Seems the robber was after something specific left at the store and it takes Gray a while to find it. There's blackmail, mind-bending, mass killing and the head of the entire crime ring someone he didn't expect (but easy to figure out). Not really a thriller, more of a weird mystery with Gray and his lawyers investigator looking for the evidence to help him.
This is a very good story with a twist at the end as to who is the real boss behind it all. There was, to me at least, one loose end that needed to be taken care of. Penny says that she wishes she had told Gray the truth. In my opinion, we never find out what this truth is. Other than that, this is a very good story set in rural Mississippi with the usual crooked sheriff and poor victims of circumstance. I would have liked to have seen some more development of certain characters. I recommend this book.
I eagerly expected a "thriller" and got a modest "mystery" instead. It was a good mystery that began well, catching my attention early, then slowed down quickly and significantly. The pace never picked up to me expectations. I would recommend this book to anyone seeking a mystery. I would not recommend this read to anyone seeking a true thriller.
A dirty sheriff who owned the town just like his daddy did. What do a new technological gizmo worth countless millions of dollars, a pawnbroker perfectly framed for "murdering" a cop, a best friend for life, a techno geek, and a mentally challenged young man all have to do with this "gizmo"? You'll have to read this to find out who really are the good guys and bad guys. And with a twist here and there to keep you wondering til the surprise ending.
Never would have thought this was the story the way it turned out. I bought it years ago and decided to finally read it. I am very glad I did. What a really good story! I can't recommend it highly enough. All sorts of bad guys who want to kill anyone and everyone anywhere they can! Finally, the bad guys lose out through the help of many different people. We readers can see how enjoyable it was by looking at all of the reviews.
When Bolton, the Pawnbroker has to kill a madman who comes to his store, all kinds of bizarre things begin to happen to him--accusations of murder, included.
The rest of the story leads to car chases, killings, and intrigue as Bolton unfolds The Who and why. Well told story.
I was hoping for a fun read on my way to work. I got more than that. I found myself sneaking a few pages every chance I got. Loved the ending, did not figure it out. I love when that happens. Great storytelling. I'll be reading more by J. Hatchett.
This is a good book if you like action, intrigue, and not knowing who the bad guy is until the very last. Hatchett has created believable characters in a difficult situation and brought them through entertainingly.
Wow what thrill-a-minute ride this book was! Loaded with non-stop action from the first chapter to the last. Full of interesting characters and a lot of twists and turns that I didn't see coming. Highly recommended!
Small town pawnbroker kills a person trying to rob his shop. It's a cop so his troubles really begin. His credit, marriage and reputation is ruined & he's avoiding getting arrested. This was a fast moving, light mystery. I really enjoyed the plot and characters. I rate this a 5.0
Okay. It was a little slow in the beginning. But this book picked up speed fast and the characters and story swept me up and kept me interested until the twist and the satisfying end.
PAWNBROKER was almost addictive. I wanted it to last longer but then I couldn’t stop turning the pages. Definitely top 5 of my most exciting books ... and author. Jerry Hatchett is my new favorite!
This was a quick, formulaic read. The setting was nice, the characters engaging (if at times, frustrating). If you have a couple of hours to kill and a couple of bucks, pick this up. It is a fast paced thriller with an interesting plotline.
I really enjoyed this action packed thriller. Hatchet keeps you turning the pages to see what will happen next. A well written story with believable but flawed characters who step up when faced with trouble. I would highly recommend it.
This fast-paced page turner will keep you up all night wanting to find out what the heck is going on. A little betrayal twist at the end was a surprise for me. You should enjoy this one.