Buckshot Blast and the Goldfish Getaway

by Jody J. Sperling

Fate is for cowards…With a marriage on the brink, and a belly-up business, Jess and his wife Kailyn decide to visit family, but when things go from bad to worse, Jess kidnaps his niece and flees. Can he find redemption before it’s too late?

388 pages, Paperback

Published April 18, 2024

About the author

Jody J. Sperling is a novelist, podcaster, husband, and father. He's obsessed with writing the best books and showing other authors how to make the best books bestsellers.

Reviews

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a bit disturbing and not what I usually read. The story is about a dysfunctional family, two brothers who are opposite in character, their wives, one of which is a high functioning alcoholic and the other someone who likes to fix other people’s lives. At the center of the drama is baby Lucy. Lucy’s mother is the functional alcoholic and her father Lee, a war vet with anger issues and delusions about a goldfish he named Harvey. Lee’s brother Jess is afraid that little Lucy will come to harm if she is not taken away from her mother and father. Jess’s wife Beverly, is convinced she can fix things. Baby Lucy isn’t sleeping well so Uncle Jess decides to take her for a ride and ends up on a longer journey than expected. Lee is having none of this and blames Jess, Beverly, and his wife for Lucy going missing. He is going to get her back with his righteous indignation with Harvey by his side. The ending was a surprise. There was to bit too much narrative description for my liking. I prefer the characters to show their own voice and feelings through dialogue - words, feelings and interactions with other characters.

[Shahid · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Buckshot Blast and the Goldfish Getaway" by Jody J. Sperling unfolds a gripping narrative centered around Jess and Kailyn, a couple facing turmoil in their marriage and business. In a desperate bid to escape their troubles, they embark on a family visit that quickly turns disastrous. Faced with escalating challenges, Jess makes a fateful decision to kidnap his niece, setting off a chain of events that test his limits of morality and redemption. Spanning 390 pages and published in April 2024, Sperling's novel promises a compelling exploration of family dynamics, personal crises, and the pursuit of second chances in the face of overwhelming adversity.