Easy Death

by Daniel Boyd

'TWAS THE WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS...
...and two robbers hired by a local crime boss manage to heist half a million dollars from an armored car. But getting the money and getting away with it are two different things, especially with a blizzard coming down, the cops in hot pursuit, and a double-crossing gambler and a murderous park ranger threatening to turn this white Christmas blood red.

Genres: Crime, Fiction, Mystery, Noir, Christmas, Novels, Hard Boiled

236 pages, Paperback

First published November 11, 2014

About the author

When Central Ohio police chief “Daniel Boyd” retired from his career in law enforcement, he became a driver for the Red Cross, transporting elderly and disabled persons to medical appointments. He also began writing crime and adventure novels.

His first book, ‘NADA (2010), was nominated for the Spur Award for Best First Novel by the Western Writers of America and was reissued in 2023. As one reader put it, “The story blends Nazis, greed, mayhem and gold into a satisfying mix.”

Since ‘NADA was first published, Boyd has penned EASY DEATH (2014), THE DEVIL & STREAK WILSON (2020), AESOP’S TRAVELS (2023) and GONE TO GRAVEYARDS: A Streak Wilson Story (2023). He’s currently writing the third book in The Streak Wilson Series. Boyd writes daily, including contributing book and movie reviews to MysteryFile.

As a graduate of The Ohio State University, Boyd switched majors from English to Communications because, “Having to read assigned books is like being told to eat my vegetables.” He has been a fan of old movies since childhood (his wife calls him a paleo-cinephile). He is also a HAMLET scholar and has a unique hobby of making tobacco pipes from found and upcycled objects.

Boyd and his wife currently live in their 1950s home and enjoy the lifestyle offered in the Columbus area, from the arts and food to metro parks and hiking trails.

Reviews

[Jeffrey Keeten · Rating 3 out of 5]

***A Nightmare Before Christmas that goes best with spiked punch.***

”’Y’all gonna let me freeze to death?’ He snarled it out like he was giving me orders. Maybe he was.

‘They say that’s an easy death,’ I said.

Then I took a last drag off my cigarette and tossed it down onto his gas-soaked coat.”

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the land, people were filled with holiday cheer as they bought presents for Timmy or for Tabitha or for grumpy Uncle Ted or for sweet Aunt Tessie. They are pulling fat wallets from their pockets and purses and adding their stacks of green to the retail cash registers. They are smiling pleasantly to themselves as they think about the beaming faces they will be seeing when the garish wrapping paper is torn asunder and the eyes of their loved ones gaze upon the gifts.

Logan and Chuck arrive, not in a sleigh as one would hope, but in an armored car to bring comfort and joy to the owners of these fine establishments as they haul away the bags and bags of holiday loot. They are brothers, and as people tend to do as one year ends and another begins, they are contemplating their futures and how 1952 can be a more prosperous year than 1951.

Eddie, Walter, and the gang are also contemplating their future, a much more lucrative future after they relieve Logan and Chuck of their payload of holiday spent cheer. They want a bulging armored car for Christmas, and they know that no one is going to be so generous as to give them one. They must secret Santa themselves with a little help from a few guns and some subterfuge.

Officer Drapp wants nothing more than for the robbers to miss the joys of Christmas behind bars. He hopes to hear the chants of glory hallelujahs with the tinkling of leg chains, the crash of a prison gate, and the snick of a turning lock. Ahh, what beautiful sounds, the chime of dashed hopes.

So the chapters go back and forth in time. Thirty-five minutes before the robbery, two hours and fifteen minutes after the robbery,ten minutes before the robbery, etc., because we are following several different people who are inevitably going to meet at the junction of the robbery or shortly thereafter. It is a bit confusing as my brain scrambles to hold all the information in my head, until I realize that I will enjoy the ride better if I ignore the various times and find my way through by following the plot.

There are some nice twists and turns as an impersonation adds some spice and some misdirection. We meet a burly park ranger named Callie Nixon, with the diction of a debutant, who inadvertently finds herself caught up in bizarre circumstances. We meet a psycho killer who is putting a damper on Eddie and Callie’s holiday cheer. Someone is missing an ear, and somehow the money has gone missing as well. Ho HO Ho! My money is on Santa and his sticky fingered elves.

As you start to contemplate your Christmas depleted bank account and your soaring like an eagle credit card debt, you, too, might decide that an armored car bulging with cash might be the best Christmas gift you can give yourself. (It’s even better than a Buick!) Daniel Boyd will present you with a few pointers, but sadly, most of them would work better in 1951 than 2019.

Happy reading to all my friends and followers! May the perfect books continue to find you at the most auspicious moments.

If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
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[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The week before Christmas, two men hijack an armored car and go on the run. Can they evade the cops long enough to get the money to their employer?

Easy Death is a quick, suspenseful read. This tale of cops and robbers has a lot of twists and turns, made even more serpentine by Daniel Boyd's use of shifting viewpoints. The action shifts between several groups of characters and I got turned around a couple times.

One thing I really liked was that Boyd went out of his way to show that none of the criminals were all bad. Eddie and Walter cared about each other. I also liked the interplay between Ranger Callie and Officer Drapp. Even Brother Sweetie had more to him than I originally thought.

The 1950's setting eliminates cellphones, computers, and a lot of other technology that makes crime stories in the present day a little problematic. Walter being black and Callie being female also gives us a look at how much times have changed.

The repeated Christmas carol thing wore on me, though, just like in real life. I also thought the transitions were a little jarring in places. Other than that, Easy Death was a fun read and a worthy addition to the Hard Case Crime Series. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

[James Thane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel, from Hard Case Crime, was published in 2014, but it's set in the Christmas season of 1951 and has the feel of a classic pulp novel. The story is fairly simple: a crime boss hires two men, Walter and Eddie, to rob an armored car. But stealing the money is the easy part. As the crime goes down, a major blizzard hits the area complicating the getaway. Of course it also hinders the cops who are in not-so-hot pursuit because of the treacherous conditions.

The narrative jumps back and forth in time and among the various characters as the day of the robbery, December 20, unfolds. The changing points of view are interesting and keep the story moving along nicely. Walter and Eddie are entertaining characters, and the story will ultimately involve a female forest ranger and her demented Captain, a couple of unhappy wives and a few other unsavory characters. It's a quick and entertaining read that's sure to appeal to fans of the Hard Case novels.

[Kemper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas is a clean getaway after I rob this armored car.

Thanks,
Eddie

*****
Dear Eddie,

Not only are you way too old to be asking for me presents, but you’re also being very naughty. So the answer is no.

Sincerely,
Santa Claus

With its straightforward plot and 1951 setting this fits the bill as a Hard Case Crime offering that really feels like an old school hardboiled paperback delivered in a quick 236 pages.

The primary focus is on the two men whose getaway is complicated by a blizzard and other events, but there’s also a lot of shifting to focus on various other characters. It’s also got a few tricks up its sleeve with some clever time jumping to points before, during, and after the robbery that work with the shifting points of view to provide some surprising twists.The writing is also very good with each character well defined, and plot zig-zags nicely without ever feeling like the author got too cute with it.

Overall it’s a sharp throwback of a crime novel that I quite enjoyed.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite being set on Christmas eve there is nothing festive about this noir from Daniel Boyd. In true-to-genre fashion, EASY DEATH pits criminals against each other just as much as the law.

Yet, it's not all blood and violence - there are cleverly written scenes that show the bad guys in good light while moving away from the 'no honor among thieves' mentality. Contrary to the above, I know, but there is a nice balance between the expected and the not-so.

The plot revolves around a heist involving an armored truck on Christmas eve and spins off into smaller sub plots as we learn about the characters on both sides of the equation. The multiple POV chapters make each character come to life and provide an interesting perspective to the events that play pre, post and during the heist itself.

I couldn't put this book down and churned through the pages as I eagerly anticipated the outcome; Would they get away with it? Would the thieves survive or turn on each other? Read the book to find out.

http://justaguywholikes2read.blogspot...

My rating: 5/5 stars. I recently reread this book and loved it. The plotting is spot-on despite the constant switching of time-frames in and around the heist itself and the characters directly impacted/affected by the events. Highly recommend.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 out of 5 stars
Easy Death is a fun little yuletide carol of crime and suspense by the guys over at Hard Case Crime, about an armored-car heist pulled by a couple of good-ol-boys and their twisty attempt at a getaway, while being pursued by the cops. I enjoyed it but it's a tricky one. On one hand, at times the writing feels amateurish, the story requires a lot of suspension of disbelief, the back-and-forth jumping between first-person and third-person POV is annoying, and the cute Christmas carol references got a bit cheeky at times. But on the other hand, it's cleverly structured, it's got great twists that I guarantee you won't see coming, and it was a thrill watching these guys attempt to get away with the money even when all the odds are against them, just in time for last-minute Christmas shopping!

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The good folks at Hard Case have served up a heaping help of holiday hell in the form of Daniel Boyd’s heist novel, Easy Death. The story follows two hired goons charged with the unenviable task of robbing an armoured truck just days before Christmas. Will they succeed in their mission or will a brutal snowstorm throw their plans awry?

A relatively new name in crime fiction, Daniel Boyd is a pseudonym for a retired police officer and Easy Death is his first novel with renowned publisher Hard Case Crime. Easy Death follows a handful of characters, often switching from first person to third person narration and while the story itself is both solid and plausible, the narration shift is often jarring. Full disclosure: I'm never a fan of this so it’s likely I’ll complain every time I see it.

While I enjoyed the peppering of Christmas songs into the story at first, I felt Boyd went back to the well too often, to the point the lyrics became a distraction (and this is coming from a guy who LOVES Christmas). I felt Ernest Cline did this to great effect when he injected the 80s sound into his novel, Ready Player One whereas this feels like Boyd is hitting you over the head with a giant candy cane.

Despite those complaints, I thought Boyd put forth a good effort in creating a fun story for the holiday season. Is it something I’ll read again? Probably not, but it’s worth a look - it is Hard Case after all.

Also posted @ Every Read Thing.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick, entertaining read. Lots of twists and turns, double-crosses, and surprises throughout. Recommended for pulp and noir fans.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part No Country for Old Men, part Reservoir Dogs, part Agatha Christie whodunit. Multiple storylines can feel convoluted and confusing, but it pays off in the end. Very suspenseful, often surprising, certainly unique characters. (A deranged park ranger?!) A quick read, good pace, good dialogue and sense of conflict and tension. Fans of Elmore Leonard or Jim Thompson, this is for you.

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard Case Crime has a reputation for putting together dark, very dark, noir and I repeat myself, DARK books. Its publisher/founder, Charles Ardai, once told me that they have a formula. A person is in desperate straits and does something desperate (or has something done to them) that puts them deeper underwater. Then, the person goes scrambling, stumbling, and sliding from worse-to-worse until either doing something heroic to extract him/her from the morass or learns to deal with the problems enough to continue heroically (or desperately). This is not exactly the kind of material you expect to find in fairy tales.

Easy Death, however, doesn’t fit the formula. It is both familiar and fresh. It deals with an armed robbery of an armored car back in 1951 and is told from multiple points-of-view. Normally, I hate it when POVs are scattered around like body parts after an IED has detonated, but Easy Death (nothing to do with the aforementioned preferred weapon of cowardly terrorists, I assure you) gives you clear-cut headings for who is speaking and where/when said individual may be. Well, there is one rather important case where the author intentionally misleads the reader, but that’s just fun. The truth is that I was so gullible that I was pulled into the deception until the important revelation.

Easy Death doesn’t fit my personal formula for enjoyment, either. I normally like to read novels where there is at least one character through whom I live vicariously—constantly hoping said character will succeed, survive, transform, or challenge the obstacles which make the stories interesting. I want to empathize with some character within the plot. Easy Death didn’t have any such characters. Nonetheless, I found myself fascinated by the unfolding of the plot.

Easy Death is really more of a criminal procedural than a police procedural. It may well be more of a psychological thriller than action thriller. It was fascinating to see the planning which went into the robbery from the perspective, not of the criminal mastermind, but someone who admired the process, yet was outside the actual planning.

There is, in addition, plenty of action within the novel and, regardless of the motivation for said action. And yes, the cliché about “no honor among thieves” is both proven and refuted in this adventure. That also provided some intrigue and kept me turning pages. The balance between the results which were to be expected and those which proved unexpected was nearly perfect. To be honest, anyone who didn’t like the film, Fargo, probably won’t like Easy Death as a novel. But, if you liked the bent, sometimes comic, idea of the former, you’ll truly enjoy the latter. Daniel Boyd goes on my list of authors from whom I want to read more. I’ll even check out some of his graphic novels.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Easy Death" by Daniel Boyd is the latest masterpiece from Hard Case Crime. It is an in-depth look at a single armored-car robbery and, by in-depth, I mean that the author takes you painstakingly through the robbery and the chase that follows step by step and minute by minute. It's an old style used by some authors in the fifties and sixties - entitling each chapter with the time of the events, but few have done so with this much success.

It's five days before Christmas in 1951 and the snow has been coming down. It's colder than anything and not a place or time for a car to breakdown. Seems like it would also be the strangest time to attempt a getaway. But, in the snowy woods, a perfectly crafted robbery is carried out with every detail thought out in advance. What could possibly go wrong?

Boyd tells his story from a number of points of view and the result is that the reader is treated to realistic dialogue from the armored car guards, the robbers, the law enforcement officers giving chase, and others. Everyone is making smalltalk about the holidays and where they'll go and what they'll do.

Throw in some of the damnedest characters you've ever met and you have a story. How about a woman park ranger with the kindest heart and the shape of Paul Bunyan, the chief of park rangers who enjoys hunting and torturing animals, inveterate gamblers, lumberjacks, racist surgeons, and guys hoping to finally score big so they can go and settle down.

The book flows with a perfect cadence and there isn't really a word out of place. There's plenty of action out in the snowy woods from gunplay to firefights to dismemberment. But, you honestly believe the bad guys when they say they'd rather not kill anyone.

The story is not all seriousness though and it is, at times, quite a comic caper. All in all, it is a terrific story that is a lot of fun to read.

[AndrewP · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was going to be my Christmas read, but I got stuck on an awful book club read that bogged me down. Finally got to this the middle of January.

Classic detective style book set just before Christmas in 1951. It's an armored car heist and the events just before and directly following. The short chapters jump around from many POV's and events in the time line. One of the POV's is in the first person and the others in the third. The chapters are titled to make it easy to follow '45 Mins Before the Robbery', 'One hour 15 mins after' etc. Without that, it might have been hard to keep it all straight in my mind. There was a bit of a plot twist, but not one that wasn't fairly obvious. However, the ending, seen from a POV 30 years later, was not quite what I expected. The author didn't wrap it up in the way I expected, but there was nothing wrong with the ending either.

The one thing I really enjoyed about this book (and obviously the reason why this was recommended as a Christmas read) was the way the author gave the feeling of Christmas by incorporating music into the story. Each time a character was in a car or place where their might be a radio or music, he incorporated a couple of lines of a Christmas song, which the characters sometimes commented on. This gave that feeling you get at Christmas when you can't go anywhere without hearing Christmas music being played.

A good book and a quick read.

[Jim Thomsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable but disposable hardboiled heist novel, EASY DEATH careens, sometimes confusingly, from a fractured-time, multiple-POV narrative to the more linear story of one man who doesn't mind shooting off a man's ear to gain his compliance but is also willing to put himself in danger to save the life of the woman whose life he endangered. And so the reader is on the hook, wondering just where his dividing line is between lethal self-preservation and self-sacrificing altruism. It's a well-thought-out, well-carried-out hook, and it does what many crime novels can't or won't — work well in the final chapters at a point at which most others fall apart from implausible plotting or characterization.

It's all brisk entertainment, but lumpen as well, with characters who start off strong but drift maddeningly out of the story, a potentially intriguing arch-villain who is kept mostly offstage and poorly developed, and a startling linear leap forward in time from a labyrinthe ticking-clock tale. Left unsatisfyingly underdeveloped is EASY DEATH's most intriguing character, Calpurnia Nixon, a large, "ugly" female park ranger who is smart, has no apparent fear, and yet is subordinated to her cryptic shotgun-rider companion after the two struggle through potentially mortal injuries to survive a sustained snowbound siege by a tower shooter at a state park.

I finished EASY DEATH thinking I was in the hands of a talented author who authoritatively renders a snowy Midwest day in 1951, but one who needed surer-handed editorial guidance to make good material into a better-structured, more publication-ready product. Fewer POVs and more linear storytelling might have lifted EASY DEATH into four-star territory, and possibly more.

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I figured he just thought it was bad luck to kill somebody this close to Christmas.”

This one is about an armored-car robbery. The details of the story are interspersed with lyrics from Christmas songs, which is kind of fun! And for a while, the story is told out of order chronologically, which is a bit of a challenge, and then it smooths out. It starts with the night before the robbery, and ends ten hours and fifty minutes after the robbery. Well, and there's a wraparound couple of paragraphs that honestly don't add much to the story at all. It's an entertaining read, though I didn't like the ending at all.

“Luck’s a chance, but trouble’s sure.”

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't usually fill my reviews with spoilers, but in the case of Daniel Boyd's "Easy Death," I must make an exception.

For the first few chapters, I wasn't even sure I was going to finish this book. It was just so dull and some of the characters used such odd lingo that I was annoyed by reading it. Then the author decided to make it more noir--as part of conning the reader, it turned out--by jumping around in time between each chapter. This is a tried-and-true noir technique, but it is ill-used here.

Each chapter faithfully lists which characters are featured and when in the approximate timeline that it takes place. This listing and detailing technique is also part of the "con" the author is perpetrating. It's a shell game for the reader. They are supposed to be off-balance for the first third of the novel. But it is not a fun or easy read because of this.

This is a book about an armored car heist gone very wrong in the middle of a blizzard. Good noir/pulp subject. Then the cop trying to track down the robbers meets up with a female ranger (who is Richard Nixon's cousin, for some reason) and runs afoul of her maniac boss who spends a lot of time trying to kill them with a rifle from an observation tower.

I liked the character of the female ranger--Calpurnia Nixon--even though the author beats into the ground the fact that she is a large and unattractive woman. He often compares her to a horse or a cow. The whole plot twist about the crazy and sadistic park ranger sniper trying to kill them both comes out of left field. But it is the best part of the novel.

And once that part of the story is resolved, the novel is at a good place for a natural ending. And if it had stopped there, I would have grudgingly given the novel at least three stars. But it didn't stop there. It just went on and on and on. Why? The "big" twist. We realize we've been conned by the author at this point. How? The rough and ready Officer Drapp we've been following throughout the confrontation in the park with the sniper is actually Eddie the bank robber. He was pretending to be a cop early on in the novel--to get the armored car to stop--but even the author was listing the chapter headings in the park as being "Officer Drapp."

At that point, I lost faith in the author's ability to tell a "fair" narrative. And I could see that the whole book was an elaborate con with no real payoff. That made me mad. As far as shoddy, cheap narrative tricks go, this one is right up there. It's totally bush league and the kind of thing perpetrated by new/inexperienced authors. And it should not have made it through the editing process.

Anyway, act three is about how Eddie keeps up his cop fraud, upgrading himself to a federal agent to hoodwink the "real" Officer Drapp, get the armored car money, and save his partner in crime. We get a lot of nonsense about Brother Sweetie--the architect of the robbery--and about some of the minor minions tangentially involved in the heist. All of this just seems like filler. I had the feeling the author was either told to make the novel longer or had the bright idea himself. Inexperienced writers often feel that bigger is better as far as their manuscript goes. In reality, it just provides more room for them to make mistakes.

There are mistakes aplenty in "Easy Death." What's sad is that some sections of the novel show some real talent. But poor decisions by the author in regards to plot and style really undermine any goodwill he creates in the reader. That's a shame, but there's no getting around it.

So...to recap...this would have been a one-star review if I'd stopped in the first third of the novel. It would have risen to three or four stars if it had stopped at the hospital after the sniper in the park incident. But since it didn't, I dropped it to two stars. And I'm feeling that even two stars is generous. Take from that what you will.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

by Daniel Boyd is a rather odd book. For starters, it's a told story. An old-school armored car heist story, Easy Death starts with an unnamed narrator telling us of finding some newspaper clippings that tell of things that will be explained as the story unfolds. Then we jump back to December, 1959, the night before the robbery as Walter and Eddie prepare for the heist. The set up and the execution of the robbery serve as a promising beginning. But suddenly, the story shifts time and perspective. We go from the night before the robbery to an hour and forty minutes after the robbery. And we go from third person narration to first person narration in the voice of Police Officer Drapp who is in hot pursuit of the robbers. From there the story jumps back and forth in time and narration.

The problem with this technique is that Daniel Boyd never really gets a handle on it. As a result, the entire middle portion of the book is a muddled mess that gets bogged down with Officer Drapp and Park Ranger Callie Nixon trapped in a National Forest by Nixon's crazy superior officer. The only thing that keeps the length middle portion of the novel interesting is Boyd cutting away to the actions of other, more interesting characters. Unfortunately, those plot threads are left to die out, or else be wrapped up in an unsatisfying, perfunctory manner by book's end as if Boyd said, "Well, book's over. Let's just end that right there." Simply put, there's a lot of potential left on the table. Following all the threads would have made for a longer book, but probably a more satisfying book.

The saving grace of Easy Death is the final portion of the book when Officer Drapp eventually makes his way to a hospital where the survivors of the armored car robbery have been taken. Here, the fog clears, focus is regained, and the story takes on an exciting narrative drive that is missing from the turgid, muddled middle. And then... Boyd just wraps it all up. The story just ends. The reader is suddenly engaged, intrigued, willing to get back in the saddle and ride. And the writer says, sorry, show's over.

Easy Death is a book fans of crime fiction would love to love. It seems to have everything going for it, and when author Daniel Boyd is focused Easy Death is as good as any heist story out there. Unfortunately, for most of the novel, Boyd is unfocused, letting his time and narration-jumping technique take over the storytelling and make a mess of a book that should be so, so much better.

[Ronnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a mostly fun read while being snowed in ("Snowmageddon" 2021) because the blizzard outside now is matching the conditions that prevail for the bulk of this book. Mainly covering a single day--Dec. 20, 1951--with an hour-by-hour, sometimes minute-by-minute account (though not delivered strictly chronologically, which gets a little annoying because there's no apparent reason for some of the jumps), it's the otherwise straightforward tale of an armored car heist and its aftermath and comes complete with its own soundtrack of carols. While the song snippets do occasionally provide the eeriness and dissonance they're intended to when juxtaposed with the seedy criminal elements they're providing background music for, they also get old pretty quickly. On the other hand, they also serve as a familiar, steady current throughout the day as the tale jumps around and is delivered through shifting points of view. Boyd doesn't play entirely fair with those POVs, which makes the biggest plot twist feel like sort of a gyp, but the atmosphere is consistent, and by the end the whole seems more satisfying than some of the parts. It's worth noting that pretty regularly this reads like a rough draft. When a character says, "... and that's where do we have Christmas, in the diner there," you have to wonder why an editor left that word "do" in there. But then you read further examples, such as these:

"Brother Sweetie would've give us hell did we kill a man on this job."

"Let me do you want another" [drag on a cigarette].

"You'll have you a war hero for a cellmate do they catch up to us."

and eventually it becomes clear that all the weird uses of "do" and "did" are deliberate idiosyncrasies. That still doesn't help explain the use of "all to once" instead of "all at once" or "all over sudden" instead of "all of a sudden" and similarly quirky turns of phrases, but the overall effect probably does lend a certain rough pulpiness to the fiction at hand.

First line [Chapter 1]
"The way I see it," Eddie looked out the passenger window into the night and took a last drag on his cigarette, exhaling smoke not much whiter than his too-pale face, "a job like this one tomorrow, you either go in and kill everybody first thing, or else you gotta sell them the idea of getting robbed."

[Roybot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy Death treads familiar ground, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. There's a lot of life in Boyd's little pulp, and, at its best, it reads like a vintage Parker novel. Heck, at it's worst it's a far sight better than most other crime novels. There's the heist and possible double crosses and shady characters whose motivations are questionable, of course, but the characters that inhabit Easy Death have lives and motivations that never feel contrived or forced. There are backstories, both explicit and implied, that drive their actions and give them a depth not typically associated with pulps. I wouldn't have been half surprised to discover that Boyd had written other novels set in the same world, but, alas, that doesn't seem to have been the case (at least, not yet).

While Boyd is offering up the genre staples, he's having fun with some of them (e.g. no delicate molls or femme fatales here, just a horse-faced ranger built like linebacker). The chronological jumps work well to create tiny cliffhangers. These could have been annoying in less capable hands, but were used sparingly enough that it created the appropriate tension, without feeling like a crutch. The plot, which focuses primarily on an armored car heist, is complimented by several parallel subplots, and Boyd serves up some fun surprises by including the occasional feint to throw off the reader.

[Mark Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book!! I read crime/noir stories all the time and this book still blindsided me and I never even thought to think of looking to see it coming. After I picked myself up and said "Wow, didn't see that coming" Mr Boyd (not his real name) followed through with the other fist and left me with a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye.

What do we have here: a non-linear crime story told from differing perspectives date-stamped relative to an armored car robbery (THE event). The fly in the ointment is the big Winter snow storm that delivers immense amounts of snow in record time. A lone cop hot on the tail of the remaining robber unwillingly saddled with a stoic, resolute female park ranger - thrills, chills, will he catch him? Who will survive? Naw, you are all wrong and you have to read it to see how this humorous, twisted little thriller actually resolves itself. What appears to be a "simple" caper actually morphs into a different kettle of crime right before your eyes; all for your amusement, amazement and total entertainment.

Good stuff! Buy it. Read it. You'll like it.

[Craig Childs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard Case Crime delivers another pulp novel gem with Easy Death. It’s a fast-paced Christmas-themed heist story infused with plot twists, humor, and violence.

The first half of the book is told out of sequential order, with chapter headings like “Ninety Minutes Before The Robbery” or “3 Hours After the Robbery”. This allows the author to keep certain characters’ motivations a secret, and it allows the reader to fill in the puzzle pieces to figure out what really happened.

The back half of the book is told sequentially, and the author does a great job of maintaining suspense throughout. Surprises abound and obstacles mount for our characters. Most of the time, it’s hard to know who you should be rooting for—the cops or the criminals.

Easy Death was written in 2014, but it is set in 1951. Indeed, you might easily think it had been written back then, except that the story shows its modern roots when it respects its African American characters and highlights the casual racism of the period.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story itself, I actually enjoyed. I thought it was good, with some interesting twists and turns. Probably 4 stars on that.

The sort of formatting I was not a huge fan of. First part of the book jumps back and forth time wise from before the robbery to after, to before, and back seemingly with little reason. The POV jumps from time to time, and I don't think it needed to. I'm also not a fan of chapters starting with a date and time. We know it's soon after WW2 through the dialog. The constant Christmas carols let us know right the time of year. It just seems unnecessary. It's sort of nit picky maybe, but I feel like all the info is better conveyed through the text. On the whole I feel like it could have been tightened up some by limiting the POV characters. Not all of the stories need to be told.

[Ronald Koltnow · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is nothing like a good heist novel for the Holidays. Just before Christmas in 1951 an armored car robbery shakes up a small town. Two gunmen run off with the loot as a major snow storm paralyzes the area. Boyd is the author of the brilliant modern Western 'NADA, and here uses his experiences as a cop to bring real verve to an old theme. As the deal appears to go sour, the lives of various characters, with differing levels of culpability, intermingle with some odd lasting effects. Richard Nixon is mentioned tangentially and there may even be a direct reference to the novels of Richard Stark. In fact, EASY DEATH resembles a Stark novel somewhat, which is the highest praise any book can get. Charles Ardai at Hard Case deserves Kudos for the books he has been bringing out.

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a different kind of Christmas novel, one which combines the season with a classic hard-boiled crime story.

It is December 20th, 1951, and two robbers are hired by a crime boss to steal a half a million dollars from an armored truck only to have everything unravel after the heist.

The story follows various characters hour by hour, sometimes minute by minute, throughout the day as Christmas carols are played from radios and jukeboxes in the background.

This is a novel that will appeal to both crime fans and retro junkies alike.

[Vincent Lombardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy Death is an amazing read and is one of the most amazing crafted crime stories i have read. It surprised me with a twist that i should have seen coming. Lately its been hard to surprise me and this book did what a lot of many authors couldn't do. My only problem with the story is the constant Christmas music lyrics in each chapter just to remind the reader its the Christmas season. After a while it got quite annoying. Despite that i am very eager to read another novel by this author.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy read (no pun intended). I had the main mystery figured about half way through the book, it wasn't hard, but the twists and turns kept you wondering how the book would turn out. The characters were interesting and well developed, their interactions being thought out and realistic (for the times in some cases).

I would recommend for those who enjoy a good crime capper such as an Oceans 11 sort of thing. definitely ready the author again.

[David Williams]

Great hardboiled crime novel

An armored car is knocked over. A policeman follows tracks through the snow. But when there is this much at stake can you really trust anyone? Easy Death is a great hardboiled crime novel and a lot of fun to read. There are a lot of twists and turns. Not all of them unexpected, but it is still a lot of fun. Hard Case Crime has been putting out some great works, both new and old. This is an excellent addition to the collection.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic story. Great, rich characters. Time-shifting narrative that will keep you on your toes. Wonderful writing style - many sentences saw me pause and re-read them to take in the wonderful word play and double-meanings. Wish this author had a hundred books instead of just this one. (If you know of more, I can't find them. Let me know.)

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Great New Entry from Hard Case Crime!

A fantastic read. Boyd manages to tell a nonlinear story without it ever becoming convoluted or confusing. A great cast of characters, surprising twists and witty dialogue. Easily one of my favorites reads from Hard Case Crime.

[Murray Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy Death read like a 1950's film noir movie, I enjoyed it. It took some getting used to the flashbacks and flash forwards but soon I feel into the rhythm. It has twists I didn't expect, if you like film noir stuff you'll like Easy Death.

[Mike Mack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good sense of the time period. Dialogue and action to the point a la Richard Stark's Parker novels. Really enjoyed the book and look forward to more from Boyd (or whatever his real name is...)