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Stuntman: A Jason Colson Story
"The Deep South’s true detective" - Men’s Journal
"Ace Atkins is the Southern Noir King" - Lisa Unger, the New York Times bestselling author of THE NEW COUPLE IN 5B
"Best Mystery Stories of the Year" selection
A new short story from the author of the award-winning, bestselling Quinn Colson series.
Trouble always seems to find Jason Colson. The retired Hollywood stuntman and father to a certain Army Ranger turned Mississippi sheriff, is doing his best to start over with a new life in Austin, Texas. Until mobster Bobby Delgado decides to come knocking for his ten thousand bucks on the day Colson is being honored for his work in such Hollywood classics as Smokey and the Bandit, Convoy, and White Lightning.
Colson is no stranger to conflict. After years splitting his time between stuntman stardom in Los Angeles and family life with his wife and two kids in Tibbehah County, Mississippi, Jason Colson disappeared from Quinn and Caddy's life with no explanation. After he reconnected with his adult children many years later, they discovered the a vicious Mississippi motorcycle gang had wanted him dead. After a complicated reconciliation, Jason lights out for Austin, where he can still be a big man on the cult movie circuit. But he never can stay on the straight and narrow for long. He's not like his son Quinn.
On the day Delgado comes looking for his ten grand, Colson is set to give a talk, sign some memorabilia and shake a few hands at a bar in the Red River District. Even his own daughter Caddy, assisting her old man at the event, doesn't know that her father, with his bad back and two bum knees, might have to pull off the greatest stunt of his saving his own neck.
An exciting return to the Colson family from the undisputed master of Southern Noir, Ace Atkins
"Ace Atkins is the Southern Noir King" - Lisa Unger, the New York Times bestselling author of THE NEW COUPLE IN 5B
"Best Mystery Stories of the Year" selection
A new short story from the author of the award-winning, bestselling Quinn Colson series.
Trouble always seems to find Jason Colson. The retired Hollywood stuntman and father to a certain Army Ranger turned Mississippi sheriff, is doing his best to start over with a new life in Austin, Texas. Until mobster Bobby Delgado decides to come knocking for his ten thousand bucks on the day Colson is being honored for his work in such Hollywood classics as Smokey and the Bandit, Convoy, and White Lightning.
Colson is no stranger to conflict. After years splitting his time between stuntman stardom in Los Angeles and family life with his wife and two kids in Tibbehah County, Mississippi, Jason Colson disappeared from Quinn and Caddy's life with no explanation. After he reconnected with his adult children many years later, they discovered the a vicious Mississippi motorcycle gang had wanted him dead. After a complicated reconciliation, Jason lights out for Austin, where he can still be a big man on the cult movie circuit. But he never can stay on the straight and narrow for long. He's not like his son Quinn.
On the day Delgado comes looking for his ten grand, Colson is set to give a talk, sign some memorabilia and shake a few hands at a bar in the Red River District. Even his own daughter Caddy, assisting her old man at the event, doesn't know that her father, with his bad back and two bum knees, might have to pull off the greatest stunt of his saving his own neck.
An exciting return to the Colson family from the undisputed master of Southern Noir, Ace Atkins
18 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 31, 2025
12 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Ace Atkins
64 books1,589 followersAce Atkins is the author of twenty-eight books, including eleven Quinn Colson novels, the first two of which, The Ranger and The Lost Ones, were nominated for the Edgar Award for Best Novel (he has a third Edgar nomination for his short story "Last Fair Deal Gone Down"). He is the author of nine New York Times-bestselling novels in the continuation of Robert B. Parker's Spenser series. Before turning to fiction, he was a correspondent for the St. Petersburg Times and a crime reporter for the Tampa Tribune, and he played defensive end for Auburn University football.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 15, 2025
Stuntman by Ace Atkins is a short story about Jason Colson, Quinns father and is set during an afternoon where he is trying to raise some money by having a meet and greet with fans. As we all know Jason isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer and it goes pear shaped.
October 4, 2025
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Stuntman: A Jason Colson Story by Ace Atkins is a very short story part of The Ranger Universe, this time focusing on Quinn Colson’s father, Hollywood stuntman Jason Colson. Mr. Atkins is a published author, and former crime reporter.
f you’re a fan of 1980s Hollywood stunts and the ridiculous stories that go along to justify them, you’d like this story. Jason Colson is very prominent in The Ranger series, more as a ghost than anything else, like every father to his son – now he gets his own story.
As a successful Hollywood stuntman, Jason wishes to revisit the glory days where he hung out with Burt Reynolds and company, making movies and trouble. In all honesty, if you watch those movies, you can tell the whole cast has a blast.
In a world before CGI, the likes of Hal Needham, Colin Follenweider, Dar Robinson, Vic Armstrong, and Wendy Leech among others are legendary. Hal Needham was the inspiration for Brad Pitt’s character in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. His close relationship with Burt Reynolds was the inspiration for the relationship he had with Leonardo DiCaprio’s character.
Stuntman by Ace Atkins is very entertaining, and very short at about 18 pages. It’s sad, yet somehow delightful. Jason Colson is a tragic figure, as he is in the full-length novels, but gets some complexity in this short story. His desire for trouble is in direct contradiction to his straight arrow of a son (which does not make an appearance) and the whole thing could be an amazing sublot in any of the movies Jason made.
I just wish it was longer!
Stuntman: A Jason Colson Story by Ace Atkins is a very short story part of The Ranger Universe, this time focusing on Quinn Colson’s father, Hollywood stuntman Jason Colson. Mr. Atkins is a published author, and former crime reporter.
f you’re a fan of 1980s Hollywood stunts and the ridiculous stories that go along to justify them, you’d like this story. Jason Colson is very prominent in The Ranger series, more as a ghost than anything else, like every father to his son – now he gets his own story.
As a successful Hollywood stuntman, Jason wishes to revisit the glory days where he hung out with Burt Reynolds and company, making movies and trouble. In all honesty, if you watch those movies, you can tell the whole cast has a blast.
In a world before CGI, the likes of Hal Needham, Colin Follenweider, Dar Robinson, Vic Armstrong, and Wendy Leech among others are legendary. Hal Needham was the inspiration for Brad Pitt’s character in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. His close relationship with Burt Reynolds was the inspiration for the relationship he had with Leonardo DiCaprio’s character.
Stuntman by Ace Atkins is very entertaining, and very short at about 18 pages. It’s sad, yet somehow delightful. Jason Colson is a tragic figure, as he is in the full-length novels, but gets some complexity in this short story. His desire for trouble is in direct contradiction to his straight arrow of a son (which does not make an appearance) and the whole thing could be an amazing sublot in any of the movies Jason made.
I just wish it was longer!
September 5, 2025
Short story spun off from the author's Quinn Colson series, nice to revisit some characters and find out where they ended up, very short but is entertaining enough
September 25, 2025
good little story that shows Atkins can write. Too bad it's a short story and not a chapter in one of his books. 👍🏻
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews