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Razorback
When a drifter rolls up into a small town, will he make it big or leave with nothing?
Ex-con Vint’s tongue is as sharp as the cut throat razor he carries. And he is more than ready to use both of them.
When Vint stands up to some local bullies he quickly wins a reputation as a go-to man for some muscle or a fall guy for the locals' schemes.
He sees an opportunity to make some money quick, but can his new friends be trusted?
The local marshal wants him out of town but - cynical, calculating and cruel - Vint is not budging until he takes his all.
The question is, in a town full of vipers, who is swindling whom? And will he get out alive?
RAZORBACK is the second novel by Lou Holly. Be sure to check out his first, SOUTHSIDE HUSTLE, available on Kindle and in paperback.
Ex-con Vint’s tongue is as sharp as the cut throat razor he carries. And he is more than ready to use both of them.
When Vint stands up to some local bullies he quickly wins a reputation as a go-to man for some muscle or a fall guy for the locals' schemes.
He sees an opportunity to make some money quick, but can his new friends be trusted?
The local marshal wants him out of town but - cynical, calculating and cruel - Vint is not budging until he takes his all.
The question is, in a town full of vipers, who is swindling whom? And will he get out alive?
RAZORBACK is the second novel by Lou Holly. Be sure to check out his first, SOUTHSIDE HUSTLE, available on Kindle and in paperback.
281 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 14, 2017
49 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
About the author
Lou Holly
4 books9 followersLou Holly has been writing since the late 1980s, having worked as a local newspaper reporter, a columnist for trade magazines and further afield. A self-employed entrepreneur most of his adult life, past occupations include owner of a band booking agency, bodyguard for a Chicago actress, and owner of a limousine business. Before his recent retirement, he and his wife published the 1950s and 60s nostalgia magazine, Keep Rockin'. He lives in Naperville, Illinois.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 25, 2017
Pure noir escapism
If you like hard-boiled, gritty 50s noir like The Postman Always Rings Twice, this is the book for you. Sex, violence, and betrayal make for a fun, nasty read.
If you like hard-boiled, gritty 50s noir like The Postman Always Rings Twice, this is the book for you. Sex, violence, and betrayal make for a fun, nasty read.
August 20, 2017
Exciting crime novel with evocative and atmospheric writing. The plot is so full of suspense and tension I couldn't stop reading. Holly's novel has a whole host of interesting and well-developed characters and Vint is the perfect roguish anti-hero.
November 18, 2017
Tough, Gritty, and fast paced!
Read
August 14, 2020If you go for gritty, you will love every page.
I don't know whether you'll "love" Vint, the anti-hero as we label troubled people who are the focus of the action. Seems to me that one needs little insight to understand Vint's wretched and ultimately dysfunctional behavior. I don't know if it is fair to guess at the author's outlook judging by one book. Probably not. If I did, I would be glad that I don't share it. But however he sees the world, he does create one for the reader with diverse, well-sketched characters. Vint's story rarely looses it's grip on our attention, if you have the grit to take the gritty scenes and often surprises us with what happens next. An interesting story, a compelling read for some of us, but not one that improved my mood. -EVM
I don't know whether you'll "love" Vint, the anti-hero as we label troubled people who are the focus of the action. Seems to me that one needs little insight to understand Vint's wretched and ultimately dysfunctional behavior. I don't know if it is fair to guess at the author's outlook judging by one book. Probably not. If I did, I would be glad that I don't share it. But however he sees the world, he does create one for the reader with diverse, well-sketched characters. Vint's story rarely looses it's grip on our attention, if you have the grit to take the gritty scenes and often surprises us with what happens next. An interesting story, a compelling read for some of us, but not one that improved my mood. -EVM
October 26, 2017
This book is written in the old detective type of style, though the main character is not a detective. I would also say it's a "guy's" book, however, I enjoyed the book with all it's twists and turns and looked forward to getting back to it to find out what was going to happen next! Enjoyable read. Give it a try.
August 23, 2017
A good read. Lovable rogue Vint bites off more than he can chew when he gets involved in a small town heist. Although his wits are as sharp as the cut-throat razor he carries, what are the chances he'll get out alive?
April 18, 2018
From the small town atmosphere to the scary line between crazy and sane this is a tale of graft, greed, love, lust, racial prejudice and twisted passions.
May 11, 2021
The storyline was everywhere all over the place exciting and thrillingly action packed!
July 16, 2022
An interesting story
July 26, 2018
Lou Holly’s latest novel takes readers back to the early 50’s, to a small town in Arkansas that is populated with more than its fair share of rednecks, rubes, and ruffians. Seems like just the right place for Vint Mercurio, an ex-con on the lam. Within minutes of entering the town’s only diner, Vint makes a new friend in the cute waitress, and lifelong enemies of the nasty Skinner brothers. After a desperate fight, Vint finds he’s attracted all the wrong kinds of attention -- from the town marshal, a corrupt deputy and from the rest of the mean Skinners. In addition, more than one suspicious character in town tries to lure Vint into their crooked schemes. Vint is ready and willing to take risks for a big score. The question is, who can be trusted in this town full of snakes and double-crossers?
Vint is a protagonist we try to like. As tough and unsentimental a customer as he is, Vint is hard to warm up to at first. We know he’s a felon, a violent crook not long out of prison. He doesn’t know the meaning of the word love, but that doesn’t keep him from athletic sex with every woman he fancies. Surprisingly, he’s a reader. We sympathize with him for his tough childhood and the hardscrabble background that has made him the man he is. He lives in a world where only the meanest and toughest survive. At the same time, many of Vint’s troubles in this book result from choices he makes based on strong standards. He defends Lark’s honor against bullies, and respects the African-American cook who stands with him. He’s not a murderer, but he’ll fight to the death when pressed. He doesn’t go looking for trouble, but when wronged will seek quick, bloody revenge. Vint has been a high roller and has tasted the good life. We know he’ll never settle down but we’d sort of like to see him succeed somehow.
It’s also hard to know who to root for among the supporting cast: Pretty Lark seems sweet and innocent at first, but she reveals herself to be more than a little crazy. Seductive Adelle could be an influential ally, but surely she has her own agenda. Then there’s Edric, the gin-soaked English lawyer, with his scheme for an easy score. He seems like just an eccentric loser, but is he dangerous?
Suspense builds as the plots become more complicated, and the action is pretty much non-stop. Vint is fearless and never hesitates to brandish his straight razor in the face of an adversary. Though he is beaten, cut, and shot at over and over through the course of the book, he dishes it back in kind. And though he’s a man of few words, he is quick and sharp with his tongue when he must be. Likewise Lou Holly’s prose is as sharp and straight as Vint’s razor. The dialog is blunt as a punch in the nose, and the action tumbles off the page like a hobo from a rolling boxcar.
For hard-hitting crime fiction, Lou Holly’s Razorback pulls no punches.
Vint is a protagonist we try to like. As tough and unsentimental a customer as he is, Vint is hard to warm up to at first. We know he’s a felon, a violent crook not long out of prison. He doesn’t know the meaning of the word love, but that doesn’t keep him from athletic sex with every woman he fancies. Surprisingly, he’s a reader. We sympathize with him for his tough childhood and the hardscrabble background that has made him the man he is. He lives in a world where only the meanest and toughest survive. At the same time, many of Vint’s troubles in this book result from choices he makes based on strong standards. He defends Lark’s honor against bullies, and respects the African-American cook who stands with him. He’s not a murderer, but he’ll fight to the death when pressed. He doesn’t go looking for trouble, but when wronged will seek quick, bloody revenge. Vint has been a high roller and has tasted the good life. We know he’ll never settle down but we’d sort of like to see him succeed somehow.
It’s also hard to know who to root for among the supporting cast: Pretty Lark seems sweet and innocent at first, but she reveals herself to be more than a little crazy. Seductive Adelle could be an influential ally, but surely she has her own agenda. Then there’s Edric, the gin-soaked English lawyer, with his scheme for an easy score. He seems like just an eccentric loser, but is he dangerous?
Suspense builds as the plots become more complicated, and the action is pretty much non-stop. Vint is fearless and never hesitates to brandish his straight razor in the face of an adversary. Though he is beaten, cut, and shot at over and over through the course of the book, he dishes it back in kind. And though he’s a man of few words, he is quick and sharp with his tongue when he must be. Likewise Lou Holly’s prose is as sharp and straight as Vint’s razor. The dialog is blunt as a punch in the nose, and the action tumbles off the page like a hobo from a rolling boxcar.
For hard-hitting crime fiction, Lou Holly’s Razorback pulls no punches.
February 27, 2023
Lou Holly’s fiction is not unlike his characters — it’s tough, sly, and once you get involved with it, it’s hard to extract yourself. Razorback firmly entrenches itself in the tradition of noir writers like Dashiell Hamett, Jim Thompson, and James M. Cain. It never tries to be what it is not and what it is is a tough, mean little story about people with hidden agendas, sinister smiles, and ambitions that outweigh their means. The dialog is sharp and the author keeps so many surprises coming that it’s never clear what might happen next; the sure sign of a natural storyteller. The talk is as tough as a two dollar steak, the violence is fast and around every corner, and the sex will make you clutch your pearls. If you don’t have any pearls, get some and if you haven’t read this book, you’re a bigger sucker than I first thought.
April 7, 2018
I didn't expect this story to develop the way it did (kudos! for surprising me). I didn't really like any of the characters but I liked the way the atmosphere was developed and the subtle layering of complexity as the story developed. Also I didn't really have any emotional connection with the story, which surprisingly didn't dull my enjoyment reading it.
October 24, 2017
Loved it! Made me feel like I was watching early 1950s film noir. The redneck brothers of the man Vint accidently kills want him dead, the marshal wants him out of town before there is more bloodshed, but the temptation of a big score makes Vint stay when he should run. Razorback takes you uncomfortably close to the danger, intrigue, and backstabbing. Dark, sexy and methodical.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews