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Darlington
It's like "Killing Eve invades Old Florida." Tommy Darlington is one hot mess: a former US Army Airborne Ranger who walks through life as a closet anxiety-depressive. He’s also the largest distributor of pimp body parts in the good State of Florida, but only one man knows his secret.
Sarasota's de facto hit man works for Tampa Bay's hidden hand, the secret billionaires who conduct their dirty business well behind the black curtain, and who have no issue killing anyone who gets in the way of their illegal business activities, including innocent citizens.
Over time, Darlington discovers disturbing facts about his bosses, even well beyond his own Code of Deathics and sizable body count, and begins to grow an itchy conscience that only an industrial cheese grater can scratch off.
Now on a personal mission to clean up Tampa Bay, he encounters all that is evil and crooked, forever trying to bend it into a righteous path for good people to respect and follow.
Still, you don’t ever want to find yourself in Darlington’s crosshairs or on the business end of his blade.
Darlington is a clever and gripping thriller for those who love the taste and smell of Old Florida.
Sarasota's de facto hit man works for Tampa Bay's hidden hand, the secret billionaires who conduct their dirty business well behind the black curtain, and who have no issue killing anyone who gets in the way of their illegal business activities, including innocent citizens.
Over time, Darlington discovers disturbing facts about his bosses, even well beyond his own Code of Deathics and sizable body count, and begins to grow an itchy conscience that only an industrial cheese grater can scratch off.
Now on a personal mission to clean up Tampa Bay, he encounters all that is evil and crooked, forever trying to bend it into a righteous path for good people to respect and follow.
Still, you don’t ever want to find yourself in Darlington’s crosshairs or on the business end of his blade.
Darlington is a clever and gripping thriller for those who love the taste and smell of Old Florida.
292 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2019
2042 people want to read
About the author
Tripsy South
2 books66 followersTripsy South is the author of the novels DARLINGTON and SUICIDE TANGO: My Year Killin' It With A Shrink.
She is a freestyle writer and editor, a copywriter, and contributes articles regularly on LinkedIn.
Thinkers who dream up, design and build cool stuff that assist and entertain people turn her on. They inspire her to become a better artist and creative.
Los Angeles is home, which she shares with her two iMacs (Smoke and Sushi), her Australian rainbow velociraptor Smootch, ParksTheCat, and a few thousand books she calls her best friends.
She is a freestyle writer and editor, a copywriter, and contributes articles regularly on LinkedIn.
Thinkers who dream up, design and build cool stuff that assist and entertain people turn her on. They inspire her to become a better artist and creative.
Los Angeles is home, which she shares with her two iMacs (Smoke and Sushi), her Australian rainbow velociraptor Smootch, ParksTheCat, and a few thousand books she calls her best friends.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 13, 2019
They weren't kidding when they said "Killing Eve invades Old Florida" that was the reason I requested the book and I really enjoyed it. It was able to set up what it needed to for a first part in a series and I look forward to more in the series.
October 1, 2019
Addictive, engaging, intense, easy-to-read.
Darlington was a super fun read, I thoroughly enjoyed the main character Tommy Darlington. The story's told from his point of view, which is addictive. I made quite a few highlights of the witty creative thought processes of Tommy. When he gets in the mood to murder someone, there's no qualms about taking that action. I would've liked more gory details, and a few more killings but overall the story was entertaining. There's drugs, murders, some violence, great descriptions, and criminals abound. I would recommend this, to read.
Thank you, Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle e-read ARC. This is my honest review.
Darlington was a super fun read, I thoroughly enjoyed the main character Tommy Darlington. The story's told from his point of view, which is addictive. I made quite a few highlights of the witty creative thought processes of Tommy. When he gets in the mood to murder someone, there's no qualms about taking that action. I would've liked more gory details, and a few more killings but overall the story was entertaining. There's drugs, murders, some violence, great descriptions, and criminals abound. I would recommend this, to read.
Thank you, Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle e-read ARC. This is my honest review.
September 18, 2019
A GoodReads GiveAway
Tommy Darlington drives a tangerine-colored cab — Tommy Taxi — and he’s also an assassin for hire, an occupation he confesses to his girlfriend Rachel: “I kill bad people for a living. And occasionally good people who do really stupid things.”
In addition, Tommy confesses that his Code of Deathics is not like Dexter’s. Simply put, Tommy enjoys, “taking out the trash.”
While he loves living in Old Florida, Tommy has a dream to, someday, chuck it all, take his stashed millions and build a home in Costa Rica — “the only semblance of paradise left in the tropics.”
You know that isn’t going to happen. Not without a fight with … well, his Bad Guy employers, let’s say…
… especially not as long as Tommy’s friend Donny know for billions of dollars worth of hidden gold the Bad Guys hope Tommy might help them locate.
Nevertheless, Tommy takes Rachel and makes a run for it.
Enter the crocodiles.
One Bad Guy, the Old Man, seizes Rachel and stakes her out in the middle of a lake as croc bait. At least, that’s what Tommy believes so surely that he attacks and kills the Old Man and a slew of his minions.
Enter the Real Bad Guys.
Things escalate. There’s drug dealing. And prostitution. And truly nasty trafficking of human beings.
Tommy seeks assistant from his erstwhile Ranger buddy — gotta have a sidekick, eh b’ys? — Caleb. Together they intend to annihilate the Real Bad Guys.
Events unfold, however, in such a fashion that before the story is finished Tommy and Caleb are imprisoned, the Real Bad Guys are eliminated, and the Truly Real Bad Guys hold all the weapons.
Hey, no spoilers here. There’re pages and pages of violent details that I haven’t even mentioned before Tommy …
Well, does he get to Costa Rico and live happily ever after with Rachel? Or, perhaps, Sara?
Yes, there’s a Sara to complicate matters. Told you there’s lots to read about.
Come on, join the adventure.
September 24, 2019
I received an advance reading copy of Darlington (many thanks to the author), and the book did not disappoint. It's written in a different style than what I might normally read, kind of like "Pulp Fiction" violence meets classic literature, but it works.
The title character is a troubled soul who kills for a living, yet is likable enough that I still found myself in his corner in spite of some pretty nasty things he does. The action is pretty much non-stop, and keeps the story moving along quickly.
Overall, it's the type of book you would enjoy reading on the dock at the cottage (which is where I read much of it). Thumbs up!
The title character is a troubled soul who kills for a living, yet is likable enough that I still found myself in his corner in spite of some pretty nasty things he does. The action is pretty much non-stop, and keeps the story moving along quickly.
Overall, it's the type of book you would enjoy reading on the dock at the cottage (which is where I read much of it). Thumbs up!
October 11, 2019
Deadpool (pre-powers) meets the mafia. At least that's how it felt.
Fun, entertaining, although heavy at times. Tommy is a relatable guy and believable character who is constantly at war with his inner demons... as well as Old Florida's scum.
I'll be taking a look at the author's other novel.
Thanks for the A.R.C.
Fun, entertaining, although heavy at times. Tommy is a relatable guy and believable character who is constantly at war with his inner demons... as well as Old Florida's scum.
I'll be taking a look at the author's other novel.
Thanks for the A.R.C.
September 10, 2019
This was a fun read and a well written book. I like reading Florida novels by Tim Dorsey and Carl Hiaasen and if you like them you will like this book. Fun and recommended; I will be reading the author's previous book soon....
November 17, 2019
“Sometimes it was just best to shut the f*** up and let the wisdom flow over you.” – (p. 217)
Such was the approach I attempted to take when reading Darlington. This novel is a sort of Kerouac-like stream of consciousness that follows a few months in the life of Tommy Darlington – a part-time Florida cab driver and full-time hitman, who makes such an astronomical amount of money in the latter profession that I am considering a change in career. The book does not follow a traditional story arc. It leads down some blind alleys, and the chapters are more a loosely linked series of vignettes of Tommy’s violent life contrasted with his romantic one. But the gleaming pearls of wisdom that are interspersed within the deep darkness of this gritty noir are worth the brief moments of disorientation. I found myself time and again, highlighting one insightful, poignant and brilliant line after the other. Tripsy South can coin a phrase in the flick of a Florida gator’s tale, using the same seductive grace and threatening beauty as that dangerous reptile.
Unfortunately, Tommy uses some wildly offensive words to refer to Latinos in the book and in one passage blames “racial refugees” for turning a neighbourhood to “sh**” (p. 77). These types of comments are not a frequent occurrence, but enough to turn me off, although I’m sure the author was only using this type of behaviour to convey the amorality of the character. I don’t know why this should offend me more than the fact that the man kills dozens of people in cold blood for a living, but it does. If we are meant to see Tommy Darlington as one of the “warriors with a heart (p. 228),” then these types of comments are not in my image of what that means.
Still, I look forward to reading more from this author, and allowing her wisdom to flow over me like a warm but dark Sarasota Bay wave.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
For full review go to https://www.shekillslit.com/2019/11/1...
Such was the approach I attempted to take when reading Darlington. This novel is a sort of Kerouac-like stream of consciousness that follows a few months in the life of Tommy Darlington – a part-time Florida cab driver and full-time hitman, who makes such an astronomical amount of money in the latter profession that I am considering a change in career. The book does not follow a traditional story arc. It leads down some blind alleys, and the chapters are more a loosely linked series of vignettes of Tommy’s violent life contrasted with his romantic one. But the gleaming pearls of wisdom that are interspersed within the deep darkness of this gritty noir are worth the brief moments of disorientation. I found myself time and again, highlighting one insightful, poignant and brilliant line after the other. Tripsy South can coin a phrase in the flick of a Florida gator’s tale, using the same seductive grace and threatening beauty as that dangerous reptile.
Unfortunately, Tommy uses some wildly offensive words to refer to Latinos in the book and in one passage blames “racial refugees” for turning a neighbourhood to “sh**” (p. 77). These types of comments are not a frequent occurrence, but enough to turn me off, although I’m sure the author was only using this type of behaviour to convey the amorality of the character. I don’t know why this should offend me more than the fact that the man kills dozens of people in cold blood for a living, but it does. If we are meant to see Tommy Darlington as one of the “warriors with a heart (p. 228),” then these types of comments are not in my image of what that means.
Still, I look forward to reading more from this author, and allowing her wisdom to flow over me like a warm but dark Sarasota Bay wave.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
For full review go to https://www.shekillslit.com/2019/11/1...
October 28, 2019
The first part is very promising, with tough and funny language, as well as hints of action. Unfortunately, everything turns crazy and it's a meaningless mess. It is possible to read this book, but getting any logic or sense of it is very difficult.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews