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Countdown
Welcome to California. Weed is legal. Grow it. Sell it. Smoke it. Eat it. But the money you make off it—there's the rub. Bank it, and the Feds will ask questions. Keep it around, and you’ll get robbed. LaDon and Jessie—two hustlers who make selling primo weed a regular gig—hire a private security detail to move and hold their money. Ex-soldiers Glanson and Echo target the cash—they start a ripoff business.
It’s the wild, wild west. Except this time, everybody’s high.
With their guns and guts, Glanson and Echo don’t expect much trouble from a mean son-of-a-gun like LaDon Charles. But that’s exactly what they get. In this industry, no matter how much money there is for the taking—and no matter who gets it—there's always somebody counting backwards...to zero.
From acclaimed pulp writer Matt Phillips, Countdown is a head-spinning hit of Southern California’s lucrative and not-quite-regulated marijuana industry.
Praise for
“A slab of rare pulp, served nice and bloody. Countdown reads like an homage to Elmore Leonard from one of the hottest new voices on the crime fiction scene.” —Anthony Neil Smith, author of Yellow Medicine and All the Young Warriors
Praise for the Books by Matt Phillips
“Matt Phillips speaks fluently the language of the dispossessed... His whiskey-soaked prose can at times be as slick as a man slinging snake-oil, and other times as brutal as a baseball bat to the head.” —Eryk Pruitt, author of Hashtag and Dirtbags
“Phillips’ writing is so multi-layered and deep... An author to watch out for.” —Regular Guy Reading Noir
It’s the wild, wild west. Except this time, everybody’s high.
With their guns and guts, Glanson and Echo don’t expect much trouble from a mean son-of-a-gun like LaDon Charles. But that’s exactly what they get. In this industry, no matter how much money there is for the taking—and no matter who gets it—there's always somebody counting backwards...to zero.
From acclaimed pulp writer Matt Phillips, Countdown is a head-spinning hit of Southern California’s lucrative and not-quite-regulated marijuana industry.
Praise for
“A slab of rare pulp, served nice and bloody. Countdown reads like an homage to Elmore Leonard from one of the hottest new voices on the crime fiction scene.” —Anthony Neil Smith, author of Yellow Medicine and All the Young Warriors
Praise for the Books by Matt Phillips
“Matt Phillips speaks fluently the language of the dispossessed... His whiskey-soaked prose can at times be as slick as a man slinging snake-oil, and other times as brutal as a baseball bat to the head.” —Eryk Pruitt, author of Hashtag and Dirtbags
“Phillips’ writing is so multi-layered and deep... An author to watch out for.” —Regular Guy Reading Noir
244 pages, Paperback
Published April 26, 2019
6 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
Matt Phillips
22 books91 followersMatt Phillips lives in San Diego. His books are A GOOD RUSH OF BLOOD, QUIET AND THE DARKNESS, TO BRING MY SHADOW, COUNTDOWN, KNOW ME FROM SMOKE, THE BAD KIND OF LUCKY, ACCIDENTAL OUTLAWS, REDBONE, BAD LUCK CITY, and THREE KINDS OF FOOL. His short fiction has been published in Tough, Mystery Tribune, Retreats from Oblivion, Shotgun Honey, and Out of the Gutter. More info at www.mattphillipswriter.com
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 9, 2019
From the first paragraph, I knew I’d dig this book. With the San Diego setting, a voice echoing Elmore Leonard, and lowlife characters propelling the action, this is the quintessential fun beach read if you like gritty and raw. The multiple POV book centers around the marijuana industry where we meet Abbicus Glanson and his partner Donnie Zeus Echo. They’re teaming up to rob dispensaries which Glanson knows quite a bit about since he’s been hired to protect them. They meet their match in grower Jessie and her partner, LaDon, a hustler with a heart that gets him in trouble. Phillips is a writer who should be on everyone’s radar for his lean, taut prose, authentic dialogue, and mastery of noir.
September 20, 2019
Matt Phillips 'Countdown' delves into the murky world of California's weed industry. And those desperate individuals involved in it. It creates a problem many of us would like...what to do with all that money. That physical money. Thankfully equally desperate individuals are on hand to help out. With inevitable, dire consequences. Greed is....troublesome.
It is the slow-burning revelation of these desperate characters that I enjoyed here. American war veterans, weed growers and hustlers. All have with frustrations, confusion and emptiness. Messed up people operating in, and on the periphery of, marijuana growth and retail. And its security. It is lucrative like many industries. But unregulated, and anarchic as a result. And therefore a magnet for the unstable, profound and desperate likes of Jessie, Ladon, Glanson and Echo.
Matt Phillips's writing is gutsy and flows with ease. And this makes 'Countdown' an exhilerating read.
It is the slow-burning revelation of these desperate characters that I enjoyed here. American war veterans, weed growers and hustlers. All have with frustrations, confusion and emptiness. Messed up people operating in, and on the periphery of, marijuana growth and retail. And its security. It is lucrative like many industries. But unregulated, and anarchic as a result. And therefore a magnet for the unstable, profound and desperate likes of Jessie, Ladon, Glanson and Echo.
Matt Phillips's writing is gutsy and flows with ease. And this makes 'Countdown' an exhilerating read.
May 26, 2019
“Echo used to be a grunt. Did a couple extended vacations in Eye-Rack. Learned to embrace the suck. Also learned to pull teeth and rip off fingernails. Arabic didn’t come easy to him so Echo had to find other ways. That’s another thing he learned: There’s lots of ways to get a thing done.”
For a fee, Abbicus Glanson and his military buddy Abel Sendich collect and store the profits from marijuana dispensaries. As the money piles up, Glanson and his other buddy Echo decide to make some fast cash on the side by robbing a few of Glansen’s clients. But Glanson has a tiny secret, and a burning desire to hook up with Jessie, a beautiful marijuana grower, who happens to have a business partner with an itchy trigger finger. All that green-money and marijuana-has the allure of catnip, and the last cool cat standing has a chance to walk away with all the moolah.
Countdown is jam packed with great noir characters, who try to create royal flushes out of the lousy hands they’ve been dealt. My favorite is Jessie’s partner LaDon, who’s the smartest of the bunch. His moral compass gets him in trouble when he tries to save a hooker from her pimp. Some of the other character’s ethics revolve around bonds created while on active duty, but anyone not in their small circle is considered expendable.
Phillips imbibes San Diego with the kind of gritty underbelly that’s perfect for crime fiction. I look forward to exploring more of his works.
For a fee, Abbicus Glanson and his military buddy Abel Sendich collect and store the profits from marijuana dispensaries. As the money piles up, Glanson and his other buddy Echo decide to make some fast cash on the side by robbing a few of Glansen’s clients. But Glanson has a tiny secret, and a burning desire to hook up with Jessie, a beautiful marijuana grower, who happens to have a business partner with an itchy trigger finger. All that green-money and marijuana-has the allure of catnip, and the last cool cat standing has a chance to walk away with all the moolah.
Countdown is jam packed with great noir characters, who try to create royal flushes out of the lousy hands they’ve been dealt. My favorite is Jessie’s partner LaDon, who’s the smartest of the bunch. His moral compass gets him in trouble when he tries to save a hooker from her pimp. Some of the other character’s ethics revolve around bonds created while on active duty, but anyone not in their small circle is considered expendable.
Phillips imbibes San Diego with the kind of gritty underbelly that’s perfect for crime fiction. I look forward to exploring more of his works.
April 28, 2020
A good read
Countdown is a crime novel set around the blossoming marijuana trade. We've got a thug with a big heart, a set of Iraq war veterans, and a beautiful girl trying to run a weed business. It actually reminds me of an Elmore Leonard book with the large cast of characters all out for themselves. Truth be told I was a little iffy on this book at first until about the halfway mark when something happened I wasn't expecting at all. From there things continued to go downhill for the characters in a bloody and shocking way. Phillips can write some shifty characters that you either dislike instantly or grow to love. While this isn't my favorite of his books it's still pretty good and well worth checking out.
Countdown is a crime novel set around the blossoming marijuana trade. We've got a thug with a big heart, a set of Iraq war veterans, and a beautiful girl trying to run a weed business. It actually reminds me of an Elmore Leonard book with the large cast of characters all out for themselves. Truth be told I was a little iffy on this book at first until about the halfway mark when something happened I wasn't expecting at all. From there things continued to go downhill for the characters in a bloody and shocking way. Phillips can write some shifty characters that you either dislike instantly or grow to love. While this isn't my favorite of his books it's still pretty good and well worth checking out.
October 26, 2021
Phillips writes tight, crisp atmospheric prose that recalls the bygone eras of pulp and noir genres while mixing in a modern, hip narrative. Slick, razor-sharp dialogue and realistic characters make Phillips The Crime Writer to Binge Read. The only crime committed being my own late arrival to his work.
July 5, 2019
My first time reading this author and this was a surprisingly satisfying read for me! I adore horror, that is what I usually read, but once I got into this one I couldn’t put it down.
This story revolves around greed. Even people that have a good thing going, a business, feel they want/need more. Marijuana money floating out there in the city, and with the dispensaries not being able to put it in a bank, gives people ideas. The cast of characters are great, believable, and they work with what they know. And the countdown begins, the body count rises, until there is one! “Money’s money!”
This story revolves around greed. Even people that have a good thing going, a business, feel they want/need more. Marijuana money floating out there in the city, and with the dispensaries not being able to put it in a bank, gives people ideas. The cast of characters are great, believable, and they work with what they know. And the countdown begins, the body count rises, until there is one! “Money’s money!”
August 14, 2019
I really enjoyed the story and the style of writing, despite the fact that it is very different from my ‘go to’ comfort books. Although I seem to be reading more and more outside my comfort zone these days, due to the opportunities book blogging has afforded me, so maybe I no longer have a comfort zone.
What I really mean is that this is not a book I would normally pluck off a shelf in a shop when I am browsing, which is a mindset I need to get out of because some of the most profound reading experiences I have had over the past couple of years have been via books that I would not have chosen for myself but that I have been offered via blogging. For me, one of the greatest joys of reading is living vicarious experiences and lives that I will never have myself outside the covers of a book, and this book is a perfect example. The story follows the trials and tribulations of running a not-quite-legal marijuana business in California, where trade in the drug has been legalised, but the banking of the money made from the trade has not.
You know from the off that the characters in this book are not people that are naturally going to be people you can sympathise with, or particularly relate to, when you are a middle-aged mother living in rural England who has always been fairly puritanical when it comes to drug use. The fact that I actually did find some of the characters, especially LaDon, sympathetic and a person you would like to succeed, even if their goals are fairly nefarious, was testament to the skill in the writing in this novel. Either that, or the fact that I started grading on a curve with the other, very repellent, characters! Either way, I became invested in the adventures of the main protagonists in this book in a way that I did not expect, given the subject matter and, in spite of the fact that I have never met a Californian drug dealer and these characters were like no one I have ever known IRL, I still felt the characters were believable, with clear and authentic drives and desires and character traits.
The story takes part over a short period of time, and in a tight location, which gave the story a very fast and natural pace which kept it bowling along and carried me with it. It felt like a fairly quick read because of this and there were no lulls or doldrums to interrupt the flow of the book. I felt like the author had done an amazing job of cutting all the flab from the book and leaving only a lean, efficient reading experience which I thoroughly enjoyed being carried along by. I just sat back and let the writing sweep me through with little effort on my part, but obviously a good deal by the author.
The setting of the book is what really set it apart from other things I have read in the genre. The gritty, mean streets of southern California are the net that holds this story together and were convincingly and brightly portrayed in the book. The author does not shy from writing about the unpleasant underside that exists in the city, rather he revels in it, describing it truthfully, but almost lovingly, so that the reader is fully immersed in its sights, sounds, scents and its constant tensions and dangers. For the author, it feels like these traits, which are things that would deter many of us from visiting such places, are what actually draw him and his characters to them, because they are alive and honest in their darkness. I certainly felt this myself during the reading, even if I would only dare revel in them from the safety of my sofa in rural Yorkshire. As I said, one of the many joys of reading.
This book was a very different read for me, but what that certainly catered to a lot of the things are look for in a satisfying book and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is not offended by violence, sex, strong language, graphic scenes or drugs. So Mary Whitehouse types probably should not pick it up, I’m sure anyone else will enjoy it.
What I really mean is that this is not a book I would normally pluck off a shelf in a shop when I am browsing, which is a mindset I need to get out of because some of the most profound reading experiences I have had over the past couple of years have been via books that I would not have chosen for myself but that I have been offered via blogging. For me, one of the greatest joys of reading is living vicarious experiences and lives that I will never have myself outside the covers of a book, and this book is a perfect example. The story follows the trials and tribulations of running a not-quite-legal marijuana business in California, where trade in the drug has been legalised, but the banking of the money made from the trade has not.
You know from the off that the characters in this book are not people that are naturally going to be people you can sympathise with, or particularly relate to, when you are a middle-aged mother living in rural England who has always been fairly puritanical when it comes to drug use. The fact that I actually did find some of the characters, especially LaDon, sympathetic and a person you would like to succeed, even if their goals are fairly nefarious, was testament to the skill in the writing in this novel. Either that, or the fact that I started grading on a curve with the other, very repellent, characters! Either way, I became invested in the adventures of the main protagonists in this book in a way that I did not expect, given the subject matter and, in spite of the fact that I have never met a Californian drug dealer and these characters were like no one I have ever known IRL, I still felt the characters were believable, with clear and authentic drives and desires and character traits.
The story takes part over a short period of time, and in a tight location, which gave the story a very fast and natural pace which kept it bowling along and carried me with it. It felt like a fairly quick read because of this and there were no lulls or doldrums to interrupt the flow of the book. I felt like the author had done an amazing job of cutting all the flab from the book and leaving only a lean, efficient reading experience which I thoroughly enjoyed being carried along by. I just sat back and let the writing sweep me through with little effort on my part, but obviously a good deal by the author.
The setting of the book is what really set it apart from other things I have read in the genre. The gritty, mean streets of southern California are the net that holds this story together and were convincingly and brightly portrayed in the book. The author does not shy from writing about the unpleasant underside that exists in the city, rather he revels in it, describing it truthfully, but almost lovingly, so that the reader is fully immersed in its sights, sounds, scents and its constant tensions and dangers. For the author, it feels like these traits, which are things that would deter many of us from visiting such places, are what actually draw him and his characters to them, because they are alive and honest in their darkness. I certainly felt this myself during the reading, even if I would only dare revel in them from the safety of my sofa in rural Yorkshire. As I said, one of the many joys of reading.
This book was a very different read for me, but what that certainly catered to a lot of the things are look for in a satisfying book and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is not offended by violence, sex, strong language, graphic scenes or drugs. So Mary Whitehouse types probably should not pick it up, I’m sure anyone else will enjoy it.
October 17, 2020
Like Preston Lang, Matt Phillips has carved out a neat little niche with lean, mean street-level crime novels on the low side of the word-count spectrum that use robust plotting to make the pages turn. Sixty or seventy years ago, he might have been a Day Keene or a Harry Whittington or a Charles Williams, churning out commercial products a couple of time a year with a little extra special sauce — memorable dialogue that makes a vein jump, or the use of cultural taboos that makes one reflexively cross their legs, or a simile that glimmers in the dark like a switchblade knife. Their books spun on the racks of drugstores in every town big enough for one in America, and in the '50s and '60s they were a fourth food group, consumed with Camels and cheeseburgers and Canadian Club in church-sale glasses all over the country.
COUNTDOWN marries the best of the Gold Medal virtues with contemporary values. In San Diego, marijuana is newly legal, and for those who sell it but can't be bothered with making their dispensaries legal, dealing with undeclared cash is a problem. Whether you find someone to wash it or a safe place to store, you still have to schlep it out in garbage bags with sketchy protectors standing guard. And if those shotgun-toting protectors decide to prove their sketchiness by snatching the cash for themselves, well, you've got a bigger problem than finding a place to make it, and yourself, clean.
Echo and Glanston, ex-soldiers suffering assorted PTSD symptoms from their stretches in Iraq and skating along the margins of civilian society in the outer rings of San Diego, are the money-transfer muscle for illegal-weed-shop Jessie and LaDon. Echo wants to steal the loot; Glanston isn't necessarily opposed but he's a bit sweet on Jessie, who's more than a bit sweet on him. LaDon doesn't trust either and soon his instincts are proved correct when he follows them around and watches them rob other underground weed sellers. Eventually bodies start to pile up, and revenge begins to ride shotgun with greed as a motive to be the last person standing with as much cash as can be snatched.
Matt Phillips, as he has done in several other novels, has learned a few Elmore Leonard lessons in keeping things heavy with the lightest possible touch, and the pages fly by as a result. You'll care about who that last person standing is, but Phillips's secret sauce is that you'll come to care a little about each of these criminals as their human vulnerabilities begin to leak out like blood from a bullet wound.
COUNTDOWN is yet another triumph from Phillips, who, in a just world, will someday get his due alongside some of those more celebrated Gold Medal authors. Because there's still an audience for storytelling that marries propulsive darkness with painstaking skill. Check out the rest of his considerable oeuvre.
COUNTDOWN marries the best of the Gold Medal virtues with contemporary values. In San Diego, marijuana is newly legal, and for those who sell it but can't be bothered with making their dispensaries legal, dealing with undeclared cash is a problem. Whether you find someone to wash it or a safe place to store, you still have to schlep it out in garbage bags with sketchy protectors standing guard. And if those shotgun-toting protectors decide to prove their sketchiness by snatching the cash for themselves, well, you've got a bigger problem than finding a place to make it, and yourself, clean.
Echo and Glanston, ex-soldiers suffering assorted PTSD symptoms from their stretches in Iraq and skating along the margins of civilian society in the outer rings of San Diego, are the money-transfer muscle for illegal-weed-shop Jessie and LaDon. Echo wants to steal the loot; Glanston isn't necessarily opposed but he's a bit sweet on Jessie, who's more than a bit sweet on him. LaDon doesn't trust either and soon his instincts are proved correct when he follows them around and watches them rob other underground weed sellers. Eventually bodies start to pile up, and revenge begins to ride shotgun with greed as a motive to be the last person standing with as much cash as can be snatched.
Matt Phillips, as he has done in several other novels, has learned a few Elmore Leonard lessons in keeping things heavy with the lightest possible touch, and the pages fly by as a result. You'll care about who that last person standing is, but Phillips's secret sauce is that you'll come to care a little about each of these criminals as their human vulnerabilities begin to leak out like blood from a bullet wound.
COUNTDOWN is yet another triumph from Phillips, who, in a just world, will someday get his due alongside some of those more celebrated Gold Medal authors. Because there's still an audience for storytelling that marries propulsive darkness with painstaking skill. Check out the rest of his considerable oeuvre.
August 15, 2019
I won the paperback in a competition.
Matt Phillips’ Countdown is full-cream noir set around the murky purgatory of weed dealing in California where the stuff is legal locally but not federally – so what to do with the money is a perpetual headache.
Jessie and LaDon run the weed dispensary and have their money picked up and stored by collectors. The problem is one, an “Eye-Rack” war vet, wants a big payday and ropes in his dodgy old war vet pal into a nasty scheme to hit it big. Jessie and LaDon will have to deal with the consequences.
Phillips weaves in a hot mess of greed, sexual frustration, and good deeds and comes out with another cracking novel that just swims in atmosphere, crackling dialogue, and building dread. It’s great. If I have a problem with it, it’s the same as I had with his Know Me from Smoke – I’d like to swim in its mood a little longer. It’s lean, it’s fast-paced, it’s populated by flawed, desperate characters – some with a ton of heart – and it’s worth every moment of your time.
Matt Phillips’ Countdown is full-cream noir set around the murky purgatory of weed dealing in California where the stuff is legal locally but not federally – so what to do with the money is a perpetual headache.
Jessie and LaDon run the weed dispensary and have their money picked up and stored by collectors. The problem is one, an “Eye-Rack” war vet, wants a big payday and ropes in his dodgy old war vet pal into a nasty scheme to hit it big. Jessie and LaDon will have to deal with the consequences.
Phillips weaves in a hot mess of greed, sexual frustration, and good deeds and comes out with another cracking novel that just swims in atmosphere, crackling dialogue, and building dread. It’s great. If I have a problem with it, it’s the same as I had with his Know Me from Smoke – I’d like to swim in its mood a little longer. It’s lean, it’s fast-paced, it’s populated by flawed, desperate characters – some with a ton of heart – and it’s worth every moment of your time.
June 16, 2019
It definitely is not a kid's book. So if you are wanting a kid's book or family book this is not it. If you are wanting an adult book with lots of action and goo characters this is definitely the book for you. Good characters, good plot development and plenty of action. Starting from the beginning to the end the action does not stop. Always keeping the reader on their toes and interesting. Well, written too. Again, if you are looking for an adult book with plenty of action and good characters Countdown is a book for you.
July 3, 2019
Matt Phillips has written a tightly woven story full of well-drawn gritty characters. The action is fast and furious. Weed gets grown, sold and smoked and the money keeps piling up. That's where the trouble begins. PTSD-driven vets looking for a way out of the mean streets, piles of cash to be hoarded away. Then a few of them think, hey, let's steal it. That's where the action gets crazy. Excellent read. A real page turner. Well done, Mr. Phillips!
January 13, 2021
4.5 Stars
I got a free pdf of Countdown a month or two after it was released, and after finally getting to reading it over the last few days (January 2020) I found it to be an entertaining read that could have been a little longer and was almost exactly just what I needed to read. So I'm pretty impressed by the overall story, thankful for the read, the way it plays out, and the dramatic ending which builds to an epic cliff-hanger shocking-twist finale standoff. The narrative reads authentically (in my estimation) of what I would expect for the POV characters, and everyone gets their cumuppins in the end so the plot unfolds like it was a real-life experience.
Maybe since I got a pdf and not an official copy I guess there were some strange formatting decisions that forced me to squint my eyes to follow the text, and some pages only had several lines of text in the center, so I'm not sure if that will be an issue for everyone who reads Countdown or just me. It was a little distracting, but I would say it mostly canceled out by the way I was drawn to come back and read to completion. It's not a terribly complex tale with a large cast of characters, but what's here is strong and well developed. I really feel like I know much more about the legal weed business in Cali after finishing.
I'm a little surprised that there wasn't much of a law enforcement aspect to the story, maybe there could have been a detective following around Echo and LaDon trying to solve the case and shows up at the end. However, going back to the authenticity that I mentioned earlier, this book definitely plays out in a hectic and unscripted manner. The ending was perfect, but I thought there could have been an epilogue to put a bow on the work. So really my only gripes with the book are its brusque length and strange formatting.
The best aspects of the read are the rhythm of how it actually reads, the introspection of the character's mindsets and actions, and the descriptive scenery that has some interesting extra details which I mostly enjoyed. I recognize that reading and writing is an escapist hobby, so the violence and sex that is portrayed feels realistic, like the rest of the novel, but some details that were presented seemed more necessary than others and stuck around longer than needed, so I'm not sure if some readers may get a little perturbed.
Overall, this is solid engagement reading for a handful of afternoons. I am interested to check out the rest of Phillip's works and wish him well in his continuing career.
I got a free pdf of Countdown a month or two after it was released, and after finally getting to reading it over the last few days (January 2020) I found it to be an entertaining read that could have been a little longer and was almost exactly just what I needed to read. So I'm pretty impressed by the overall story, thankful for the read, the way it plays out, and the dramatic ending which builds to an epic cliff-hanger shocking-twist finale standoff. The narrative reads authentically (in my estimation) of what I would expect for the POV characters, and everyone gets their cumuppins in the end so the plot unfolds like it was a real-life experience.
Maybe since I got a pdf and not an official copy I guess there were some strange formatting decisions that forced me to squint my eyes to follow the text, and some pages only had several lines of text in the center, so I'm not sure if that will be an issue for everyone who reads Countdown or just me. It was a little distracting, but I would say it mostly canceled out by the way I was drawn to come back and read to completion. It's not a terribly complex tale with a large cast of characters, but what's here is strong and well developed. I really feel like I know much more about the legal weed business in Cali after finishing.
I'm a little surprised that there wasn't much of a law enforcement aspect to the story, maybe there could have been a detective following around Echo and LaDon trying to solve the case and shows up at the end. However, going back to the authenticity that I mentioned earlier, this book definitely plays out in a hectic and unscripted manner. The ending was perfect, but I thought there could have been an epilogue to put a bow on the work. So really my only gripes with the book are its brusque length and strange formatting.
The best aspects of the read are the rhythm of how it actually reads, the introspection of the character's mindsets and actions, and the descriptive scenery that has some interesting extra details which I mostly enjoyed. I recognize that reading and writing is an escapist hobby, so the violence and sex that is portrayed feels realistic, like the rest of the novel, but some details that were presented seemed more necessary than others and stuck around longer than needed, so I'm not sure if some readers may get a little perturbed.
Overall, this is solid engagement reading for a handful of afternoons. I am interested to check out the rest of Phillip's works and wish him well in his continuing career.
July 25, 2019
If you like crime-fiction, this one's for you! A deep dive into the "legal" marijuana business where cash is more readily available than an ATM and two gutsy war vets are determined to get a piece-of-the-pie!
Ten thousand a day. Every day. In cash! You can MAKE it, but where do you PUT it?
"With the legalization of marijuana in California, and the federal illegality of the drug, there's a teeny weeny money problem. You can grow weed. You can sell it. You can smoke it and you can eat it. You can do just about whatever you want with it. You can't put it in a bank because the IRS will start asking questions. So, what do you do with it?"
A great premise, right? Lots of marijuana money - in cash - every single day but nowhere to put it!
Set in San Diego, this book reads like a really low-life "American Greed." Two war vets back from Iraq (a.k.a. EYE RACK) are looking for their next gig. One-half of this dynamic duo starts his own "security" company - storing thousands of dollars - in cash - collected every day - from marijuana "dispensaries," in a storage unit.
So, who better to ROB the dispensaries than the guy(s) securing them! Enter the other half of the dynamic duo. Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned and these two hard-luck soldiers lead you down every seedy back street in San Diego, where every guy is in it for himself looking for any angle to get rid of the the competition!
Ten thousand a day. Every day. In cash! You can MAKE it, but where do you PUT it?
"With the legalization of marijuana in California, and the federal illegality of the drug, there's a teeny weeny money problem. You can grow weed. You can sell it. You can smoke it and you can eat it. You can do just about whatever you want with it. You can't put it in a bank because the IRS will start asking questions. So, what do you do with it?"
A great premise, right? Lots of marijuana money - in cash - every single day but nowhere to put it!
Set in San Diego, this book reads like a really low-life "American Greed." Two war vets back from Iraq (a.k.a. EYE RACK) are looking for their next gig. One-half of this dynamic duo starts his own "security" company - storing thousands of dollars - in cash - collected every day - from marijuana "dispensaries," in a storage unit.
So, who better to ROB the dispensaries than the guy(s) securing them! Enter the other half of the dynamic duo. Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned and these two hard-luck soldiers lead you down every seedy back street in San Diego, where every guy is in it for himself looking for any angle to get rid of the the competition!
June 9, 2023
The essence of noir is to show us what life is like on the other side, to show us the consequences of poor choices, bad judgment and just plain malice. Sometimes we can sympathize with these people; sometimes they have no redeeming characteristics at all. This little morality play by noir master Matt Phillips veers toward the latter end of the spectrum.
Jessie Jessup and LaDon Charles are partners in a weed dispensary in San Diego. The business is legal in California but banks won't touch the cash because federal law still prohibits it. This creates an economic niche for money launderers, armed guards and stickup men. Jessie hires a pair of ex-military types to pick up the bags full of cash and store it until it can be washed; one of them has an old buddy from the Corps who is a little nuts after a couple of deployments in Iraq. He has his own ideas about what should happen to the money.
It's the perfect setup for predation, double-crossing and mayhem, and Phillips doesn't disappoint us. The title refers to the decreasing number of living protagonists as the book moves along. The author has an acute eye and ear for low-lifery and the bleaker parts of the San Diego ecosystem. His highlighting of the anomaly of legalizing marijuana half-way is as far as his social responsibility goes; for the rest it's just pure amoral specimen-gazing. Not a warm and fuzzy story, but great noir.
Jessie Jessup and LaDon Charles are partners in a weed dispensary in San Diego. The business is legal in California but banks won't touch the cash because federal law still prohibits it. This creates an economic niche for money launderers, armed guards and stickup men. Jessie hires a pair of ex-military types to pick up the bags full of cash and store it until it can be washed; one of them has an old buddy from the Corps who is a little nuts after a couple of deployments in Iraq. He has his own ideas about what should happen to the money.
It's the perfect setup for predation, double-crossing and mayhem, and Phillips doesn't disappoint us. The title refers to the decreasing number of living protagonists as the book moves along. The author has an acute eye and ear for low-lifery and the bleaker parts of the San Diego ecosystem. His highlighting of the anomaly of legalizing marijuana half-way is as far as his social responsibility goes; for the rest it's just pure amoral specimen-gazing. Not a warm and fuzzy story, but great noir.
November 24, 2021
This was even better than the last one I read: 'You Must Have A Death Wish'. Some of the same characters return, and we get a better understanding of them in this novel (LaDon especially)
Matt Phillips has a way of writing that is super punchy and smart, with great/funny-but-not-really-trying-to-be dialogue. He's created a version of modern-day San Diego not unlike Elmore Leonard's Detroit in the 1970s, filled with skeevy individuals that are completely unlikeable - except for when they are. There's a plot but it's pretty shaggy... we mostly follow these guys and girls around town, jumping between the different characters, but it still draws you in by the power of the voice. There are moments of tension, hilarity, and a minor character towards the end even manages to break your heart a little.
I've always had a soft spot for California crime novels - shady people in the sun - Newton Thornburg, Don Winslow etc etc. Matt Phillips is the new writer to watch.
Matt Phillips has a way of writing that is super punchy and smart, with great/funny-but-not-really-trying-to-be dialogue. He's created a version of modern-day San Diego not unlike Elmore Leonard's Detroit in the 1970s, filled with skeevy individuals that are completely unlikeable - except for when they are. There's a plot but it's pretty shaggy... we mostly follow these guys and girls around town, jumping between the different characters, but it still draws you in by the power of the voice. There are moments of tension, hilarity, and a minor character towards the end even manages to break your heart a little.
I've always had a soft spot for California crime novels - shady people in the sun - Newton Thornburg, Don Winslow etc etc. Matt Phillips is the new writer to watch.
September 24, 2023
Fast, Fun Crime Action
A bunch of bad guys doing bad things without any good guys around to muck up the proceedings. Really fun and fast read - I read the entire thing in a single sitting. There is a lot of action, a smattering of humor and its mostly unpredictable. The action is gritty and brutal without reveling in the gore or the suffering.
Well worth a read for any fan of crime fiction.
A bunch of bad guys doing bad things without any good guys around to muck up the proceedings. Really fun and fast read - I read the entire thing in a single sitting. There is a lot of action, a smattering of humor and its mostly unpredictable. The action is gritty and brutal without reveling in the gore or the suffering.
Well worth a read for any fan of crime fiction.
August 31, 2019
This book was a gift and my review is my own.
Well certainly out of my genre but I found the characters well represented and the plot fast paced and engaging. I’m sure you will find much more in-depth reviews by others and it was a nice change of pace from my sci-fi and horror selections. Enjoy the read!!
Well certainly out of my genre but I found the characters well represented and the plot fast paced and engaging. I’m sure you will find much more in-depth reviews by others and it was a nice change of pace from my sci-fi and horror selections. Enjoy the read!!
February 13, 2021
New Author
This is the first book I’ve read by Phillips and , tritely, it wont be the last. I read lots of crime novels but Phillip is one of the good ones. A throwback of sorts to the Gold Medals of the fifties=this book was lean, mean and plain fun. Will read more of his books. You should too.
This is the first book I’ve read by Phillips and , tritely, it wont be the last. I read lots of crime novels but Phillip is one of the good ones. A throwback of sorts to the Gold Medals of the fifties=this book was lean, mean and plain fun. Will read more of his books. You should too.
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