Some Awful Cunning

by Joe Ricker

Ryan Carpenter is an underground relocation specialist who helps people escape the danger and traumas of their life and start over. After agreeing to help the young wife of a Texas oil baron relocate her stepson to escape criminal prosecution, Ryan learns more than he wants to about the oil baron, his wife, and the stepson.

Haunted by his own forced relocation, Ryan betrays his client and is forced to scramble for his life, which only puts him face to face with the childhood past he’s been trying to escape his entire life. His flight brings him from Albuquerque, New Mexico; back to New Orleans, Louisiana; where Ryan learned his underground trade as a relocation specialist or “travel agent.” There, Ryan seeks the help of his former mentor to escape the endless resources of the people who will stop at nothing to find Ryan and have him killed.

But first, Ryan’s mentor needs a favor, and that favor forces Ryan back to Ironwood, Maine, a small timber town where Ryan grew up, and where the one person who might figure out who Ryan really is, is an ambitious deputy who will stop at nothing to become sheriff. A town where everyone remembers the tragedy that took Ryan and his family’s life.

Or so they thought…

Praise for SOME AWFUL

“A clever, original novel with a twisted plot and wily characters.” — Kirkus Reviews

308 pages, Paperback

First published April 19, 2020

About the author

Ricker began his writing career as an undergraduate at the University of Mississippi, where he worked nights as a bartender at City Grocery. In both the bar and on campus, he was mentored by local authors and instructors Barry Hannah, Larry Brown, and Tom Franklin. Esquire magazine referred to him as: “A man of letters who’s gentle in the way that only the toughest of hard-asses can be.” He earned an MFA from Goddard College, and moved on to teach in Ithaca, New York, for nearly a decade. After leaving Ithaca, Ricker spent two years living out of his car and traveling through the western United States with his dog Kamani. He settled in Reno, Nevada, where he currently resides. Ricker has worked as an innkeeper, cab driver, carpenter, ranch-hand, lumberjack, and strip-club bouncer.

Reviews

[Mickey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Messed up people doing messed up things to each other in criminally creative ways. The prose is tight but atmospheric, and as the locations shift from Texas to New Mexico to Maine, Some Awful Cunning takes you along for a great ride. This book reminds me of Elmore Leonard, with more introspective characters. Highly recommended.

[Shannon Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ricker has an extraordinary talent to describe a scene, an emotion, a character. His prose gives you an image in your mind’s eye without drowning you in so much unnecessary detail that you miss what’s going on in the story. This book is fabulous and unlike any contemporary thriller I’ve read. I look forward to sharing copies with friends.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fast read. the characters grab you and it is one that can't be put down.

Ryan Carpenter is an underground relocation specialist who helps people escape the danger and traumas of their life and start over. After agreeing to help the young wife of a Texas oil baron relocate her stepson to escape criminal prosecution, Ryan learns more than he wants to about the oil baron, his wife, and the stepson.

Haunted by his own forced relocation, Ryan betrays his client and is forced to scramble for his life, which only puts him face to face with the childhood past he’s been trying to escape his entire life. His flight brings him from Albuquerque, New Mexico; back to New Orleans, Louisiana; where Ryan learned his underground trade as a relocation specialist or “travel agent.” There, Ryan seeks the help of his former mentor to escape the endless resources of the people who will stop at nothing to find Ryan and have him killed.

But first, Ryan’s mentor needs a favor, and that favor forces Ryan back to Ironwood, Maine, a small timber town where Ryan grew up, and where the one person who might figure out who Ryan really is, is an ambitious deputy will stop at nothing to become sheriff. A town where everyone remembers the tragedy that took Ryan and his family’s life.

Or so they thought…

[Erin Fraser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joe Ricker's latest book, Some Awful Cunning, is a must read. Throughout the book, the plot meanders through the psyche of people you've probably met along the way and were glad to leave behind, while you wonder if you really understand the character before you as another twist is revealed. You feel pity, disgust, and respect for the mixed bag of humans described in the novel and wonder if you'll feel brave enough to step foot in the woods again.
Some Awful Cunning is a surly blend of the seven deadly sins with a whiskey chaser and a lingering trail of clove cigarettes. If you are a fan of crime novels, you need to get this book. I highly recommend it.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Murder? Like suspense? Like twists and turns? Then this book is for you! I kept thinking it must be over then boom, plot twist!