Full Throttle: The Collected Camaro Stories, Vol. 1

Camaro Espinoza

by Sam Hawken

Camaro Espinoza spent twelve years in the Army and now she's out, traveling the United States on the back of Harley-Davidson and finding things are no less complicated than they were in the killing fields of Iraq and Afghanistan. Some underestimate her. Those folks pay the price.

Collected here for the first time are the four novellas that introduced Camaro to the world. From Las Vegas to New York City, these tales strike fast and hit hard. The person who gets in Camaro's way is a person who isn't going to live very much longer.

Contains Camaro Run, Crossfire, The Drum and Sisters in Arms, previously available only as separate ebooks.

286 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 19, 2014

About the author

Sam Hawken is the best-selling and Crime Writers Association Dagger-nominated author of the Camaro Espinoza thriller series, as well as the critically acclaimed Borderland Trilogy.

Reviews

[Benoit Lelièvre · Rating 4 out of 5]

As much as I don't usually connect with female protagonist, I do have a thing for understated, intuitive, Hemingway-inspired stories, the way Sam Hawken writes them. FULL THROTTLE has four Camarao Espinoza novella, but they read like one continuous adventure, a little bit like a television series. It's a rare occurrence of action-oriented thrillers, a middle-ground between David Morrell's John Rambo and Lee Child's Jack Reacher. I thought there were several parallels with Reacher in fact, except for that annoying admiration Child has for his character. Hawken doesn't do that.

I'm not good with female protagonist or social justice, but if I took something from the Camaro Espinoza novella, it's: damn, that Hawken guy can write. He has a very off-beat, cerebral and intuitive approach to action scenes that include memorable shootouts and killer endings. As you guys know about me, only give me that and I'll follow you on bloody stumps through the snow. The Camaro Espinoza stories are better than most of the pulp/action thrillers out there today. It's a tricky genre to write, but Hawken nailed it.

[Alan Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

Camaro's a great character, and all four novellas rock

Camaro spent years in the military Asa combat medic...which seems to involve a lot of patching people up, and just as much blowing them apart. She now apparently roams the country on her Harley. In the first of these four connected stories, Camaro stumbles into a drug deal gone bad. The driving force in all four novellas then becomes her attempts to avoid being killed by those same drug dealers.

Along the way, she becomes a Jack Reacher type of loner--stumbling into injustice, which she is compelled to rectify. Along the way, there is lots of driving, exercise, fighting, shooting, and a little humor.

I believe these are intended as prequels to a multi-part series feature Camaro. Can't wait to get started on those!

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

“You don’t trouble trouble unless trouble troubles you."

I hadn't read any of Hawken's books before but ended up getting an Advanced Reading Copy of his latest WALK AWAY. I found out it was a book part way into a series with protagonist Camaro Espinoza and decided to read the prior works before reading the ARC. I am very glad I did.

FULL THROTTLE is actually a compilation of four longish novellas that were previously published separately:

CAMARO RUN
CROSSFIRE
THE DRUM
SISTERS IN ARMS

I thoroughly enjoyed each one.

Camaro Espinoza is out on the street now, after spending 12 years serving our country as an Army medic. There are flashbacks scattered throughout the four stories about her military service.

She is 30 years old, rides a Harley-Davidson and is tough as nails.

The four different stories are interconnected, taking the reader from Las Vegas to New Orleans to Minnesota to Brooklyn.

So far, she is my favorite female protagonist along with Anna Pigeon and Kate Shugak.

Do yourself a favor and get acquainted with Camaro (like the car) as long as you have a strong stomach.

[Gina Beirne · Rating 4 out of 5]

More please!