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Tessa Goes Down
Tessa Rae Jayne is gunnin’ for the border. Ain’t nothin’ gonna stop her, not after what she did for her brother Terrell, back home in Decatur, Illinois. A half hour from Mexico, though, she slams into good ol’ boy Floyd Tillman Weathers, a man with his own criminal secrets—not to mention a duffel bag full of stolen cash. Before long, the unlikely mismatched duo have embarked on a wild, reckless trek across the southwest in search of a shared fever dream. But forces from each of their immediate pasts are in hot pursuit, and Tessa and Floyd will face a series of brutal challenges before they can find redemption and freedom.
Tessa Goes Down begins as a breakneck border noir and becomes a sweaty, sexy, chaotic road trip through Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico—a ferocious ride punctuated by kidnappings, close calls, cliffhangers, and hell-for-leather sleuthing. So sit back as Tessa and Floyd tell their respective tales—and hurtle toward a soul-shattering shock ending.
“Jason Bovberg knows how to write a go-for-broke crime novel! Tessa Goes Down is brutal, breathless, and black as night. Doomed lovers on the run, racing headlong from the bleached white Texas heat to the dark alley of true noir. Grungy as a truck stop bathroom and darker than midnight.”
—Eric Beetner, author of All the Way Down
“In Tessa Goes Down, Jason Bovberg builds on the breakout triumph of Loser Baby with the lyrical voice of an alt-country singer and the leathery wisdom of a longtime street hustler. This book is a double-barreled barnstormer of sun-blasted darkness up and down the back highways of forgotten America. It’s got the gleeful nihilism, grindhouse heart, and narcotic poetry of a 1970s drive-in-movie classic.”
—Jim Thomsen, crime fiction author and reviewer
"Jason Bovberg is a fresh new voice in noir!"
—Wallace Stroby, author of the Crissa Stone series
Tessa Goes Down begins as a breakneck border noir and becomes a sweaty, sexy, chaotic road trip through Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico—a ferocious ride punctuated by kidnappings, close calls, cliffhangers, and hell-for-leather sleuthing. So sit back as Tessa and Floyd tell their respective tales—and hurtle toward a soul-shattering shock ending.
“Jason Bovberg knows how to write a go-for-broke crime novel! Tessa Goes Down is brutal, breathless, and black as night. Doomed lovers on the run, racing headlong from the bleached white Texas heat to the dark alley of true noir. Grungy as a truck stop bathroom and darker than midnight.”
—Eric Beetner, author of All the Way Down
“In Tessa Goes Down, Jason Bovberg builds on the breakout triumph of Loser Baby with the lyrical voice of an alt-country singer and the leathery wisdom of a longtime street hustler. This book is a double-barreled barnstormer of sun-blasted darkness up and down the back highways of forgotten America. It’s got the gleeful nihilism, grindhouse heart, and narcotic poetry of a 1970s drive-in-movie classic.”
—Jim Thomsen, crime fiction author and reviewer
"Jason Bovberg is a fresh new voice in noir!"
—Wallace Stroby, author of the Crissa Stone series
322 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 2, 2022
About the author
Jason Bovberg
8 books122 followersJason Bovberg is the author of Tessa Goes Down, Loser Baby, the Blood trilogy (Blood Red, Draw Blood, and Blood Dawn), and The Naked Dame. He is the founder of Dark Highway Press, which published Robert Devereaux’s controversial Santa Steps Out, as well as the highly acclaimed weird-western anthology Skull Full of Spurs. He lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, with his wife Barb, his daughters Harper and Sophie, and his canines Rocky and Rango. You can find him online at www.jasonbovberg.com.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
July 23, 2022
”Floyd Weathers killed a man with a baseball bat when he was twenty-seven years old and foolin’ around with this hot mess of a girl in way-west Texas, town by the name of Malvado, one of those dusty wasteland settlements a stone’s throw from the Rio Grande that hadn’t known even a dull gleam in decades. Potholed streets lined with crumbling pale brick and peeled paint and boarded-up shattered windows. Grim faces watched you pass. It was a place no one paid any attention to. No one. You felt so removed from civilization that the earth was rug-flat and you were underneath it, in the deep dark with the grime and the smokybrown roaches.
Just the way Floyd liked it.”
Floyd was laying low, waiting for that phone call, the one that was going to give him a score big enough to allow himself some room to breathe for a while. He just needed to not fuck it up, and staying in a shithole town among the dregs of society was supposed to make it easier for him to stay below the radar. Even the devil won’t bother to find him in Malvado.
Sure he’s bored, but he knows there’s an end date.
Maybe too much time for contemplation, but then he’s a pro at staying away from the road graded parts of his brain. The places where his mistakes have started building skyscrapers and monuments to his colossal blunders. When you’re marking time, you have to find a nice place to burrow into your brain like a hibernating bear, keep everything very simple and ignore everything except for the first chirp of that phone call.
Now there is probably a decent looking woman in Malvado. This is the type of place where a four anywhere else becomes a six. If Floyd hung out in a bar long enough, eventually he’d find some bored housewife, maybe a bit chunky but still hanging onto the vestiges of her sex appeal. A mild distraction, but certainly nothing he’d get hung up on.
But that didn’t happen to Floyd.
Tessa Rae Jayne happened to Floyd.
”That scrumptious thing, that sweet split-cherry bottom, that twisty smile. The way she could turn an innocent gesture into a naughty come-on like she wasn’t even trying.”
Floyd was hooked.
Tessa walked like she was trying to put a brushfire out between her legs, but the fact of the matter was, a woman like her showing up in Malvado could only mean one thing…she was running from something. She was hot, hot, hot and not just between the bedsheets.
She believed her Midwest troubles stayed in the Midwest, but Texas, in my experience, always seemed to be the place where trouble finds a lot of wide open space with which to stomp the life out of someone and provide a lonely grave for what was left of them.
Floyd had had enough hard knocks to know better, but there was something about a woman like Tessa that leaves a shank broken off in the cognitive part of a man’s brain. Yes, the sex was fucking amazing. We all know about that particular short circuit of a man’s ability to process, evaluate, and say no fucking way. So when Tessa’s complications landed on them like a barrel of napalm lit by a streaking meteorite, Floyd should be blazing a trail for a new zip code, but what could a man do about a woman that kept him in a constant state of aroused, blissful, contemplative lust that was indistinguishable from…love. Well, the only thing he could do is ratchet the shotgun, tighten his sphincter, and jump right in the fucking middle of it.
I described this book to someone as sipping gin from a lit molotov cocktail. Not that I’ve ever done that…because…that would be crazy, but being a man possessing a vivid imagination, I can simulate just about anything. If I were reading this book without knowing who the author was, my first thought would be to believe this was a Charles Willeford book, but with the Texas elements, the name that floats to the cloudy surface of my brain is the Nacogdoches spin wizard of hardboiled hijinks Joe R. Lansdale.
Floyd Tillman Weathers, with his self-destructive tendencies, could have walked right out of the pages of a Jim Thompson novel.
But the thing is, neither Willeford, nor Lansdale, nor Thompson wrote this book. It was the clever Colorado master of mayhem Jason Bovberg, a name I’ve come to associate with high quality, hardboiled entertainment. He’s going to drop you into a whirlwind of pandemonium, so you better buckle up your seatbelt. (Doesn’t everyone have a seatbelt on their reading chair or is it just me?)
Hey, if you are like me and already sizzling from this historic, hellish heat wave, you are probably in desperate need for a provocative, titillating, sultry distraction that also provides nonstop, breakneck, tumultuous action, so pour some Jack in your lemonade and get ready to listen to the radials humming on the pavement across Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma as Floyd tries to find a happy ending that he never, ever thought would be in the cards.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten and an Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/jeffreykeeten/
Just the way Floyd liked it.”
Floyd was laying low, waiting for that phone call, the one that was going to give him a score big enough to allow himself some room to breathe for a while. He just needed to not fuck it up, and staying in a shithole town among the dregs of society was supposed to make it easier for him to stay below the radar. Even the devil won’t bother to find him in Malvado.
Sure he’s bored, but he knows there’s an end date.
Maybe too much time for contemplation, but then he’s a pro at staying away from the road graded parts of his brain. The places where his mistakes have started building skyscrapers and monuments to his colossal blunders. When you’re marking time, you have to find a nice place to burrow into your brain like a hibernating bear, keep everything very simple and ignore everything except for the first chirp of that phone call.
Now there is probably a decent looking woman in Malvado. This is the type of place where a four anywhere else becomes a six. If Floyd hung out in a bar long enough, eventually he’d find some bored housewife, maybe a bit chunky but still hanging onto the vestiges of her sex appeal. A mild distraction, but certainly nothing he’d get hung up on.
But that didn’t happen to Floyd.
Tessa Rae Jayne happened to Floyd.
”That scrumptious thing, that sweet split-cherry bottom, that twisty smile. The way she could turn an innocent gesture into a naughty come-on like she wasn’t even trying.”
Floyd was hooked.
Tessa walked like she was trying to put a brushfire out between her legs, but the fact of the matter was, a woman like her showing up in Malvado could only mean one thing…she was running from something. She was hot, hot, hot and not just between the bedsheets.
She believed her Midwest troubles stayed in the Midwest, but Texas, in my experience, always seemed to be the place where trouble finds a lot of wide open space with which to stomp the life out of someone and provide a lonely grave for what was left of them.
Floyd had had enough hard knocks to know better, but there was something about a woman like Tessa that leaves a shank broken off in the cognitive part of a man’s brain. Yes, the sex was fucking amazing. We all know about that particular short circuit of a man’s ability to process, evaluate, and say no fucking way. So when Tessa’s complications landed on them like a barrel of napalm lit by a streaking meteorite, Floyd should be blazing a trail for a new zip code, but what could a man do about a woman that kept him in a constant state of aroused, blissful, contemplative lust that was indistinguishable from…love. Well, the only thing he could do is ratchet the shotgun, tighten his sphincter, and jump right in the fucking middle of it.
I described this book to someone as sipping gin from a lit molotov cocktail. Not that I’ve ever done that…because…that would be crazy, but being a man possessing a vivid imagination, I can simulate just about anything. If I were reading this book without knowing who the author was, my first thought would be to believe this was a Charles Willeford book, but with the Texas elements, the name that floats to the cloudy surface of my brain is the Nacogdoches spin wizard of hardboiled hijinks Joe R. Lansdale.
Floyd Tillman Weathers, with his self-destructive tendencies, could have walked right out of the pages of a Jim Thompson novel.
But the thing is, neither Willeford, nor Lansdale, nor Thompson wrote this book. It was the clever Colorado master of mayhem Jason Bovberg, a name I’ve come to associate with high quality, hardboiled entertainment. He’s going to drop you into a whirlwind of pandemonium, so you better buckle up your seatbelt. (Doesn’t everyone have a seatbelt on their reading chair or is it just me?)
Hey, if you are like me and already sizzling from this historic, hellish heat wave, you are probably in desperate need for a provocative, titillating, sultry distraction that also provides nonstop, breakneck, tumultuous action, so pour some Jack in your lemonade and get ready to listen to the radials humming on the pavement across Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma as Floyd tries to find a happy ending that he never, ever thought would be in the cards.
If you wish to see more of my most recent book and movie reviews, visit http://www.jeffreykeeten.com
I also have a Facebook blogger page at:https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyKeeten and an Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/jeffreykeeten/
June 10, 2022
The classic crime novel often is comprised of three elements, a man with a gun all alone against the world, a seductive dame who spins his head around and other things as well, and a suitcase, box, briefcase, or duffel bag full of money. You get that all here and more.
The story is set primarily in the dry dusty lands of the border areas from a nowheresville town to Albuquerque and the two star-crossed lovers are Tessa Raye Jayne and Floyd Weathers are inseparable. Indeed, Floyd knows he is supposed to lay low and keep to himself, but his whole plan melts when this curvaceous dynamo crosses his path.
Like a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde, they fight their way across the West, hoping that some dawn will bring salvation. What sticks out about them is how they are both stuck in the whirlwind of time, unable to escape the messes they left back home.
This is quite a fun crime read. It roars from beginning to end on a shot of muscle-car adrenaline.
The story is set primarily in the dry dusty lands of the border areas from a nowheresville town to Albuquerque and the two star-crossed lovers are Tessa Raye Jayne and Floyd Weathers are inseparable. Indeed, Floyd knows he is supposed to lay low and keep to himself, but his whole plan melts when this curvaceous dynamo crosses his path.
Like a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde, they fight their way across the West, hoping that some dawn will bring salvation. What sticks out about them is how they are both stuck in the whirlwind of time, unable to escape the messes they left back home.
This is quite a fun crime read. It roars from beginning to end on a shot of muscle-car adrenaline.
July 8, 2022
Tessa Rae Jayne is running south for the Mexican border. Unfortunately, an act of revenge against a drug dealer she holds responsible for causing her brother’s addiction went horribly wrong, and Tessa is guilty of an unintended murder. When she stops for gas in a nondescript south Texas town about an hour from the border, fate takes a hand, and Tessa meets Floyd Tillman Weathers.
We’re given cause to be a bit suspicious of Weathers, learning he isn’t quite on the right side of the law either. He is hiding out in a cheap motel in the backwater town with a half-million dollars, the proceeds of a bank robbery, awaiting instructions from his criminal boss to return the money to Little Rock, Arkansas, once the heat is off. Weathers wasn’t a part of the robbery. He’s more of a low-level errand runner for the true criminals. But the more we learn about Weathers, the more we discover he isn’t a bad man but a guy who wants to do the right thing but can’t figure out exactly what the right thing is.
Tessa and Floyd end up in the bed inside his motel room, sharing what they both seem to consider a one-night stand. But to their mutual surprise, they discover they are kindred spirits, both the products of their chaotic pasts. Then when one of Tessa’s pursuers catches up with her at the seedy motel, things go south in a hurry, and Tessa and Floyd’s futures get hopelessly intertwined.
Tessa Goes Down is a story that rips along like hell on wheels burning rubber on a hot, dusty, desolate stretch of South Texas highway. It’s a high-octane road trip underscored by kidnappings and killings, from along the Mexican border back north to the scene of Tessa’s crime as Floyd tries to help her redeem her past and rescue himself at the same time.
The story is sometimes racy, profane, and violent. But it grips you by the throat from the beginning and hangs on until it drags you to the soul-crushing but not completely unexpected page-turning climax. A few chapters in, you can’t put this one down.
I received an advance copy of the book from the publisher used for this review, representing my honest opinions.
We’re given cause to be a bit suspicious of Weathers, learning he isn’t quite on the right side of the law either. He is hiding out in a cheap motel in the backwater town with a half-million dollars, the proceeds of a bank robbery, awaiting instructions from his criminal boss to return the money to Little Rock, Arkansas, once the heat is off. Weathers wasn’t a part of the robbery. He’s more of a low-level errand runner for the true criminals. But the more we learn about Weathers, the more we discover he isn’t a bad man but a guy who wants to do the right thing but can’t figure out exactly what the right thing is.
Tessa and Floyd end up in the bed inside his motel room, sharing what they both seem to consider a one-night stand. But to their mutual surprise, they discover they are kindred spirits, both the products of their chaotic pasts. Then when one of Tessa’s pursuers catches up with her at the seedy motel, things go south in a hurry, and Tessa and Floyd’s futures get hopelessly intertwined.
Tessa Goes Down is a story that rips along like hell on wheels burning rubber on a hot, dusty, desolate stretch of South Texas highway. It’s a high-octane road trip underscored by kidnappings and killings, from along the Mexican border back north to the scene of Tessa’s crime as Floyd tries to help her redeem her past and rescue himself at the same time.
The story is sometimes racy, profane, and violent. But it grips you by the throat from the beginning and hangs on until it drags you to the soul-crushing but not completely unexpected page-turning climax. A few chapters in, you can’t put this one down.
I received an advance copy of the book from the publisher used for this review, representing my honest opinions.
July 26, 2022
This one's a crazy ride, folks! Consider it my crime-fiction meditation on the era we're living in, this post-pandemic "age of the asshole." It ain't pretty, but it's definitely lively. Naughty too. Hope you dig it!
October 23, 2022
I can't really compare this to anything I think I've read (because this isn't a genre I've read much, if any?), but it made me think of the movie Pulp Fiction, films of that ilk. Fast, sexy, violent and dangerously off kilter.
August 4, 2022
⭐️4.5⭐️
Wow, wow, wow! I can not say enough good things about this novel. We follow Floyd and Tessa as a series of unfortunate decisions (and a passionate night of luv makin’) leads to trouble busting down their door. Set in a small Texas border town in present day America and then progressing to the highways beyond!
Tessa and Floyd are a match made in Heaven (Hell?). One night of passion and lust brings these two troubled souls on a big adventure. Truly a modern day Bonnie and Clyde!!
This has everything I want and love in a mystery. Murder, sex, drugs, dark intrigue, and a guy and gal jus trying to stay alive. It’s fast paced, well written, and thoughtful in its plot execution. The cadence (and sometimes the way the main characters spoke) reminded me of my beloved Stephen King. Loved it!
If you like dark noir mysteries and are looking for a book to get lost in… I highly recommend Tessa Goes Down! I look forward to reading more of the author’s backlist and future releases.
Thank you to @bythebookvbp and @jasonbovbergauthor for the opportunity to read and review Tessa Goes Down!
Wow, wow, wow! I can not say enough good things about this novel. We follow Floyd and Tessa as a series of unfortunate decisions (and a passionate night of luv makin’) leads to trouble busting down their door. Set in a small Texas border town in present day America and then progressing to the highways beyond!
Tessa and Floyd are a match made in Heaven (Hell?). One night of passion and lust brings these two troubled souls on a big adventure. Truly a modern day Bonnie and Clyde!!
This has everything I want and love in a mystery. Murder, sex, drugs, dark intrigue, and a guy and gal jus trying to stay alive. It’s fast paced, well written, and thoughtful in its plot execution. The cadence (and sometimes the way the main characters spoke) reminded me of my beloved Stephen King. Loved it!
If you like dark noir mysteries and are looking for a book to get lost in… I highly recommend Tessa Goes Down! I look forward to reading more of the author’s backlist and future releases.
Thank you to @bythebookvbp and @jasonbovbergauthor for the opportunity to read and review Tessa Goes Down!
August 4, 2022
Well this was another fun, chaotic and absolute everything that can go wrong will scenario 😂 I think this author has definitely found his niche in this Tarantino-esk Noir type Suspense.
I really enjoy his writing, the fast-paced craziness and drama with a darkness that overshadows the characters. No one is really nice but they are likeable. They aren't good people but you really feel for them and the situations they are in. You really, really want to see a happy ending but will that actually happen?? Read this one, buckle that seat belt and find out.
I sincerely appreciate the publisher and By the Book VBP for providing me with a review copy. All opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.
I really enjoy his writing, the fast-paced craziness and drama with a darkness that overshadows the characters. No one is really nice but they are likeable. They aren't good people but you really feel for them and the situations they are in. You really, really want to see a happy ending but will that actually happen?? Read this one, buckle that seat belt and find out.
I sincerely appreciate the publisher and By the Book VBP for providing me with a review copy. All opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.
July 6, 2022
READ MY FULL REVIEW AT Best Thriller Books
Make sure to check out the full review
Make sure to check out the full review
October 29, 2022
Tessa Goes Down is a modern take on roman noir pulp. Floyd and Tessa’s fates intertwine into a descent of cross-country running, gunning, and copious amounts of sex!
June 10, 2022
"Man turns his back on his family
Well, he just ain't no good"
--Bruce Springsteen, "Highway Patrolman"
Tessa Rae Jayne is on the run. She did something bad - we are not initially certain what - and is seeking to escape her troubles across the Mexican border. A chance encounter at a gas station in nowhere, TX, with a fellow named Floyd Tillman Weathers - a young man concealing nefarious dealings of his own - changes both of their plans, and alters both of their fates. The two get real friendly real fast, and their destinies quickly become entwined. It's clear from the outset this is no fairytale romance, though, as a number of rather challenging obstacles stand in the way of their ultimate happiness; pursuit from both sides sets in motion a nightmare whirlwind of a roadtrip across the sweaty southwest.
This is eminently readable neo-noir of the highest order, set in 2022 - references to mask-wearing and the Age of the A-hole abound, and smartphones feature - but thematically and tonally drawing on the likes of PARKER and HAP & LEONARD to tell a timeless story of damned youths trying desperately to outrun their pasts. Rapidly paced and relentlessly exciting, there's something for all thriller fans here: sex, drugs and violence in spades, to be sure, but also a fascinating, twisty plot that never takes the easy way out, that draws from texts as diverse detective noir, classic Westerns and B-movie horror.
Desire and angst bleed from these characters; they are carefully and believably drawn, with convincing, distinct voices. Bovberg nails a true-to-real-life, down-home manner of speaking without ever sounding cliche or cornpone. He parcels backstory out gradually throughout the novel's first two-thirds, allowing us to get caught up in the immediate challenges of these characters from the very first chapter, learning what we need to as we need to along the way. Chapters alternate perspectives between our two main protagonists, as we get swept up and invested in this high-octane ride from both sides. We learn that Tessa's motives were noble - she did what she did for her family, for her brother - and Floyd's murkier. But we grow to love them both.
Within seconds of finishing my advance copy of this book, I fired up my laptop. Not to drop this review - though that swiftly followed - but to drop a enthused, gushing, slightly-sweary missive directly to author Jason Bovberg. It's the second time in a year (qv: LOSER BABY) I've stayed up late on a worknight, powering through a Bovberg novel, in love with his characters, his language, and his runaway freight train narrative, desperate to power through one more chapter, shattered physically and emotionally by the time I reach that last page. Yep: TESSA GOES DOWN got me good, guys.
Shot through with oppressive southern heat, and with a self-destructive and nihilistic bent, this is one for those who like their reads sexy, bloody, and mean. If you're a fan of Joe R Lansdale, Lawrence Block, Donald E. Westlake, or Hard Case Crime in general, you are going to have a jet-black, Texas-hot blast with this one.
Well, he just ain't no good"
--Bruce Springsteen, "Highway Patrolman"
Tessa Rae Jayne is on the run. She did something bad - we are not initially certain what - and is seeking to escape her troubles across the Mexican border. A chance encounter at a gas station in nowhere, TX, with a fellow named Floyd Tillman Weathers - a young man concealing nefarious dealings of his own - changes both of their plans, and alters both of their fates. The two get real friendly real fast, and their destinies quickly become entwined. It's clear from the outset this is no fairytale romance, though, as a number of rather challenging obstacles stand in the way of their ultimate happiness; pursuit from both sides sets in motion a nightmare whirlwind of a roadtrip across the sweaty southwest.
This is eminently readable neo-noir of the highest order, set in 2022 - references to mask-wearing and the Age of the A-hole abound, and smartphones feature - but thematically and tonally drawing on the likes of PARKER and HAP & LEONARD to tell a timeless story of damned youths trying desperately to outrun their pasts. Rapidly paced and relentlessly exciting, there's something for all thriller fans here: sex, drugs and violence in spades, to be sure, but also a fascinating, twisty plot that never takes the easy way out, that draws from texts as diverse detective noir, classic Westerns and B-movie horror.
Desire and angst bleed from these characters; they are carefully and believably drawn, with convincing, distinct voices. Bovberg nails a true-to-real-life, down-home manner of speaking without ever sounding cliche or cornpone. He parcels backstory out gradually throughout the novel's first two-thirds, allowing us to get caught up in the immediate challenges of these characters from the very first chapter, learning what we need to as we need to along the way. Chapters alternate perspectives between our two main protagonists, as we get swept up and invested in this high-octane ride from both sides. We learn that Tessa's motives were noble - she did what she did for her family, for her brother - and Floyd's murkier. But we grow to love them both.
"For the first time in her memory, she felt lost. There was a sore bruise in the center of her, and she couldn't breathe deeply enough to reach it. She wasn't entirely sure what was ahead of her, and she didn't want to know what lay behind her."
Within seconds of finishing my advance copy of this book, I fired up my laptop. Not to drop this review - though that swiftly followed - but to drop a enthused, gushing, slightly-sweary missive directly to author Jason Bovberg. It's the second time in a year (qv: LOSER BABY) I've stayed up late on a worknight, powering through a Bovberg novel, in love with his characters, his language, and his runaway freight train narrative, desperate to power through one more chapter, shattered physically and emotionally by the time I reach that last page. Yep: TESSA GOES DOWN got me good, guys.
Shot through with oppressive southern heat, and with a self-destructive and nihilistic bent, this is one for those who like their reads sexy, bloody, and mean. If you're a fan of Joe R Lansdale, Lawrence Block, Donald E. Westlake, or Hard Case Crime in general, you are going to have a jet-black, Texas-hot blast with this one.
June 19, 2022
This lusty and dangerous crime noir thriller pairs up an accidental couple - both of whom are living on the dark side of the law - that decide to right some wrongs. While spanning the dusty borderlands of Texas into the heartland Bovberg draws readers into the always-look-over-your-shoulder world of Floyd and titular Tessa as they march toward some sort of redemption.
Dead bodies. Drugs. Money. Dust. Fast cars. Death. And plenty of sex.
I think someone needs to write a song about Floyd and Tessa.
My advice: Read this. But buckle up, because it's going to be a bumpy ride.
Dead bodies. Drugs. Money. Dust. Fast cars. Death. And plenty of sex.
I think someone needs to write a song about Floyd and Tessa.
My advice: Read this. But buckle up, because it's going to be a bumpy ride.
December 30, 2025
If I were a betting man, I'd wager Jason Bovberg had this idea that he wanted to write a novel about a guy working for some seedy crime syndicate and doing his job hiding in Nowhere, America, with a bag of cash. Jason probably also wanted to write about this guy meeting a woman who just absolutely pulls him head over heels, irresistibly in love, a woman who's also hiding from some dangerous men, a woman who awakens this guy's better nature to actually care about another person, a person he finds he would do anything for, no matter the cost. And, I suppose Jason wanted the two to take a road trip together in a muscle car with the possibility of running for their lives or confronting their pursuers in the balance.
And then Jason did exactly that, perfectly.
I don't really have too much more to add here. If the pitch sounds appealing, I encourage you to pick it up. It won't disappoint. Not only is it a solid entry to the crime genre, but it's also a salient and relevant novel that will get you thinking and move you. It takes some pretty big risks that will challenge you in a good way. It'll inspire you. It'll break your heart. It'll leave you with fond memories. First and foremost, I think this is a love story, as all good crime novels are.
No, that isn't right.
First and foremost, this is a good story, as all novels about both crime and love are.
Highly recommended whether you like the genre or not.
And then Jason did exactly that, perfectly.
I don't really have too much more to add here. If the pitch sounds appealing, I encourage you to pick it up. It won't disappoint. Not only is it a solid entry to the crime genre, but it's also a salient and relevant novel that will get you thinking and move you. It takes some pretty big risks that will challenge you in a good way. It'll inspire you. It'll break your heart. It'll leave you with fond memories. First and foremost, I think this is a love story, as all good crime novels are.
No, that isn't right.
First and foremost, this is a good story, as all novels about both crime and love are.
Highly recommended whether you like the genre or not.
July 30, 2022
Tessa Goes Down is the second book I have recently read by Jason Bovberg. I gotta say, his writing creates a total vibe. It’s dark, gritty noir and if you like a Tarentino vibe this author is for you!
Tessa and Floyd hook up when Tessa is on the run.
Floyd has his own reasons for wanting to stay under the radar and they are basically on a collision course of epic proportions together. This storyline is super fast paced and just when you think things are on an even keel, you get whiplashed onto yet another dark road. Murder, drugs, sex…what more can you ask for?
I really enjoyed the ride here and the ending?
Woah. 🖤 No spoilers so just give this one a read.
From the gorgeous cover right up to that ending, you won’t want to miss a single second of Tessa and Floyd’s crazy. Check it out.
Thanks to Jason for choosing us at VBP to help promote this bang up ride.
*Comes out in the wild August 2nd. 👀
Tessa and Floyd hook up when Tessa is on the run.
Floyd has his own reasons for wanting to stay under the radar and they are basically on a collision course of epic proportions together. This storyline is super fast paced and just when you think things are on an even keel, you get whiplashed onto yet another dark road. Murder, drugs, sex…what more can you ask for?
I really enjoyed the ride here and the ending?
Woah. 🖤 No spoilers so just give this one a read.
From the gorgeous cover right up to that ending, you won’t want to miss a single second of Tessa and Floyd’s crazy. Check it out.
Thanks to Jason for choosing us at VBP to help promote this bang up ride.
*Comes out in the wild August 2nd. 👀
August 3, 2022
Gripping, gritty story. Had me wondering the whole time, how were they going to get out of this? And that ending... wow. Was not expecting that at all!! Well done.
October 17, 2022
Mr. Bovberg did something crazy. He wrote a noir/road trip/sex romp story that will pull each and every emotion from your soul. On top of that, it's so fast paced you won't know if you should cry, laugh, or throw the book across the room.
The twisty chapter endings in this story will slowly drive you crazy, but you will enjoy it the whole time.
A certain speech made by Floyd as the setting moves through St. Louis really hit home with me. You know the writing is good when you want to talk with a fictional character about how much you agree with him!
I can't give you spoilers or the story would be ruined, and honestly, I wouldn't want to. But I promise you will spend thirty chapters rushing through this book to find out how it ends.
If you like noir crime sprees, sex romps, or road trip thrillers then don't hesitate on this one - go ahead and pull the trigger.
The twisty chapter endings in this story will slowly drive you crazy, but you will enjoy it the whole time.
A certain speech made by Floyd as the setting moves through St. Louis really hit home with me. You know the writing is good when you want to talk with a fictional character about how much you agree with him!
I can't give you spoilers or the story would be ruined, and honestly, I wouldn't want to. But I promise you will spend thirty chapters rushing through this book to find out how it ends.
If you like noir crime sprees, sex romps, or road trip thrillers then don't hesitate on this one - go ahead and pull the trigger.
Read
August 21, 2022Sometimes the most likeable of books does not need to have come from one of the major book publishers out there. Often, there are books from smaller presses that crave attention and the chance to be read. TESSA GOES DOWN is one of those books.
Jason Bovberg is not a writer with a string of top ten best sellers to his credit, which is a shame, because the more who are aware of him and his writing talents, will help spread the word. He writes like any of the other seasoned mystery writers out there with a taste for the noir, and more importantly a taste for excellent story telling. Once you start the book you will be lured into Bosverg’s world, one you will enjoy living in for the length of the book.
It has everything going for it, great main characters, lots of action, violence, and an ending that really catches you off guard. Floyd Tillman Weathers is one of those great characters, an unassuming man with a secret. He is a bank robber with a ton of money in a gym bag that he got in a bank heist. He hopes to hear from his boss about taking the money to a specific location, but in the meantime gets sidetracked by a young lady by the name of Tessa Rae Jayne. She has some secrets of her own, mainly setting a revenge fire, to get back at the man who got her brother Terrell involved in a major drug operation. The fire did not kill the drug boss, but rather his mother, and now the man named Harlan wants the ultimate revenge.
He sends his henchmen after Tessa, and after she walks into a bar where Floyd is standing, their lives change forever. He becomes her protector, knowing the stakes are high, and once the bad guys show up, death follows in their wake. Floyd and Tessa are separated at one point, as the henchmen nab her after one of them is killed, driving her across country to Harlan.
It gets very tense, but Tessa is no shrinking violet, she knows what she has to do to survive. Floyd wants to help set her free from the people pursuing her, and in the ultimate showdown with Harlan and the gang, there are some very tense moments as Tessa almost loses many people she loves.
It is nail-biting action from beginning to end, as Jason Bovberg mesmerizes you with his realistically powerful noir-style thriller.
Jason Bovberg is not a writer with a string of top ten best sellers to his credit, which is a shame, because the more who are aware of him and his writing talents, will help spread the word. He writes like any of the other seasoned mystery writers out there with a taste for the noir, and more importantly a taste for excellent story telling. Once you start the book you will be lured into Bosverg’s world, one you will enjoy living in for the length of the book.
It has everything going for it, great main characters, lots of action, violence, and an ending that really catches you off guard. Floyd Tillman Weathers is one of those great characters, an unassuming man with a secret. He is a bank robber with a ton of money in a gym bag that he got in a bank heist. He hopes to hear from his boss about taking the money to a specific location, but in the meantime gets sidetracked by a young lady by the name of Tessa Rae Jayne. She has some secrets of her own, mainly setting a revenge fire, to get back at the man who got her brother Terrell involved in a major drug operation. The fire did not kill the drug boss, but rather his mother, and now the man named Harlan wants the ultimate revenge.
He sends his henchmen after Tessa, and after she walks into a bar where Floyd is standing, their lives change forever. He becomes her protector, knowing the stakes are high, and once the bad guys show up, death follows in their wake. Floyd and Tessa are separated at one point, as the henchmen nab her after one of them is killed, driving her across country to Harlan.
It gets very tense, but Tessa is no shrinking violet, she knows what she has to do to survive. Floyd wants to help set her free from the people pursuing her, and in the ultimate showdown with Harlan and the gang, there are some very tense moments as Tessa almost loses many people she loves.
It is nail-biting action from beginning to end, as Jason Bovberg mesmerizes you with his realistically powerful noir-style thriller.
July 29, 2022
Coming at ya with another dark noir read...
Tessa makes a decision, acts, and flees town, heading for the boarder. Along the way, she runs into Floyd, who is supposed to be laying low for reasons of his own. They spend the night together, and, in the morning, trouble comes literally knocking at their front door. And so begins a race to get out of dodge.
This books hits on all the dark noir cylinders: its got drugs, sex, murder & lots of it, flawed characters, and a quick-paced plot.
Tessa and Floyd hit it off immediately, and I loved their devotion to each other. If this were another genre of book, I'd call it insta-love, but here it's dark and gritty and real. Bonnie-and-Clyde-esque, if you will.
Much of the story takes place in cars; it quite literally is a race, which helps the story move at a break-neck speed. I couldn't flip the pages fast enough to see where they'd end up next.
Told in alternating POVs, Jason has a way of overlapping the stories at the beginning of the chapters that I particularly enjoyed. You'll have to read it to know what I mean.
Dark noir fans, check this out! You won't be disappointed. And that ending?! 😱
Tessa makes a decision, acts, and flees town, heading for the boarder. Along the way, she runs into Floyd, who is supposed to be laying low for reasons of his own. They spend the night together, and, in the morning, trouble comes literally knocking at their front door. And so begins a race to get out of dodge.
This books hits on all the dark noir cylinders: its got drugs, sex, murder & lots of it, flawed characters, and a quick-paced plot.
Tessa and Floyd hit it off immediately, and I loved their devotion to each other. If this were another genre of book, I'd call it insta-love, but here it's dark and gritty and real. Bonnie-and-Clyde-esque, if you will.
Much of the story takes place in cars; it quite literally is a race, which helps the story move at a break-neck speed. I couldn't flip the pages fast enough to see where they'd end up next.
Told in alternating POVs, Jason has a way of overlapping the stories at the beginning of the chapters that I particularly enjoyed. You'll have to read it to know what I mean.
Dark noir fans, check this out! You won't be disappointed. And that ending?! 😱
August 9, 2022
I’m not normally one to read noir but as soon as Tessa rolled up in her convertible yellow beetle, I was all in. Floyd and Tessa’s road trip is a fast-paced, wild ride I didn’t want to get off of!
𝙁𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚.
Tessa is on the run from crimes she committed back home. Almost to the border, she meets Floyd and from there we go on a Bonnie and Clyde style ride of murder and mayhem.
Now y’all know in this gritty and dirty crime spree I’ve plucked out this tragic love story. 😂💅🏻 These two are a mess but I love them… no I’m not supposed to and no they are not good people.. I just can’t help myself.
Together they face Tessa’s troubles head on and it definitely isn’t pretty.
The freaking ending had me 🫣😱😲🤯omg.. Talk about a turn of events!
I really enjoyed this book and actually read it in just a few hours because I couldn’t put it down!
𝙁𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚.
Tessa is on the run from crimes she committed back home. Almost to the border, she meets Floyd and from there we go on a Bonnie and Clyde style ride of murder and mayhem.
Now y’all know in this gritty and dirty crime spree I’ve plucked out this tragic love story. 😂💅🏻 These two are a mess but I love them… no I’m not supposed to and no they are not good people.. I just can’t help myself.
Together they face Tessa’s troubles head on and it definitely isn’t pretty.
The freaking ending had me 🫣😱😲🤯omg.. Talk about a turn of events!
I really enjoyed this book and actually read it in just a few hours because I couldn’t put it down!
July 30, 2022
As I read this tale for the second time these lyrics from Save Yourself by Stabbing Westward rattled around in my head:
"My life has been a nightmare
My soul is fractured to the bone
If I must be lonely
I think I'd rather be alone
(I think I'd rather be alone)
You cannot save me
You can't even save yourself
I cannot save you
I can't even save myself
Save yourself
So just save yourself"
Tess and Floyd. Two lonely souls whose paths cross in a forgotten West Texas town near the Mexican border. One running away from the most likely deathly consequences of their recent actions and one attempting to escape the soul crushing reality of a post MAGA/Pandemic America by holing up at the edge of the country in a dry dusty place that time has forgotten.
What began as a temporary distraction quickly tranforms first to a reluctant partnership hell bent on self-preservation, to ultimately, a torrid Ying Yang love affair that plays out over the course of a tornatic gut wrenching road trip across the Southwest leaving a trail of bodies in its wake.
Mr. Bovberg delivers this story from the alternating point of views of the two protagonists, a style that I have always greatly appreciated since he first employed it in his Blood trilogy. Filled with a cast of incredibly diverse and very well crafted characters, Tessa Goes Down will take you for a wild ride that you won't soon forget and will leave you contemplating long after you've reluctantly drank in the last word, which by the way, is "girl".
Brovo Jason. Bravo.
"My life has been a nightmare
My soul is fractured to the bone
If I must be lonely
I think I'd rather be alone
(I think I'd rather be alone)
You cannot save me
You can't even save yourself
I cannot save you
I can't even save myself
Save yourself
So just save yourself"
Tess and Floyd. Two lonely souls whose paths cross in a forgotten West Texas town near the Mexican border. One running away from the most likely deathly consequences of their recent actions and one attempting to escape the soul crushing reality of a post MAGA/Pandemic America by holing up at the edge of the country in a dry dusty place that time has forgotten.
What began as a temporary distraction quickly tranforms first to a reluctant partnership hell bent on self-preservation, to ultimately, a torrid Ying Yang love affair that plays out over the course of a tornatic gut wrenching road trip across the Southwest leaving a trail of bodies in its wake.
Mr. Bovberg delivers this story from the alternating point of views of the two protagonists, a style that I have always greatly appreciated since he first employed it in his Blood trilogy. Filled with a cast of incredibly diverse and very well crafted characters, Tessa Goes Down will take you for a wild ride that you won't soon forget and will leave you contemplating long after you've reluctantly drank in the last word, which by the way, is "girl".
Brovo Jason. Bravo.
August 10, 2022
Title: Tessa Goes Down
Author: Jason Bovberg
Synopsis: Tessa Rae Jayne is gunnin’ for the border. Ain’t nothin’ gonna stop her, not after what she did for her brother Terrell, back home in Decatur, Illinois. A half hour from Mexico, though, she slams into good ol’ boy Floyd Tillman Weathers, a man with his own criminal secrets—not to mention a duffel bag full of stolen cash. Before long, the unlikely mismatched duo have embarked on a wild, reckless trek across the southwest in search of a shared fever dream. But forces from each of their immediate pasts are in hot pursuit, and Tessa and Floyd will face a series of brutal challenges before they can find redemption and freedom.
Thank you so much bythebook for giving me the opportunity to read this book!
Review: This book was very fast paced and kept me gripped! The ending was utterly unpredictable and it made me love this book even more! Everything you could ever want in this mystery is in this book! Suspense, big reveal, and unpredictable ending! I liked the chemistry between Floyd and Tessa! If you haven’t picked up any of Jason Bovberg’s book you should consider it, there is never a dull moment!
Author: Jason Bovberg
Synopsis: Tessa Rae Jayne is gunnin’ for the border. Ain’t nothin’ gonna stop her, not after what she did for her brother Terrell, back home in Decatur, Illinois. A half hour from Mexico, though, she slams into good ol’ boy Floyd Tillman Weathers, a man with his own criminal secrets—not to mention a duffel bag full of stolen cash. Before long, the unlikely mismatched duo have embarked on a wild, reckless trek across the southwest in search of a shared fever dream. But forces from each of their immediate pasts are in hot pursuit, and Tessa and Floyd will face a series of brutal challenges before they can find redemption and freedom.
Thank you so much bythebook for giving me the opportunity to read this book!
Review: This book was very fast paced and kept me gripped! The ending was utterly unpredictable and it made me love this book even more! Everything you could ever want in this mystery is in this book! Suspense, big reveal, and unpredictable ending! I liked the chemistry between Floyd and Tessa! If you haven’t picked up any of Jason Bovberg’s book you should consider it, there is never a dull moment!
August 6, 2022
TESSA GOES DOWN is a must read!! Tessa and Floyd cross paths in a now border town. Both there for different reasons. But they quickly get entangled in circumstances that sets off a cross country chase that keeps the action going till the end! The twist at the end is a absolute gut punch. You should definitely read this one!!
August 13, 2022
Tessa Rae Jayne is running for the border after she executes revenge against the drug dealers that pushed her baby brother into addiction. At the border, she meets Floyd Tillman Weathers, a man with his own criminal secrets and a duffel full of stolen cash. Together, they embark on a wild road trip to escape their past. But Tessa’s past stalks the pair in a true Bonnie and Clyde adventure filled with kidnappings, drugs, and murder.
What I loved:
✨The doomed lovers of Tessa & Floyd - their reckless badass personalities are addictive. But the chemistry and steam of these two is downright fire! 🥵
✨Dark, gritty crime fiction - when I say dark, I mean pitch black! Kidnapping, meth house, drug dealers, stolen money, dead bodies so reader beware! I loved it.
✨The Ending!! Bravo, I didn’t see this one coming and raced through the last 50 pages!
I thoroughly enjoyed this Quintin Tarantino-styled crime fiction, but the story won’t be for everyone. The language can be crass, and the story contains a fair amount of violence, drugs, and sex. If you can stand the heat, walk into the fire! Tessa Goes Down is a hell of a ride.
What I loved:
✨The doomed lovers of Tessa & Floyd - their reckless badass personalities are addictive. But the chemistry and steam of these two is downright fire! 🥵
✨Dark, gritty crime fiction - when I say dark, I mean pitch black! Kidnapping, meth house, drug dealers, stolen money, dead bodies so reader beware! I loved it.
✨The Ending!! Bravo, I didn’t see this one coming and raced through the last 50 pages!
I thoroughly enjoyed this Quintin Tarantino-styled crime fiction, but the story won’t be for everyone. The language can be crass, and the story contains a fair amount of violence, drugs, and sex. If you can stand the heat, walk into the fire! Tessa Goes Down is a hell of a ride.
August 12, 2022
Fans of quentin tarantino will most likely enjoy this book! It felt like i was watching one of his movies the whole time i was reading and although i only have a select favorite of his movies, it has that entertaining element of story telling visually for sure!
Fast paced, filled with dark action, violence, sex, murder, and drugs, it may not be for everyone but it was a wild ride!
Fast paced, filled with dark action, violence, sex, murder, and drugs, it may not be for everyone but it was a wild ride!
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