Book Review: A Single Shot

By Sandy Amazeen Aug 23, 2011, 17:08 GMT

After the loss of his family farm, John Moon is a desperate man. A master hunter, his ability to poach game in-season or out is the only thing that stands between him and the soup kitchen line. Until Moon trespasses on the wrong land, hears a rustle in the brush, and fires a single fateful shot. Following the bloody trail, he comes upon a ...more

John Moon has had a difficult life starting from when his father lost the family farm to bank foreclosure leaving him with a pitiful couple of acres to scratch out a living on. His wife, tired of him being unable to hold a job for longer then a couple months at a time, packed up with their young son and moved to town where she waits tables to make ends meet. Feeling a need to provide at least a little something for his family, John frequently deer hunts the surrounding woods out of season but prides himself on making good clean kills. One fateful afternoon after wounding a large buck, John followed it and broke the cardinal rule of hunting…never shoot what you cannot clearly identify. He is horrified to discover he has killed a sixteen-year-old girl and like a dropped stone setting off an avalanche, things quickly roll out of control.

John’s near obsession with the dead girl, the discovery of $100,000 buried in a shallow hole and the events surrounding an unsolved local murder collide in this dark, twisted tale of a horrible accident. Watching John’s descent as he attempts to cope with a situation spiraling out of his control is like watching a car accident about to happen and being unable to do anything about it. The dialog, settings and character development feel absolutely authentic giving credence to this excellent if rather disturbing noir.