Book Review: Hit Out

Hit Out. Darren Musial. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, August 5, 2016, Trade Paperback, 126 pages.

unning a small business is about hiring the right people and Max Deacon, the reluctant hero of Darren Musial’s second novel, is the right person for Dougie Von Hamer’s Chicago pool hall. Max knows how to run a cash business catering to a tough clientele, and his military experience and willingness to act save Dougie’s life.

Max is then forced to do the detective work as Dougie remains in a coma in the hospital. His investigation is complicated by a rookie cop who responded to the 911 call and who thinks Max is a pretty good suspect. There is little progress as the mystery of the attacker’s identity deepens. 

Drive-by shootings occur at the pool hall and Dougie’s surprising romance—one that everyone seems to know about except Max—is discovered. Suspects begin to multiply as Max investigates his boss’s personal life until a bizarre scheme is finally uncovered and an unlikely suspect is forced to make a desperate final play.

Hit Out is set in Chicago and Darren Musial’s story offers plenty of landmarks. Readers familiar with Chicago will enjoy following Max through the city. Darren Musial writes his Max Deacon detective novels in a cryptic, fast-moving style that I like. Even though this is the second Max Deacon story I’ve read, and I feel like I know the character, I didn’t know where the story was going until I read the next page. I didn’t read ahead; I didn’t want to miss a thing.