Book Review: Break Shot

Break Shot. Darren Musial. Amazon Digital Services, Inc., April 20, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 181 pages.

Reviewed by David Laipple.

The next time you’re in the mood for a murder mystery, read Break Shot, and get to know a Chicago hero who carries an iPhone but takes care of business like a rough-and-tumble hero should. Max Deacon is a former Special Forces captain whose occupational skills transfer in civilian life to a position in a Chicago pool hall. He is part bartender, baby-sitter, and enforcer and he accepts whatever challenge comes his way with some backup from his friend and fellow Iraq veteran, Moose Delevan.

Max knows he has a few flaws, but he wouldn’t consider one of them his sense of justice and willingness to act on it. 

A good deed attracts the attention of the seedy underside of Chicago, and his skills are tested when he becomes a murder suspect for the Chicago Police and a kidnap victim of the real murderer. Max proves the equal of every test, though, as he maneuvers the kidnapper into one last shoot-out and the seedy kingpin into the arms of the Wisconsin State Police.

The author, Darren Musial, informs his debut novel with a black belt in Karate and the heart of a poet. Darren writes Break Shot in 45 fast-paced chapters that keep the reader engaged. It is a fun read that reminds us there are sub-cultures of desperation in a big city.