Six Bad Things: A Novel (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

More than fulfilling the promise of Huston's 2004 debut, Caught Stealing, this remarkably assured hard-boiled caper has rapid-fire pacing, dead-on dialogue and a beleaguered protagonist who just can't get a break. Former minor league baseball player Hank Thompson barely escaped with his life at the end of Caught, making off with $4 million of the Russian mafia's money. Several years later, he's running a breakfast place in the Yucatan, down the shore from his secluded hut. When a Russian bounty hunter shows up asking questions, Hank Fed-Exes his bankroll to a friend in Las Vegas and sneaks north across the border. When not trying to kill him, two surf bum criminals convince him they're allies; as the book reaches its climax, Hank finds himself dodging a memorable cast of lowlifes, would-be mobsters and scammers. Huston takes care with Hank, making him funny and sympathetic (even as he reminds us that he has killed six people in New York), and giving even cardboard situations and slight exchanges charge. (One of the surfers on a pair of boots: "Kind of metallish for my taste, but fuck it, we're incognito, right?") This second installment of a planned trilogy will leave readers anxious for more.
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* After 2004's exhilarating Caught Stealing--in which a regular schmo emerges from a bloody war between bad NYPD cops and Russian mobsters with $4.5 million in stolen cash, all because he agreed to watch a shady neighbor's cat--it's understandable that Hank Thompson just wants to fade away. Cat still in tow, Hank has built a beach hut in Mexico and finally stopped boozing. But his contact in the States warns him the heat's back on, and a young Russian backpacker shows up full of questions. Hank's ready to buy some peace, until threats against his family force him to make a desperate dash for California. There, he plunges into a kaleidoscope of violence spun by Mexican smugglers, Russian toughs, corporate thugs, Vegas drug dealers, and cops of every stripe. Even the guy who sells Hank a used car recognizes him from TV and tries to mete out some lucrative vigilante justice. Imagine The Blues Brothers as directed by Sam Peckinpah. But Hank demonstrates an almost-supernatural knack for survival, and one can't help but root for him even as he brings mayhem into the lives of family and friends. In this second entry of a promised trilogy, Huston also engineers one of the most dramatic protagonist personality changes ever seen in series crime fiction. Is he sure he wants to drop Hank after only three chapters? Frank Sennett
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 305 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (June 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345464796
• ISBN-13: 978-0345464798
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #42,993 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 2 in The Hank Thompson Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A winner!, August 3, 2005

By	armchairinterviews.com (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

I love it when I find an author that thrills and excites me when I read their work. You know the one-your pulse quickens when you turn to page one and maintains until you finish the story. I hate it when I have to wait for the next installment of scintillating adventures. Charlie Huston is someone I've discovered, and I can't wait to read more and will follow his career with my hard-earned cash. Six Bad Things is the second book of a trilogy.

Former minor league baseball player Hank Thompson has a problem. He figured he'd be safe living the good life in Mexico with the $4 million he stole from the Russian Mafia just before leaving New York. Wrong! Now three years later a chatty Russian backpacker (who is actually a bounty hunter) is asking dangerous questions and Hank figures he'd best head back north. The lives of his family might well depend on it. On the way to taking care of business Hank will face a passel of bad guys who want to interrupt his trip. Nothing is easy for Hank.

I haven't read Caught Stealing yet, but you'd better believe I'll have it in my hands shortly. Then I'm going to settle in for what is probably going to be an entertaining ride, if it's anything like Six Bad Things.

If you like your suspense hard-boiled and don't mind violence, run, don't walk, to the bookstore. This book is fast-paced, exciting, believable and occasionally funny. Huston is a grand storyteller; you'll slip into the plot and buy into the "if this happened to me-well, that's just what I would do" mentality.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Thriller, March 13, 2006

By	Richard A. Mitchell "Rick Mitchell" (candia, new hampshire United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is the sequel to Huston's "Caught Stealing". "Caught Stealing" was a terrific thriller that kept a frenetic pace throughout and had terrific twists and turns in the plot.

"Six Bad Things" keeps the same frenetic pace. There were fewer twists and turns in the plot than its predecessor, although there were still many.

In both these books, the reader has to suspend reality for a bit - they both have the classic amateur beats the pros scenario. Even so, Huston keeps the book going at a fast clip and just believable enough so the reader does not get exasperated. His main character, Hank, who is always one half step ahead of the bad guys - except for the times when they catch up to him (!) - is a good and sympathetic character even as he begins his descent into violence. Huston's bad guys are all very good. The reader gets up close looks at all of them, and all have depth and character.

The best part of Huston's plot style are the many times Hank is put into Hobson Choice situations with one alternative worse than the other...or the third or the fourth.

The worst part of "Six Bad Things" is that I do not think it would be as nearly as good if the reader has not read "Caught Stealing". It may be able to stand alone, but knowing what went on in "Caught Stealing" and how Hank became who he is certainly improves this book. It is why this review is almost a review of both (I'd give "Caught Stealing" 5 stars for the more complex plot).

I would recommend this book alone, but highly recommend it for those who have already read "Caught Stealing". This is the second in a trilogy. I look forward to the third.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Clean Head-Shot for Huston, July 12, 2005

By	Todd Pasini "Whiskeycripple" (Bath, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For those of you, like me, who were afflicted with the mindless zombie Brain-Crave of "MORE!" at the finish of Huston's incredible debut, "Caught Stealing", you can now withdraw your withered arms from the narrow slats of that boarded-up bookstore you've been hassling for the last twelve months, and dig into another slab of prime Crime.
Hank Thompson, one of contemporary fiction's most violent victims of circumstance, finds that Mexico isn't quite the peaceful haven he's been relying on since he first fled the impromptu New York chain of violence he was forced to commit after agreeing to watch his neighbor's cat. His perfect beach existence is suddenly capsized by a chatty Russian backpacker and now Hank must walk back into the very center of the storm he left behind. His family's lives depend on it.
Huston's second novel has more than made good on the surly promise of the first and leaves a bloody I.O.U. for the mayhem that is yet to come. Huston's blistering sense of plot and pacing, as well as his astonishing eye for character, makes this book a must-have.
If you've already read him, you know what I mean. If you haven't, I honestly don't know what the hell you're waiting for.
As mean and funny and satisfying as seeing your best friend take a line drive right in the nuts. It just doesn't get any better than this.