Mad Dogs

Ever had a really bad day? Your worst pales in comparison to Jamey Shepard’s, as detailed in Brian Hodge’s MAD DOGS. He’s an actor whose last gig sets a world in motion that no one should have to endure. Since he bears a strong resemblance to a big-time robber Duncan MacGregor, Jamey’s last big acting job was on a show called AMERICAN FUGITIVES. On his way to his own wedding in Arizona, he stops for gas. The trouble starts – and never lets up – when some overefficient police officer who should have retired years ago has been drinking on the job and just waiting to break some balls sees Jamey and mistakes him for MacGregor. The cop thinks he’s scored a major career coup, only to fumble with his gun and fatally shoot himself. In a panic, Jamey runs since the gas station attendant starts to take pot shots at him, and hopes his agent can help him out. But all his agent sees is movie deals and big contracts with the promise of unexpected celebrity, since everyone thinks Jamey is the culprit in the cop’s death. Jamey has the good fortune of running into a pair of brothers who between them probably share half a brain. He also has to endure another cop who is determined to bring Jamey in, and his own sister's boyfriend – who sees himself as the next Goddard – has orders of his own. Then, of course, there is MacGregor, who comes to help out Jamey in his hour of need. From here on out, Duncan and Jamey take to the road together, along with Duncan's girlfriend, who was there on the fateful day of a robbery gone wrong that Jamey re-enacted for TV. Duncan finds out he's got his own little problem headed his way: his former partner who he sent to jail. Throw in Jamey’s fiancée, a brick wall with a head, and the only cop who knows Jamey is innocent. Now, this book is not for someone who wants a quick read. It comes in close to 600 pages, yet the story doesn’t falter one bit. Hodge takes his time to tell his story, never once rushing to quick solutions, but also never letting the plot hit a lull, forever mixing up the action. As the novel goes along, Hodge ties up the loose ends with great aplomb, all the while amping up the thriller aspect. MAD DOGS is like a family trip – if your family were the Mansons – with an ending that delivers in all aspects, without taking the easy way out. –Bruce Grossman Buy it at Amazon or Cemetery Dance.