Finished: "Lake Country" by Sean Doolittle

Finished: Lake Country by Sean Doolittle, 2012, 9780345533920.

One of those books that probably takes months of writing and revising to create and only a few hours to finish.  A quick read with big recommendations by Barbara Fister and Ed Gorman so I ordered it for the library and read it.  I liked it.  Spoilers follow.

Mike is a driftless former Marine in Minneapolis whose fellow former jarhead and roommate Darryl is also driftless but an angry drunk as well.  Mike is a MN native.  Darryl pulled Mike out of an ambush in Iraq.  Darryl was kicked out of the Corps and Mike extended a helping hand.  Both guys served with a Marine whose sister was killed in a car wreck in MN.  The Marine died on the way home to her funeral.  The father of both kids killed himself afterwards.  The architect who caused the car wreck does 2 days of jail time every anniversary of the wreck for five years.

Anniversary of the wreck hits and Darryl sees the news report.  Mike and Darryl are on a bender.  Darryl thinks the architect needs more punishment.  Mike ignores Mike's drunken statements.  Darryl kidnaps the architect's daughter to give the guy a feelings of terror and loss as payback.  Darryl takes the girl to a lake cabin up north.  Mike goes after him to stop more trouble.

More things happen.  A bookie and hired muscle are looking for Darryl who stole 11 thousand in cash from one of the bookie's customers as bankroll.  Hired muscle is muscled, smart, and scary.  A great bad guy.  A bad guy who you really hope will get punished.

TV reporter Maya Lamb follows the story.  Lamb first covered the wreck five years ago.  (Lamb seems to have been in Safer, I'm not sure and will not check.)  All the groups converge up north.  Kidnapped college student daughter has grit.  Mike and Darryl have a meeting of the minds.  Mike's fist meets Darryl's face.  Bad Guy Muscle is frustratingly good.  Bad Guy Muscle gets a knife in the neck.

Comments:
1.  Lamb never meets Mike or Darryl.  Both story lines were fun.
2.  Mike is frustrating.  He has bad leg pain from his war injury.  He drinks too much.  He cannot hold a job. He lives in a dump.  His loyalty and thanks to Darryl stretch and finally snap.
3.  I do not know Doolittle but have seen him around and he is tall.
4.  I never seem to read brand new books.  I have now read two in a row.