The Shotgun Rule

“Anyone not acquainted with Charlie Huston’s blistering, unputdownable novels will want to tie their sneakers nice and tight before starting The Shotgun Rule, or they are apt to be blasted clean out of them.”—Stephen King

“A dark but brilliant portrait of the way many teenage boys live in America . . . a coming-of-age novel, like Catcher in the Rye . . . [Charlie Huston is] one of the most original crime novelists at work today.”—The Washington Post Book World

“Equal parts Stephen King’s Stand by Me and Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting, The Shotgun Rule is Huston in top form. . . . [An] unforgettable blend of humor and horrific violence.”—Chicago Tribune

“[A] compelling depiction of aimless teenage boys trying to rise to manhood. In Huston’s hands, it’s Greek tragedy on speed. . . . Huston’s strengths are the brutal efficiency with which he sets a scene, and the breakneck pace he maintains throughout.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Huston is a monstrously gifted purveyor of suspense. . . . This book raised blisters on my fingers—and I still couldn’t put it down.”—Austin American-Statesman

“One of the most memorable crime novels of this year.”—Baltimore Sun

“An explosive ending . . . What a righteously nasty imagination Huston has. If you don’t know this perfervid writer of thrillers and comic books, this stand-alone novel is a great place to start. . . . Huston terrifically re-creates the time period.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Hard-boiled fans can’t go wrong with Charlie Huston’s The Shotgun Rule, an affecting look at what it was like to be a teenage boy in the 1980s, wrapped up in the guise of an adrenalin-packed suspense novel.”—Los Angeles Times

“Huston adds depth and pathos to already likable characters. As a result, the brutality and intensity of the remainder of the book hit hard. This is Huston’s first stand-alone . . . and it’s a winner.”—The Kansas City Star

“Huston has developed a reputation for his own brand of noir fiction, by turns side-splittingly funny and gruesomely violent and repugnant. Any male over the age of twenty will recognize elements of adolescence they had unconsciously buried—and will cringe or howl at the accuracy of this rendering of his childhood.”—Rocky Mountain News