Stacy Childs

What a fun read!!! I’m seeing it touted as a medical thriller, but while one of the two main storylines has a medical bent not far off of what you might see with Robin Cook, I’d likely classify it as a thriller, plain and simple.

Ok, so I mentioned there are two storylines: the first centers around Mack Barton, a sixty-something weapons dealer who lives under the radar in his motor home and has a love for Don Julio Añejo tequila and gambling. There is a Vegas mob boss after him for an unpaid gambling debt, and the CIA is after him because of a recent weapons deal that apparently supplied the wrong side.

Meanwhile, one of his close friends from childhood (part of the titled group of boys that hung out at a restaurant called the Dixie Pig) has gone from a weak, awkward child to a successful physician/psychiatrist and head of a high-tech cryonics company. The interestingly named “Ace Strain” invites Mack and the rest of the gang to (Willie, Donnie and Goody) to his visit him and show off his business – and offer them, when it is time, the opportunity to be cryogenically frozen as well.

There is a good deal of violence, because hello, weapons dealers and Mob bosses, but it wasn’t overwhelming or gratuitous. If you like a thriller with a good dose of humor, this is for you. I think fans Robert Ludlum “The Road to Omaha” will love this book as much as fans of Robin Cook (because the cryogenics aspect will really stretch you and make you think.)

For my full review, check out my blogpost at http://www.mommaontherocks.com/6374/wirw-the-boys-of-the-dixie-pig

I was provided an ARC by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.… (lisätietoja)

The Boys of the Dixie Pig by Stacy Childs is an entertaining, action-packed mystery filled with suspense. I gave it four stars.

The protagonist is Mack Barton, whose best friend is Don Julio Añejo tequila with whom he actually has conversations. He is a weapons dealer being targeted by government agencies with only initials & Columbians. He lives in a Winnebago. A minor mob boss named Rudy Marcello has also set hit men upon him. While Mack did owe him money, this psychotic loan shark takes it overboard.

Mack decides to meet in Colorado with his fellow 'troughers', friends from high school. The book is named after a restaurant in Abilene, Texas where they grew up. Chicken fried steak & a 'trough' of ice cream were the specialties.

Ace Strain is the inventor of a cutting edge cyronics solution. He tells his friends he will freeze them and maintain their bodies free of charge, should they ever feel the need. Ace was not an easy character to like. He had disdain for anyone else's feelings. Donnie, Willie & Goody complete the group. Each man has his own set of issues.

They're in their sixties but still carry the 'boys' within. They reveal their strengths & weaknesses & were well drawn characters. The dynamics of the group were intriguing. They had matching tattoos under their right arms that showed when they 'toasted' with a drink. "It read 'Phuck Yeah' & still served as the only acceptable response when they were all together & the situation demanded an answer that was affirmative, heartfelt & unanimous."

You will find reincarnation, kidnapping, murder, mayhem, brutality & confusing relationships between former & current lovers. There were lots of twists & turns in this story but it was a fast, fun book to read.

I would like to thank Crossroad Press; Gordian Knot Digital Edition & NetGalley for a complimentary kindle copy. That did not change my opinion for this review.… (lisätietoja)

It's been a while since I've read any sort of medical thriller, but after seeing the synopsis I knew I wanted to read The Boys of the Dixie Pig. There are quite a few characters introduced in this book, but the focus was on Mack Barton and Ace Strain. The two men were friends in high school and, at Ace's urging, they meet up with three of their other friends (Willie, Donnie, and Goody) to discuss Ace's business, Exodus Cryonics. I found it all very fascinating, and although it sounds like science fiction, if you Google cryonics you will see that this kind of science is being practiced as we speak with the technology that is currently available. After reading this book it definitely makes me look at it differently; it actually scares me. There's just something about it that feels so wrong, but I think you have to be in a situation where you are facing death or are so ill that there is no other options available to you, to entertain the idea. I can see how it would give people hope, and that is so powerful. This book seriously made me question the motives of the people running these institutes.

It was like there were two separate plots at work. First was the goings on at Ace's cryonics business, and the other focused on Mack running from a man named Rudy whom he owed money to, while trying to continue as a weapons dealer. At times it felt strange because it moved from sketchy science practice and mental manipulation to watching Mack avoid assassination over and over again. It was technically all connected; it just felt like there was a huge divide between the stories.

The pace felt a little slow at times, which made it hard to want to continue reading. I got pretty annoyed by how many times the words "Don Julio Añejo" popped up. Mack had an unhealthy penchant for this tequila and mentioned it at least once a chapter. I know it served a purpose and showed how messed up his life was that his best friend was basically a brand of tequila, but it was a bit much. Ultimately the mystery of the cryonics business and Mack's crazy lifestyle kept me intrigued enough to finish. I'm glad I did, because the ending was intense and really brought the whole thing together.… (lisätietoja)