A book about drug dealers and addicts along with some unsavoury murderers, surely someone deserves to hang here?
Who:
Written by Sean Costello
What:
Crime Thriller
Why:
One off story
When:
Published January 2015
Where:
Set in Ontario, Canada
Grab your woolly hat and gloves; as well as your thick overcoat because this book is going to head off into some cold, cold terrain. What a terrific setting for a crime caper; the snowy landscapes of Ontario, Canada where our reluctant hero Tom will have the most bizarre birthday he could possibly have ever encountered.
Tom Stokes is a bush pilot who runs a relatively successful business with his wife Mandy. She is heavily pregnant with their second child and a few days past her due date. Tom takes his Cessna out for a round of routine checks on some of the log cabins in his area. He promises to be home before their son Steve gets home from school, because today happens to be both Tom's and Steve's birthday. They have a party all arranged for Steve once school finishes for the day.
Before we are introduced to this family who seem to be living a serene lifestyle; we get to meet two characters who are living a completely different lifestyle. Dale and Ronnie are two drug addict criminal wannabes. Dale is working for his brother Ed who sounds like he is higher up in the echelons of this particular drug dealing gang.
Ronnie is the nagging girlfriend accompanying Dale on a standard drug deal that is about to go wrong very quickly thanks to her interference. The two of them then have to make a quick getaway with both the cash and the merchandise. They flee to a cabin belonging to Dale's uncle; to lay low until it is safe to get out of the country and away from the retribution that Ed's boss Coltrane, is certain to ask for.
This cabin of course is in the same area that Tom is traversing in his plane. When the titular squall arrives, it forces Tom to make an emergency crash landing right into the house that Dale is hiding out in. By the time these two unlikely partners meet up, Ronnie has already taken off with the swag leaving Dale on his own.
While these events are taking place, in the background Ed has sent his two bodyguards' from India, Sumit and Sanj, off to the cabin knowing that this is the one place Dale would have fled too, assuming it was a safe place to hole up. It is then a cat and mouse game between the two Indian's sent to hunt down Dale; who is trying to escape with Tom's help from a comical 'tight' situation as a result of the plane trapping him. In the meantime Ronnie is endeavouring to get away from both her former beau and the two men sent in pursuit.
If all this sounds like one hell of a rollercoaster of a ride, it is because it most certainly is. From start to finish this book moves along at a relentless pace. It isn't a very long book, but it doesn't have to be to tell this tale as the events all take place within a 24 hour time frame. There isn't any fat to it either, everything that is in the story warrants being in there.
Each person is fleshed out with enough character so you really want to root for the good guys. On the other hand the bad guys are also well presented too. The villains are actually appealingly portrayed in a way that blurs that line between good and bad. You will find yourself, ashamedly liking them too at points.
If you are a fan of Elmore Leonard's novels or Quentin Tarantino's crime films you will find a lot to admire here. They are both experts at making people of a disreputable nature relatable and Costello achieves the same results in Squall.
This is particularly true of Dale. At first he comes across as a recovering drug addict who is only one small disaster away from falling into his old habits. He is very insecure and a bit of a loser. As the story progresses though, he comes into his own and has the most interesting arc of all the characters.
Sumit and Sanj will remind readers of Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield as they trade talk about ordinary mundane things. It will quickly become apparent though that once they need to show they mean business they don't mess around. Sanj is another person that develops nicely as the narrative moves to its conclusion.
The Stokes family who are unwittingly thrust into this traumatic situation are all engaging enough to keep your attention. None of the three family members are your standard generic characters. There is no damsel in distress here or father who retired from the Special Forces. They are just a normal family trying to get out of a sticky mess.
The events taking place are scary for the individuals. Both Tom and Dale are fleeing for their safety. Tom at first is on his own, flying in a dangerous snowstorm before he gets caught up in Dale's plight. The two of them are then on the run from their Indian pursuers. Meanwhile Mandy at home does not know what has happened to her husband after having lost radio contact.
This is all thrilling stuff designed to have you on the edge of your seat and it works. What is good about the narrative though is that it leaves enough space in between each set piece to provide humour and character development. It doesn't feel like you are moving from one episode to the next because you get invested in what is happening to these people you have come to like.
I found this book hard to put down. It is one of those novels that once you start reading you think 'just one more chapter' and before you know it; it is three in the morning and you have to get up for work in a few hours. I love it when a story grabs you like that and generally it is because the people capture your imagination and the tale being told is a good one.
There aren't many things that let this book down for me; overall I found it more than a pleasant read. Sure this is pure pulp storytelling and that isn't going to appeal to everyone but I found plenty to enjoy.
The one big niggle that I didn't like was that both Tom and Steve shared the same birthday. I felt that we didn't need both characters to be celebrating this occasion; Costello could quite easily have gotten away with it just being Steve's birthday. We would have still had Tom trying to get home in time for his son's party without losing any sense of why it was important for him to do this.
It also just so happens that Mandy was just overdue to have their second child. Made me wonder what was so special for both Tom and Mandy nine months earlier in the year that got them getting frisky with one another? They must have had some sort of anniversary they celebrated between the sheets for them to have both children at the same time of the year! It was blatantly obvious that this pregnancy was going to come into the story as soon as you find out Mandy is due 'anytime now' as it is such an easy trope to follow.
Likewise there is also the unnecessary mentioning early in the book about Mandy being a trophy winning shooter. There was no way that this wasn't going to come up later on; but it could have just as easily been addressed closer to the conclusion without the reader thinking 'Isn't that convenient'. In fact it didn't need to be there at all. The story didn't need anyone to be a crack shooter. I would have been just as happy with the ending thinking that someone made a lucky shot.
There were a couple of moments where Tom's reactions to the bizarre events happening were a little bit too blasé. I can totally believe that both Tom and Dale would find it slightly hysterical when Tom ploughs his plane into the shack trapping Dale in the bathtub. What I couldn't get my head around was Tom not questioning why on earth Dale would have a pistol on him at the time!
Further on in their budding, reluctant relationship; Dale relates the events that led to him being at his uncle's shack. If those events had been related to me, I am pretty sure I would find it rather incredulous but Tom seems to take this yarn with a pinch of salt. I guess in relation to all that has happened so far, Dale's story just doesn't seem that far-fetched to him.
I also thought that Costello went for the movie trope ending of just when you think they have managed to get away from the bad guy; it isn't that easy and here they come again! I can get on board with this but it did feel like he chose to follow a standard convention. However it did not ruin the finale or my enjoyment overall.
Verdict:
We will let them get away with the criminal activities that take place in this narrative. Sean Costello has created a quick read of enjoyable pulp entertainment.
Evidence:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24907643-squall
http://www.seancostello.net/
https://www.amazon.com/Squall-Sean-Costello-ebook/dp/B00RPM9MJ6
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