Dark Duet by Eric Beetner / Z-View

Dark Duet by Eric Beetner

TPB: 224 pages
Publisher: Down and Out Books

Dark Duet  consists of two crime novellas, White Hot Pistol and Blood on Their Hands.  You get two Eric Beetner yarns for the price of one!

First sentence of White Hot Pistol…

Nash remembered the first time he escaped this town.

The Overview of White Hot Pistol:  Beware of Spoilers…

Nash had a plan.  He was going to sneak back into the town that he’d left years before.  He’d then get his sister, Jacy, out and away from her abusive step-father.  It was supposed to be easy…

It should have been easy despite the fact that Nash was wanted for questioning in a homicide and her step-father was the town sheriff.

It could have been easy had Nash and Jacy not stumbled onto a drug deal gone bad.

On the run from the cops and the drug dealer’s crew, with bodies piling up and no hope for help, now nothing would be easy.

—

First sentence of Blood on Their Hands…

Garrett had no idea breaking and entering would be so easy.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Garrett, against his better judgment, joins his two high school buddies when they break into the Smart Mart late one night.  The plan is to scarf some beers, grab some snacks and slip back out.

Things go sideways when the men who own the store show up with the body of the guy they just killed.  As the killers discuss how to dispose of the stiff, the boys make a run for it.  Unfortunately, they’re seen and the chase is on.

What chance do high school kids have against grown killers?  Not much.  Blood on Their Hands takes place in the same town as White Hot Pistol and features a few of the same characters.  Bravo to Beetner for a couple of twists that were logical but totally surprising.

If you like pulp, noir and stories that move, then Dark Duet is for you.

Rating: 4 of 5 stars.