THE GOOD LIFE
Frank Wheeler Jr.
2014
New Pulp Press
The tradition of naming is taken less seriously now than in previous generations, but the responsibility of sharing a namesake has never lost the blessings and curses that come with it. At the heart of Frank Wheeler Jr.’s THE GOOD LIFE, the power and burden of family bonds are the source of conflict as much as they are an obligation for Junior, a prodigal son returning to his hometown to assume his terminal father’s position as sheriff.
His father’s name, if not his reputation for spilling blood to maintain order has afforded Junior a great deal of leverage. Along with the office of sheriff, Junior and his crew maintain control of a major intersection of drug trafficking in the Midwest.
Junior is more than up to the task even though he comes from a lineage of men of action who have been occasionally waylaid by the women in their lives. When Junior’s ex-wife, Camila, suddenly reappears their shared history of control and co-dependence give him reason to be suspicious of the timing.
While psychopathic cops maintaining order by taking the law into their own hands is familiar territory for Wheeler this time out he has crafted a modern day western with a hero not committed to ideas of law and justice unless it serves his purpose.
THE GOOD LIFE is a dark savage tale of complex characters thoughtful plot and plenty of grit and gun fighting.
Tim Hennessy
