Red Chaser by Jon Spoelstra

Red Chaser by Jon Spoelstra is a 1950′s thriller that is available exclusively on the Kindle. So you won’t see this novel sitting on the shelf of your local bookstore, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve to be there! I typically won’t pick up a book based in the 50′s because I draw no connection with the time period, but I found the novel’s environment warm and inviting.

For those looking for a book that gets straight to the point, Mr. Spoelstra delivers the first few chapters in a way that pulls the reader in quickly. The first line of the book, “I went to war poor,” hints at a deep history beyond the scope of the novel itself, however there is a rather slow build up before I found the main character to be deemed interesting.

I must note that I have very little interest in history, war, or baseball, three strong subject matters of the novel, so I found myself skimming over the more detailed accounts of the Vietnam war and the history of the Dodgers. The good news is that Red Chaser is not limited by one’s disinterest in this topics. By the middle of the novel the character’s level of complexity really drove the interest of the story for me. Jake, the main character, begins the story as a disappointingly simple guy, but as the story progresses he becomes an intriguing factor in the plot as this self diagnosed psychotic will shock you with the level of depravity he allows himself to operate at.

Overall, I felt that Red Chaser starts out slow, but as the level of character detail proliferates halfway through the novel, the book really starts to capture your imagination. The book is fun and entertaining, but the true creative writing really shines as the complex plot lines draw together in the end. It’s an easy read that will charm anyone, especially if you are a fan of baseball or the Vietnam war.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Red Chaser on Amazon and on GoodReads