Thawed Out &Fed Up by Ryan Brown ~ review

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Gallery Books; Original edition (October 4, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439171564
• ISBN-13: 978-1439171561

Review copy provided by the publisher.

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About the book:

Sam Bonham—bad husband, deadbeat dad, and possible criminal on the run from the law—wanders out of modern-day East Texas into an ersatz Wild West boomtown created for a movie that never happened.  And when Sam strikes a blow against the gangsters who’ve been terrorizing the town, the locals look to him to save them. He’s no hero, but he’s stumbled upon someone who is: John Wayne. But the John Wayne of this story is not the stalwart lawman of Hollywood films—he’s a seventy-two-year-old man who had himself cryogenically frozen.  He’s weak, bald, frail…and unrecognizable to everyone but Sam.

In The Duke’s “defrosted” state, he’s not entirely himself.  In fact, he believes he’s actually Ethan Edwards, the character he played in The Searchers, one of Wayne’s most beloved films. Ethan or Duke or Marion Morrison, at his side Sam learns how to be a man, and a hero—and a pretty good shot! As he takes on the Old West gang of thugs, he finds that he might have become a family man at last. But back in the real world, someone has his eye on Sam’s wife, and if Sam doesn’t get back soon, the results could be devastating.

My take on this book:

The synopsis of this book really drew me in. I just couldn't wrap my mind around the description and wanted to read for myself just to see what the book was all about. Well all I can say is I liked it!

Sam Bonham left his wife Georgia and son about six months ago, thing is he's a drunk who usually spends his money gambling and drinking, and even though he cared about his family well he left them, but now he is ready to crawl back and ask for forgiveness but something happens that derails his plans. Thing is he wakes up in the alley behind the local pool hall and he is covered in blood, and he can't remember what he did or where the blood came from, although his  fillet knife is tucked in the waistband of his pants. When he goes into the local diner to order breakfast the local police come in and mention that a man has been a bloody killing  on Shady Glen Road, the man was found murdered in the yard of a woman and her young son was the one who found the body. Uh oh Sam's wife lives on Shady Glen Road, could it be that he might have had something to do with the killing? He does remember going by her house the day before and meeting his wife's boyfriend, but he really doesn't remember anything after that! When he gets a call from a friend its confirmed the evidence points to Sam. So he decides to get out of town planning to head to Mexico, but instead the journey he takes will change his life.

I really can't say why I liked this book but I did. It moves along at lightening speed, and while its 292 pages I just breezed thru it. Within the first few pages of meeting Sam I was hooked. The easy writing style and a plot where you really didn't know what might happen next kept me intrigued. The town of Blistered Valley was so easy to envision,from an outlaw gang to shootouts, cowboys,saloon girls and Indians  I pictured it as something out of an old western where John Wayne was the star. An enjoyable story that had me laughing out loud on a few occasions. A fun read that is far from run of the mill. I really enjoyed my trip to Blistered Valley! 

rating 4/5