Sam Bass is tall and lanky, loves old western movies, wears cowboy boots and drives a beat-up Jeep Wrangler. He has a gorgeous girlfriend, Valerie, a Cherokee widow with a young son, and he’s a hot shot pilot. A hot shot pilot with a past. And when Sam makes a daring and dangerous rescue of a couple lost at sea in a storm, he gets publicity he definitely doesn’t need. The Cowboy, as he’s known in certain circles, has finally been located and a hit team is dispatched to take care of unfinished business. A bomb is planted in the beat-up Jeep. But it isn’t Sam who drives it that day. Grief stricken, Sam visits Valerie’s grandfather in the North Carolina mountains to tell him he plans to avenge Valerie in the ancient Native American way of members of a wronged family seeking justice – with no help from the law. With only the old man’s help, Sam trains his mind and body for the task ahead. And then the bloody hunt is on.
From Publishers Weekly
In his debut novel, Bowie presents the smart, cocksure Sam Bass, a man with a mysterious past. To the handful of inhabitants on a tiny island off the coast of North Carolina, including Valerie, the Cherokee widow whom he loves, Sam is a laid-back pilot-for-hire. When he becomes a local hero after rescuing an elderly couple from their storm-battered boat, the human interest story is picked up by the wire services and draws the attention of men from his past. Intent on killing him and addressing him as "The Cowboy," the mystery men fail to get Sam but unintentionally kill Valerie, leaving her young son orphaned and Sam hell-bent on revenge. He seeks out Valerie's grandfather and trains with him in the ancient Cherokee way of vengeance before setting out to administer violent justice. Though Bowie did the homework to distinguish his History of Violence-style plot—researching planes and gun running as well as Cherokee history and lore, and investing his characters with elaborate backstories—he leans on these details too often, slowing down what could be an absorbing, fast-paced tale. (Aug.)
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Review
"Fast, engaging—a fine debut." —Lee Child, New York Times bestselling author, the Jack Reacher series
"An interesting thriller starring a fascinating laconic protagonist who's obsessed with a bloodthirsty mission." —Harriet Klausner, Gotta Write Network
"Absolutely first rate. Outstanding read. Congratulations." —Helen Rosburg, author, The Dream Thief
"An admirable debut . . . a good read can make those weekend afternoons breeze by. Check out Guns and get a good read." —Book Beat
"Bowie truly has a great plot that kept me interested." —Novelspot
"A fine debut novel from a gifted writer. It is a chilling story. The plotting is good and the characters are well and truly drawn. A good book. Enjoy." —Sun Journal (New Bern, North Carolina)