From the start of this fast-paced thrill ride of a novel, the main character, Jake Halligan, is in danger. A bounty hunter, Jake has made lots of enemies among those who break the law, and even among some who enforce it. So when a body of a young woman turns up in his gun safe, it’s possible that one or more of these foes are trying to frame him, or send him a threatening message.
But as Jake soon discovers, bigger, more powerful forces are arrayed against him, for reasons that reach far back before his bounty-hunting days. And he learns that he is to become not the hunter but the hunted, in a decks-stacked-against-him challenge echoing the one at the heart of the classic short story (and movie) “The Most Dangerous Game.”
Fortunately, Jake is not alone in his struggles against the bad guys. When he tells his sister, Frankie, of his troubles, she tries to help him figure out the identity of the murdered young woman, why she ended up in Jake’s safe, and where all this might be leading. But Frankie may be as much a liability as an asset for her brother. An arms dealer who is sitting atop a sizable arsenal, and protected by a crew of battle-tested henchmen, she’s a major target of both sides of the law.
Frankie’s choice of career tests–but does not break–the strong bond between her and Jake. As he observes at one point in the novel:
No, I would never turn her in.
Part of the bond between Jake and Frankie is their love of their late father, a former deputy who, years before, was let go for stopping a coke-smuggling operation that involved at least one crooked cop. The man who was to be on the receiving end of the coke paid with his life for the failed operation, and unfortunately for Jake and Frankie, this man happened to be the brother of the richest and perhaps most powerful man in their state: Ted Baker.
In an act of delayed revenge against their father, Baker makes Jake and Frankie (as well as Jake’s fiancée, Janine) prey in a hunt that is rigged Baker’s way, and that Jake, Frankie, and Janine seem destined to lose–especially since Baker and his fellow hunters, all wealthy or politically connected men, are outfitted with the finest hunting gear and weapons. For their part, Jake & company are stripped of their own weaponry and given little more than some lead time at the start of the hunt.
But the prey have cunning and experience on their side, and one of the pleasures of this novel is the cat-and-mouse game that ensues. Kolakowski writes about the twists and turns of the hunt with wit and dark humor. To give just one example of this humor, at one point in the novel, Jake, Frankie, and Janine take refuge (and a prisoner) at an abandoned clown-themed motel, and Kolakowski’s descriptions of this place are as hilarious as they are chilling.
On the more serious side, Boise Longpig Hunting Club offers a timely new take on the conflict that was at the heart of “The Most Dangerous Game.” In Kolakowski’s novel, the hunters aren’t big-game stalkers looking for more potent thrills, but let-them-eat-cake one-percenters who see the less privileged (like Jake, a self-described “redneck,” and the young woman he found in his gun safe) as dispensable prey-as-entertainment. (As an aside, Baker owns a fast-food chain that is notorious for violating labor laws, and one of his fellow hunters is a senator who believes that cutting subsidized school lunches “would allow the little tykes to build some much-needed character.”)
In an interview with Sean Tuohy for Writer’s Bone, Kolakowski commented on the political subtext of the novel:
The complexity of Jake’s character and storyline lends further depth to the novel. A veteran of the war in Iraq, Jake is often haunted by memories of his combat experiences, which always threaten to surface. His relationship with Janine adds another layer of complexity. The relationship is on uncertain ground–not only because of Jake’s dangerous occupation but because of his ties to Frankie, which can only come to ill, in Janine’s view. In a certain sense, the novel is a thoughtful study of how relationships evolve under pressure–sometimes breaking down, other times growing stronger, depending on circumstances, and on how those involved choose to react to those circumstances and to each other.
The novel ends on a satisfying note, yet I found myself wanting to know what might be next for the characters, and I have the feeling that some scores remain unsettled. Fortunately, Kolakowski is working on a sequel.
Would My Pick be Your Pick?
If you're interested in ________, the answer may be "Yes":▪ Thrillers or tales of suspense
▪ Cat-and-mouse stories
▪ Stories about relationships, especially those under pressure
▪ Class conflict or the consequences of economic inequality
