Name: Choke Hold
Rating: 4 (2 reviews)
ISBN: 9780857684059

Christa Faust

Angel Dare went into Witness Protection to escape her past -- not as a porn star, but as a killer who took down the sex slavery ring that destroyed her life. But sometimes the past won't stay buried. When a former co-star is gunned down, it's up to Angel to get his son, a hotheaded MMA fighter, safely through the Arizona desert, shady Mexican bordertowns, and the neon mirage of Las Vegas...

Choke Hold

After a shoot-out at the restaurant where she works leaves a former costar dead, Angel Dare begins to protect his son Cody, a mixed martial artist, and they wind up on the run from drug dealers who think that Cody stole drugs from them.

Tim Pendry

This contemporary noir is unusual for taking the traditional form (think Mickey Spillane) from the perspective of a hard-boiled female - a sex worker uncomfortable with intimacy but as tough as they come and capable of looking after herself. Faust writes well and there is an underlying authenticity to her work but, ultimately, not much happens and what happens is a little predictable. There is a villain who reminds one of a counterpart in 'No Country for Old Men' and a scene of sadism near the end that is truly remarkable because, instead of being voyeur, the reader is placed firmly in the position of the victim. The remorselessness of this scene was truly horrific. The book is bleak but, as someone who can read Heidegger and Ligotti without a qualm, I do not find that cause for criticism. The underbelly of American life today is probably very bleak so I see no exaggeration there. No, my complaint, if there is one, is that, although a good read to pass the time, it was ultimately a little pedestrian. She can tell a story but not an enormously imaginative one. Still, fans of the genre are happy and that's probably what counts.

Choke Hold

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