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First Impression: With more twists than Chubby Checker and more crosses and double crosses than the Christian faith, this book is an absolute must read!

Out to Get Me - A Dark Crime Thriller book cover

A big shout out and thank you to Jeffrey Cooper for the Advanced Reader Copy of this awesome novel, Out to Get Me. I appreciated the opportunity to read something truly new to me, that kept me on the edge of my seat and binging until the end. Here, follows my honest review of the book.

The story starts with an introduction to the novel’s main characters; Sam ‘Shug’ Turia, Blake Boyton, Hud and the courier! Set during the time of the Covid pandemic, the action packed first chapter opens with a sneaky stakeout that erupts into a violent altercation. As the upper hand passes back and forth between the two sides, it’s anyone’s guess who will come off worse for wear. Within the next few chapters, we meet the rest of the cast, which includes some pretty feisty women. Call me biased, but I’m all for that!

For a thriller & suspense novel, Out to Get Me by Jeffrey Cooper does not disappoint. It is an absolute page turner that has mastered the technique of the cliffhanger. As a reader, I would tell myself, ‘Just one more chapter’ and then Cooper would go and make the characters do something crazy or dangerous, or put them in situations that surely, they won’t get out of. Before you know it, you’ve completed the book and lost several hours, albeit it’s worth it.

The car crusher finished its work, birthing a compact metal cube that was spit out of the other side of the machine like a baby calf.

The book is very big on detail and doesn’t mince its words. Leaving no stone unturned, the author evokes all the senses like a true literary pro. As a reader, you are in the scenes with the characters riding around downtown Los Angeles getting into a range of ‘scrapes’. Each scene is as descriptive as the last with a good balance of showing and telling.

The thought was spreading like an exciting rumor through the rest of his body; a tingling feeling of adrenaline he hadn’t felt in a long time.

I was really taken by the novel way the book had a way of hammering the point home. Far from cliche, Cooper came up with his own wit and charm to woo his audience. And there’s a lot more of the above from where that came from with many of the characters being witty, sarcastic, and general Smart Alecs. I also admired how well developed the characters were and each had a distinct personality despite sharing objectives.

With a motley crew cast that make up a range of different interests and a large sum of money, the book provides non-stop action throughout that makes it easy to binge read. Honestly, at times it’s hard to decide who to root for, even though most of the characters are as despicable as each other.

The book is current, exciting, nail-biting, and well written. All loose ends are tied off superbly, and the grammar and punctuation are near impeccable. There is some major gore, and a handful of curse words going on that makes this unsuitable for a young audience, but they do make for the thriller that this book claims to be. Cooper provides the right amount of drama, deaths, and suspense to keep the audience fully engaged. The best modern thriller I’ve read in a long time that rivals The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Quick Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / R Rated

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