AMERICAN STATIC A LONG TWISTING FINE PLOT

American Static
Tom Pitts
Down & Out Books, June 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943402-84-7
Trade Paperback

This novel is a long, detailed, twisting trail of a plot. Along the way two
small-town cops, and readers, encounter many characters, nearly all of whom
are consummate criminals in that vibrant, unusual city, Bagdad by the Bay,
San Francisco. It follows the unwanted adventure of a rural California
student, carrying weed from Humboldt County for friends to deliver to
recipients in the city. Robbed and beaten at bus stop, Steven is collected
and succored by one of the most relentlessly evil personalities one is ever
likely to meet in a single story.

The student, Steven, left penniless and beaten in a small northern
California town, is carrying a load of marijuana to people in San Francisco
when he is set upon, viciously beaten and robbed. An interested bystander
offers Steven a ride to` San Francisco with a stop or two along the way.
There is a brief suggestion of connection between the young men who robbed
and beat Steven, and Quinn, driving a stolen vehicle, who dispatches a
prominent winery owner.

Two policemen from Calisto set out to find Quinn who has disappeared into
San Francisco and begins a horrifying series of vendettas against the
employees of a major crime figure in the city. His primary motive is to
find the daughter of the crime figure, a strung-out teenager living on dope
and the streets.

Somehow, Steven, now terrified of Quinn, connects with the girl, Teresa,
and they flee together. The chase is on. Quinn after the teens, a corrupt
cop chasing Quinn, followed by two Calisto cops and everybody under threat
from the crime boss and his killer crew.

Complicated, slick maneuvering and sudden brutal murder is the hallmark of
this well-designed novel. I lost count of the number of murders, shootings,
knifings, beatings and car chase events. Suffice it to write, the novel is
excellently conceived, full of abrupt violent action. I give it a strong
recommendation of type.