Coyote

Montezuma. The untamed state. It is here that the story of Mai, a young woman on the run from the law and the underworld. There is a price on her head and she will be fortunate to maintain her freedom.

Her woes continue when her car breaks down in a godforsaken town in the middle of nowhere. While she is eating in a greasy spoon café, her car disappears. It’s the most important thing in her life and she wants her Bronco back. Thus begins a long and torturous adventure for Mai. She meets a lot of unpleasant characters although she manages to find one ally called Slim, a laid-back bartender who Mai has to try hard not to fall for.

Gustafson has written a novel that is a fast read. It is written in the present tense which I found distracting at first but easier to take as the story progresses. The story is incredibly violent at times and the language quite ripe to say the least. On the downside, I really could not work up any empathy for the characters, not even the main protagonist. The bad guys Ricky and Leroy are fairly two-dimensional while Slim is not interesting enough for my liking. 

Nevertheless, if you are not offended by the bad language, you could do far worse than read this. Gustafson shows promise and has piqued my interest just enough to maybe check out his next book, Neon Canyon.