I discovered Aric Davis last year when I was asked to review his book, A Good and Useful Hurt. I was attracted to the book because the author is a body piercer and I knew he could write about the spiritual side of body modification in ways that other authors might miss. I was right, he was able to do that, but he also told me a great story that drew me in from the very beginning. A mystery, combined with a bit of urban fantasy - I fell in love with the book.

Rough Men is a different novel than A Good and Useful Hurt, but just as compelling in its own way. The story is one that will be familiar to anyone who has spent good parts of their life watching B movies. Someone close to the main character is killed and the main character, who has unexpected skills from his past life, sets out for revenge. Rough Men is much more complicated than this, but this is the plot line Mr. Davis is exploring.

Will Daniels, the main character, is a former gangbanger turned bartender/drunk turned writer. His world is rocked when his son is killed during the commission of a particularly gruesome bank robbery - killed by his own friends, of course. Will, devastated and guilt-ridden, decides that it is obvious that the police won't solve the crime and that it's up to him to get the job done. With the help of an old friend who he hasn't spoken with in years and Isaac (Will's brother), he sets off to find out just what happened.

This is a short book that packs a big punch. The focus is entirely on the events of the day and the action that follows. There is introspection, but this is primarily a tightly written thriller. Once again I loved Mr. Davis' characters and I read this in one go - I just couldn't put it down. An entertaining and great read - highly recommended. ( )

Rough Men is an intriguing look at vengeance. Will Daniels is seeking his own form of justice for the murder of his estranged son. This story definitely held my interest. Still, I have mixed feelings after reaching the last page.

The things I liked:

Will is a strong character and carries the lead role well.

The writing style is crisp and captivating.

There is a great twist at the end.

The theme holds a lot of appeal. The story made me think about issues such as justice, or the lack thereof, and revenge. And the plot moves quickly, never meandering or giving my mind time to wander.

The things I didn't like:

The characters felt a little hollow. The book is short and, consquently, character development suffered. I wanted to know more about what drove Will's behavior. Sadly, many people lose children to murder. Most of them don't seek revenge, particularly to the extent this man did. I wanted to see how he got to that point in his life; how he became that man who could drop everything and go out to blindly seek and destroy.

Will's wife wasn't believable for me. On the one hand, she is a peaceful, supportive, quiet, understated woman. Yet, she suddenly does this flip and is encouraging her husband to do things most of us wouldn't consider. Nothing explained how she arrived at a point where this was not only acceptable, but necessary.

Will's brother and a friend from his past join in his crusade, and I simply did not believe their characters. The brother not only risked his life, but did things most of us couldn't fathom. The friend jumped in and led the pack without a thought, despite the fact that the friendship had ended badly years earlier. The explanations for this, such as they were, didn't stand up to reason.

And, finally, no one seemed to pick up on the irony of avenging the murder of a person who had taken other innocent lives without thought.

For me, this book has huge potential but fell short of greatness. ( )