If you like gritty tales of prison life [such as HBO's groundbreaking "Oz" (Oz: The Complete Seasons 1-6)] and stories of businessmen being pursued by murderous hillbillies [such as the classic thriller, "Deliverance" {Deliverance [Blu-ray])}, then you will enjoy Peter Farris' bloody, provocative noir, "Last Call for the Living." Set in the wilderness of the Georgia Mountains, this extremely suspenseful novel has some of the most amoral, despicable characters you will ever encounter. When I read in the Acknowledgments that David J. Schow [author of the ultraviolent "Internecine" (Internecine) and "Upgunned" (Upgunned: A Novel)] had mentored Farris, I knew that I would be experiencing an extremely brutal thrill ride. Honestly, however, I was more shocked than I had expected.
Young bank teller, Charlie Colquitt, nicknamed Coma because he sleeps like a dead man, is one of the novel's few redeemable characters. I kept fretting about whether or not he would be murdered by vicious ex-con Hobe HICKlin or Hicklin's meth-addicted girlfriend Ellamae Bibb (a.k.a. Hummingbird). A geek who is obsessed with studying aerospace engineering and building model rockets, Charlie experiences a transformation. As his world explodes around him, he grows stronger, more resilient. Hicklin, however, develops a fatherly attraction to the much younger Charlie--an attraction that leads to his desire to protect him from the brutal Aryan brothers who want the money Hicklin stole from the bank where Charlie was taken hostage. Meanwhile, I went through a transformation. Instead of loathing and detesting Hicklin, I began rooting for his escape to freedom. Hicklin and Charlie's yearning to be part of a family is what ultimately leads to their downfall.
An expertly plotted, extremely researched novel, "Last Call for the Living" is a sad, cautionary tale that will be difficult to erase from one's memory. I kept thinking that one of those vile characters could've easily have been me if my parents had been different. I grew up in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee and am very familiar with the beautiful scenery that Farris describes. Blount County, Tennessee, is very much like Jubilation County, Georgia. We also have holy rollers, snake handlers and lots of rednecks with pickup trucks. I've actually had a few King Snakes as pets; however, they're not poisonous and they eat rattlesnakes. Also, instead of moonshine stills, the country hicks in Tennessee have meth labs.
If the reader ever had romantic notions about being taken hostage during a bank robbery, "Last Call for the Living" will squash them very quickly. Charlie is tied and brutalized, physically and psychologically, by Hicklin, Hummingbird and the two Aryan Brothers, Leonard Lipscomb and Nathan Flock. There are graphic scenes of violence and torture, mostly perpetrated against women. The quantity of obscene language, racial slurs and sexual innuendoes is off the chart. This is the type of novel where, if Mom found me reading it, she would slap me in the face. In other words, it is not intended for children, the timid of heart, and those who love old-fashioned, Agatha Christie-like cozies and whodunits.
"Last Call for the Living" is definitely recommended for those, like myself, who enjoy reading bloody, violent shocking crime noir with high body counts. You have been warned. Also, if you enjoyed reading Peter Farris' excellent debut, you may want to consider indulging yourself in the novels of David J. Schow who mentored him: "Internecine" and "Upgunned." They also have ultraviolent plots involving despicable characters and protagonists who transform into lean, mean killing machines; however they are set against the wealthy, upper-class environs of Las Angeles and Manhattan.
Joseph B. Hoyos
