Baby Shark's High Plains Redemption
Robert Fate
Reviewed by Barb Radmore
I admit it- I have been on the Robert Fate bandwagon since I first read
Baby Shark. From the beginning it was the strength of the characters
that grabbed my interest. The star of the show is always Kristin Van
Dijk, the fast shooting, beating taking, pool hustling girl we first
met when her father was killed in Baby Shark. Strong female characters
are not unique in literary history but Robert Fate has been able to
imbue Kristin with a
personality not seen before. Her personal history, well laid out in the
first book, has led her to be able to accept a level of violence and
blood shedding not usually seen with female lead characters,
especially nineteen years old ones. And the fact that it is not
only perfectly acceptable and enjoyed by the reader is the
achievement of the author.
In High Plains Redemption Robert Fate has shown that he is able to
maintain the role of puppet master. He manipulates his characters as
carefully as Gepetto and they respond to his finesse. He has built them
well- Kristin, Otis and Henry are all fully developed at this point.
The fun comes in their performance as they play to Fate's melodious
script. The battaglia-like script is punctuated with the percussion of
pistol shots, the bright burble of blood and the vibration of
violence that builds to a crescendo of murder and mayhem. They
join together to form a consonance that
will resonate with the reader until the next Baby Shark book arrives.
That last paragraph may capture the elegance of the writing of High
Plains but does not express the down and dirty fun the reader
experiences with this book. Kristin is growing up. She has a
boyfriend and a conscience- which are both are causing her grief. She
is questioning the violence that follows her but what is a girl to do
when the bad guys shoot at her, beat on her and are generally very bad
bad guys. She and the ever reliable Otis find themselves trapped in the
middle of bootleggers, and outlaws, handsome scoundrels and literate
bookies. Just another case of saving a victim in the hot Texan sun.
The Baby Shark series is becoming a pace setter in the modern,
literate, noir narrative. It has all the classic motifs: the
protagonist is both victim and aggressor, the normal is unusual and the
plots never have simple solutions. Robert Fate has perfectly captured
the hallmark black humor that relaxes the unease at the ceaseless
violence.
Baby Shark's High Plains Redemption is a do not miss book. Trite but
true. I have tried to give you all the fancy reviewer reasons to read
this. But if you like a well written, action packed novel that will
keep your interest from beginning to end, one that you will actually
enjoy
for the story and the characters (not just because someone said it is THE book to read)
(which it is) - read this. Now, go... off to your favorite indy book
store...go now...no now...I still see you- leave now...buy this book.
