John Hutchinson #01 - Deadfall

Robert Liparulo, who majored in Motion Picture Production in college, is a screenwriter, investigative reporter, business columnist, and full-time novelist. He's authored thrillers like The 13th Tribe, Comes a Horseman, Germ, and a series of young adult novels titled Dream House Kings. His two action-adventure novels starring a Denver newspaper columnist named John Hutchinson is how he landed here at Paperback Warrior. The first novel, Deadfall, was published in 2007 and the sequel, Deadlock, published two years later. My proper introduction to John Hutchinson is the first of the two books, Deadfall.

Fiddler Falls is a small town of 242 people located in the rural Northwest Territories of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is here that Hutchinson and three friends touch down from an airplane. They plan on spending a week in the wild archery hunting. They only have supplies for the week and the only weapons they have are simply bows and arrows. It's a great time to kick back and take a break from messy divorces, cutthroat business ventures, and unhealthy living. But, another group has also calling Fiddler Falls home this week. Only they have lots of weapons. 

Deadfall works like a traditional The Most Dangerous Game type of story. I lump it into my own term which is Deer Hunter Horror. It's the niche where ordinary people face overwhelming odds when a hunting trip descends into madness and depravity. Liparulo places these four men against a wild bunch gang of tech outlaws that are testing satellite weaponry on the innocent citizens. They feel that since no one will miss Fiddler Falls or its residents it would make perfect cannon fodder. With the local Royal Mounted Police dead and the town captured it is up to the four hunters to “survive the game” to protect the town.

Deadfall kicks total ass, but I do wish it were a shorter tale. At nearly 500 pages the novel could have been shaved to 300ish and never missed a beat. That being said, the novel has a little bit of everything. There's the always solid “man hunting man” element to reinforce the narrative, but at the same time there's plenty of cat-and-mouse tactics as the group find allegiance in a tough-as-nails school teacher and her charismatic young son. Like an excellent action movie the characters use - or defy - helicopters, planes, an aggravating Humvee, scary satellite weaponry, and machine guns while being targeted in mine tunnels, the dense forest, the empty small-town streets, and the bad guys' makeshift headquarters. Liparulo's message is about the human spirit and the need to consistently evolve and adapt when faced with challenges. The concept of the simplest weapon versus a 21st century advanced killing machine is the perfect popcorn comfort. 

Alluding to the cover blurb, Deadfall is indeed Rambo, Mad Max, The Wild Bunch, and The Most Dangerous Game all blended together in a summer big-screen-styled narrative. Highly recommended. Get it HERE.