Repo Madness - The Greatness Continues!

TITLE: Repo Madness (Ruddy McCann #3)
AUTHOR: W. Bruce Cameron
PUBLISHER: Forge Books
PUBLISHING DATE: August 23, 2016

FROM GOODREADS: Ruddy McCann is back in Repo Madness--the laugh-out-loud, thrilling adventure from bestselling author W. Bruce Cameron!

Ruddy McCann, former college football star, now Kalkaska, Michigan repo man, is finally getting his life back on track. He has a beautiful fiancé, Katie Lottner, a somewhat stable job stealing cars, and a lazy, lovable basset hound.

With his job suddenly in jeopardy, his fiancé wanting a break, and a new court-ordered psychiatrist insisting he take his medication or violate the terms of his probation, Ruddy finds himself missing the one thing he thought he would be happy to be rid of--the voice of Alan Lottner, dead realtor and Ruddy's future father-in-law.

When a woman tells Ruddy that the tragedy that defines his life may, in fact, be a lie, Ruddy starts to investigate the disappearances of women in the area and soon discovers that his own redemption may be within reach. Alan's voice returns, and Ruddy and Alan work together to bring down a corrupt banker, win back Katie's love, and stop a serial killer before he can strike again.

MY THOUGHTS:  I honestly think I have been waiting for this book forever. I loved The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man and the novella which followed and couldn't wait to see what happens next in Ruddy's world. When the book starts, Ruddy's life is running pretty smoothly. He and his fiance Katie are doing well, Jake the Basset is as loving and as lazy as always, and his job is great. However, the bliss is short-lived because a new court-appointed psychiatrist thinks Ruddy is crazy and needs to go back to jail, Alan, the voice in his head is back, his boss is dead from a questionable suicide and Katie wants to move out. Not to mention something happens to Ruddy which makes him question what happened to him in the past and discover that a serial killer may be on the loose.

The book was extremely fast paced and engrossing. There are so many plots and sub plots that I found it hard to put down. The characters are as quirky and as crazy as they were in the original book and Jake is still the lazy basset I have grown to love (who am I kidding - I loved him immediately upon his arrival in the first book). I especially enjoyed the development of the relationship between Ruddy and his new brother-in-law, Kermit. Kermit would probably get on my last nerve too but he and Ruddy aren't as different as they would like to think. I also enjoyed the small town setting and the fact that the book takes place during a Michigan winter only adds to the atmosphere Cameron has created. I kind of imagine Kalkaska as my own little Stars Hollow, only grittier and much colder.

There really isn't anything that I don't love about this book other than the fact that it's over. Now I have to wait for the next installment. However, there is a plus. All the time I was reading this I kept imagining this as a movie/series of some sort. In fact, I was trying to think of actors to play the roles of each characters. (I sort of picture Ruddy as a Matthew McConaughey except I'm sure Ruddy is actually larger). The end of the book contains commentary from the author and it mentions that the Ruddy McCann books are in production for a TV pilot. I will keep my fingers crossed and although I'm sure Matthew may be busy, I know Hollywood will find the perfect Ruddy. They just better keep Jake a basset hound! You know how they like to mess with books!!!!!

I received this book for Forge in exchange for an honest review.  

RATING: 5 PAWS

  


BOOKER T'S THOUGHTS:  Jake is just plain awesome.  Everyone loves him, he gets to sleep whenever he wants and he always finds the best sleeping spots.  Plus, in the installment, everyone gets to finally see what I suspected about Jake all along - he's a hero!