No Good Son

by J.L. Vaughan

Mike is back in Seattle after a year and a half spent in hiding. An ex-thief, he returned home to change his life... at least that was his plan. On his first day back, he found his brother Jarrod lead astray by someone he knows isn't to be trusted, someone who has connections to all the wrong people. After a run in with one of Seattle's most notorious families Mike must return to his old ways to try and save his brother and the woman he loves from the depths of Seattle's underworld. No Good Son is a thrill ride through Seattle that is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Genres: Fiction

166 pages, Paperback

Published January 14, 2016

Reviews

[Yamna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 8 of the get-them-known challenge

Thank you to the author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Note: For the next couple of months, I am going to read books by unknown authors. Most of these books would have less than 300 reviews and would be chosen at random. The biggest perk is that most of these books I have received by the authors after contacting them. My main goal is to bring to light the huge number of books that go ignored but totally deserve the attention any bestseller out there is getting. I hope I read at least 50 overlooked novels this year and I will appreciate if other people tried to read more of these ignored books as well.

Well this was a pleasant read.
I have to be honest. When I started this book, I was just reading it out of curiosity since the blurb appealed to me. But when I read the first page and came upon the part where Mike and Nathan talk about cars , I knew this book was for me.
I am a huge sucker for cars and drag racing, all thanks to movies like Fast & Furious and this book had enough car descriptions to satiate any car lover out there.
No Good Son is more like a story that could happen after all the action in movies like The Transporter, Fast & Furious, Rush Hour and Taken. If the villains in a movie committed all their acts and then came back to redeem themselves, that is. The story’s main character, Mike, has been carrying out heists since college. Until one day, a plan goes slightly awry and his picture gets taken by a security camera and shown on every channel in the country.
Since Mike knows this will lead to a definite arrest, he disappears, leaving behind his older brother, Jarrod, and friend Nathan. One and a half year later, he is back, and this time, he wants to redeem himself. Something happens while Mike is away. He gets a job in a dessert in Afghanistan and it doesn’t go well. So our main character wants to turn himself in.
However, when Mike returns, he realizes his brother is in even more dangerous shit now. To make matters worse, the day Mike decides to turn himself in, he meets a beautiful waitress, Elizabeth, and he can’t seem to get her out of his mind. It doesn’t help that Jarrod wants his help in committing terrible acts for a dangerous man. Mike decides to help his brother one more time and to go out with the waitress, as a last gift to a man about to be jailed. But things aren’t like what they seem. And Mike is about to discover something shocking.
Over all, No Good Son is packed with action and a healthy dose of drama. I was so enraptured that I completed the book within two hours. I was actually disappointed when the book ended because I wanted to know a few things the author had left to the imagination.
I think my four stars justify the amount of thrill reading this book can give to a reader.
It’s definitely a book that has made me look for other books by the author.

[Janeandjerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

No Good Son

I really enjoyed reading this book it kept me on the edge of my seat all throughout the book. It had great characters and an excellent storyline. While reading this I kept going back to a certain person because I know that they would be just the person that would go do just what Mike in the story did...This book I would recommend to anyone that enjoys reading a fast-paced edge of your seat kind of book...
To the one I will never forget...4real4ever 4ever4real...love and miss you

[Chocomeiske · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy from the author for an honest review.

Read my full review here: http://www.chocomeiske.com/2016/06/08...
This was amazing. So much character development and plot progression in such a short novel.
Overall, a really good debut with an interesting cast of characters, tension, and a realistic turn of events guaranteed to keep the reader engaged until the very end.

[Tony Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael “Mike” (thief, college graduate), Nathan, Jarrod (Mike’s brother, college graduate) hit both the Fargo Medical Center (Fargo, ND.) & Veterans Memorial Hospital.

There hall was Acthar Gel used for multiple sclerosis; street value $40,000 a vial.
Yrs. Later Mike was headed to Washington State to see his friend Nathan who lives in Issaquah,
WA., then on to Bellevue (burb), WA. to see Jarrod.
Mike (mercenary, Afghanistan), Nathan & Tsiu (Chinese, Jade Gate) were planning their next heist.
Now there was only Mike, & Nathan to do the job.
Mike was after the bigger fish Yensheng Qin (Chinese Lord).
Were Elizabeth, Nathan & Cheng (Chinese thug) just Mike’s Pawns?
Survival of the fittest!
Who is Pastor Shawn (Jarhead, Afghanistan, Iraq)?

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review. Only an honest one.

A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written crime thriller book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great crime thriller movie, or mini TV series. A very easy rating of 5 stars.

Thank you for the free Amazon Digital Services LLC. Book.
Tony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

[Jessica Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this autographed copy in a Goodreads giveaway. It was like reading an action movie. I don't normally read action books so it was different from what I would chose for myself. I'm glad I went out of my comfort zone. I found myself reading faster during car chase scenes! This book was pretty clean, no swear words, although gang leaders, drug lords and all out general "bad guys" and no sex scenes, although there was a love story. It also had a hint of Christianity, I am Christian so this was acceptable to me, I don't think there are enough references to God to be offensive to any non-believers. I could see this becoming a movie. It was entertaining!

[Patrycja · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book through GoodReads giveaway.

This is quite good thriller, action novel. The reason I gave 4 not 5 stars is because of the ending. It felt much too stretched and forced.

This is a story of two brothers Mike and Jarrod, whose childhood wasn't easy. They also chose rather questionable carrier as young adults. After last "job" that didn't go quite right, Mike left Seattle and took to hiding. After over a year he comes back to reunite with his brother and set things right in his life. But his brother seems get himself into trouble, so Mike tries save him, which means going back to his old doings.

[Lee Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a goodreads giveaway winner, I received a sighed copy from the author. Thank you very much! This book was so good. It caught and held my attention right from the beginning. It is a really good story full of twists that made it a page turner. The authors writing style was so easy to follow and I got into the characters so much that I become lost in the story and couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this book.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from the author, after winning it from Goodreads, for an honest review. I really like it. If I ever needed a partner in crime, Mike would be perfect. He does have a conscience Loved how his brother, Jarrod, told Elizabeth the story of their college days and how they started their life of crime and who they only stole from.

[Mary Moerbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was exactly the escape I was looking for. I enjoyed the set up, liked several of the characters, was thrown a few times, held in suspense, and then felt satisfied at the end.

It isn’t particularly a religious book, although there are a few mentions of God sprinkled through the book. Then, Christianity clearly enters it toward the end. Still, themes clearly included redemption, unconditional love, and struggle in a world that isn’t what it should be. Maybe even positive loss of control? Can that be a theme? 🙂

Big highlights include the car scenes! While I’m not a car person myself, I really enjoyed the details and pace of the car scenes! If you’re a car person, get this book! And, the local Seattle details!

Meanwhile, I don’t know if there is a literary term for the “good bad guy,” but I feel like this book handled the concept well, in both the main character and in how he viewed his brother. There was good development and some thoughtful considerations on just how people develop, too.

It was such a good, fast, energizing read for me that I just started another book by the same author and, as different as it is, I’m loving it! It goes to show the author’s versatility and skill.

Thanks for writing, J.L Vaughan!

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an ebook of "No Good Son" from the author, in exchange for an honest review.

I started this book with an open mind. The synopsis seemed pretty intriguing. A former thief (the term "thief" is a gross understatement) named Mike comes out of hiding after making a promise to set things right and pay for his sins. He's drawn back into his nefarious past as he tries to convince his partner-in-crime - his older brother Jarrod - that what they've been doing is wrong. But does Jarrod really want to be saved from a lifestyle of theft and destruction?

Meanwhile, Mike quickly falls for a spunky barista, knowing that the past he is trying to leave behind could put her life in jeopardy.

Mike is talked into helping Jarrod and the third member of their crime team, Nathan, with one more job involving one of Seattle's most notorious families. But Mike comes up with a plan of his own, and everything goes haywire.

I wanted to like this book. And I appreciated certain aspects of it. Redemption is a huge theme throughout, and the irony of Mike trying to set things right while participating in yet another criminal act - thinking he can rescue his brother in the process - is really interesting. He attempts, or at least considers, turning himself in to the authorities so many times it becomes kind of humorous. And try as he might, the poor guy just can't seem to get busted.

That being said, the action all takes place in matter of two days. I know events have to be accelerated a bit in such a short time frame, and maybe I'm being overly skeptical (yeah, I know, it's fiction) but I found it a bit ridiculous that Mike's love interest Elizabeth is so quickly drawn into his world. She almost felt shoehorned into the story as if the author was trying so hard to add a romantic element.

Another reviewer wrote about how she got to the point where she was skimming through the book because it went off the rails. I can almost pinpoint the moment where that happened for me - never mind the fact that fast cars and what they can do is discussed ad nauseum. (Forgive the stereotype but this is such a guy book).

Jarrod's long-winded story of how he, Mike and Nathan began their life of crime had me rolling my eyes so many times I thought they'd get stuck in the back of my head. I can tell the author really loves writing fight scenes, because he goes into a gratuitous amount of detail about who hit who, how much blood was shed, etc. If I hadn't been reading it on my cellphone, I probably would have thrown this book across the room several times. Tone it down, dude! We don't need a play-by-play every time someone gets jumped.

I liked what the author was going for as he wrapped up the story, with Mike still trying to make amends, and how there's an element of mystery about his past right up until the last couple of pages. It read a bit like a cheesy Hallmark movie, but I'll allow it.

Overall, this book has good bones. I just think it needed a lot of slash-and-burn editing. As a journalist, I've been trained to the point where creative writing isn't as fun for me as it once was. But Vaughan crosses the line into being overly descriptive. I'm not stupid, I can fill in some sensory details myself. Just set the scene and get on with it. Trim down some of the B.S. and I might give "No Good Son" at least 3 stars instead of 2.

[BlaireReadsTheThings · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so excited to receive an autographed copy of this book from the author several weeks ago. I finally got around to reading it and I wasn't disappointed. I really wanted to rate the book higher but there were some issues that I just couldn't get past. In order to be fair to the book, I really have to rate it in 2 parts. The first half of the book gets 2 stars. There was a lot of story-telling happening and it didn't really lead to anything. Mike really didn't need that much back-story. His time in California, the "hole-in-the-wall" restaurant, and all of the internal dialogue where Mike is fighting with himself really slowed down the pace of the book and kind of made me want to stop reading it. However, I am so glad that I did because the second half of the book was amazing! It was non-stop action and gadgets and well-thought out plans and plot twists. Why couldn't the whole book have been that good!? I have to give the second half of the book 5 stars. But...the editing of this book was not good. There were some serious flaws in editing that were very distracting. Especially when using the terms raise, raised, rise, rose, risen. There were several instances where these terms were confused and used wrong. I don't normally get caught up in things like this, but it was often enough to be annoying.

All in all, I enjoyed the book. I am really glad that I was given the opportunity to read and review this book. I do recommend it. Just get through the first half and hold on!

[Marty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received this in exchange for a review.
I must say that I did like the writing, and much was packed into this short book, but at one point I did have to skim as the story went off the tracks. I read most and liked the pace until "the last big" score. It was a little much and while the ending was quick and short, you do get the impression all will be turned right.
Good luck to this author and I hope I get a second chance to see his work.

[Lee Ann Lambe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book was just okay. What I thought was going to be a very fast read, as it is only 165 pages long, took me a really long time to get through as it just wasn't drawing me back to it and I found I would rather read other books instead and had to force myself to go back to it and finish it. Not that the story was bad, like I said, it was okay, just not really good though.

As well for such a short book there were quite a few spelling mistakes, some that I happened to notice were on pages - 29, 64, 90, 95, 101, 112, 144, 154 & 160.