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Backstrap: A Novel
CAN YOU FIND REDEMPTION IN A CORRUPT WORLD? -- That's the question for Callie Byrne, a street savvy Iraq vet recently out of drug rehab for heroin addiction, trying to reignite her life and regain custody of her son. Bartending in Philadelphia when a friend gets entangled with her ex-dealer, Callie must navigate the underground world of drug and sex trafficking between the jungles of Guatemala and a shady Manhattan leather import business.
Backstrap is a morally complex tale of the ordinary and harrowing decisions that define the lives of two young women connected across America's borders and struggling with their own guilty pasts, dreams of new life, and the acts of sacrifice required of them.
Backstrap is a morally complex tale of the ordinary and harrowing decisions that define the lives of two young women connected across America's borders and struggling with their own guilty pasts, dreams of new life, and the acts of sacrifice required of them.
- GenresFictionLiterary Fiction
280 pages, Paperback
Published November 8, 2016
6 people are currently reading
678 people want to read
About the author
Johnnie Dun
1 book17 followersJohnnie Dun has published journalism and literary criticism in a variety of media and scholarly outlets, including Discovery.com, The Cortland Review, and Early American Literature. He has written science news and magazine pieces on Siberian tigers, the physics of the home run in baseball, and the never-ending restoration of the Everglades.
He worked in New York for brand and digital agencies doing American writer trench work: inventing the brand “story” for a boutique hotel chain; a PR war-of-words between a Nebraskan food conglomerate and an enraged South Korean beef importer; and marketing the "science" behind Lysol disinfectant.
In other words, he has engaged in corporate claptrap to survive on one's talents in a post-capitalist American "knowledge economy." Now he plies his word trade while working in the biotech industry.
A native of Philadelphia, PA, he now lives in Boston, MA.
He worked in New York for brand and digital agencies doing American writer trench work: inventing the brand “story” for a boutique hotel chain; a PR war-of-words between a Nebraskan food conglomerate and an enraged South Korean beef importer; and marketing the "science" behind Lysol disinfectant.
In other words, he has engaged in corporate claptrap to survive on one's talents in a post-capitalist American "knowledge economy." Now he plies his word trade while working in the biotech industry.
A native of Philadelphia, PA, he now lives in Boston, MA.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
May 30, 2017
Okay, so honestly I don't know how I feel about this book.
But I will say it definitely would make a killer movie with the right cast.
Callie and several of her friends are ex-military. They all served in Iraq together and all made it out alive. But how did one of them manage to get killed while working for Latin Leather, a clothing company. Sure, they had all dabbled in drugs and partied and most of their time after the military was spent in a hazy room with vivid memories.
Turns out Latin Leather isn't just clothing, it's enough drugs to supply an entire company. But they already knew that, so why was Rachel sent to Guatemala for a business meeting?
Did she get in over her head?
Is there more than just drugs involved?
Could they have uncovered a human trafficking ring?
Callie and Angus set off to find out leaving their lives at home behind.
Huge shout out to NetGalley for auto-approving me for this book.
While it wasn't my favorite, it was still a quick read that I did enjoy.
This review and more can be found at A Reader's Diary!
But I will say it definitely would make a killer movie with the right cast.
Callie and several of her friends are ex-military. They all served in Iraq together and all made it out alive. But how did one of them manage to get killed while working for Latin Leather, a clothing company. Sure, they had all dabbled in drugs and partied and most of their time after the military was spent in a hazy room with vivid memories.
Turns out Latin Leather isn't just clothing, it's enough drugs to supply an entire company. But they already knew that, so why was Rachel sent to Guatemala for a business meeting?
Did she get in over her head?
Is there more than just drugs involved?
Could they have uncovered a human trafficking ring?
Callie and Angus set off to find out leaving their lives at home behind.
Huge shout out to NetGalley for auto-approving me for this book.
While it wasn't my favorite, it was still a quick read that I did enjoy.
This review and more can be found at A Reader's Diary!
November 13, 2017
“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose”—this lyric from “Me and Bobby McGee,” once epitomized Callie Byrne’s life. But after serving her country in Iraq, she had a baby boy, became addicted to heroin, and went to drug rehab. Now she’s bartending in Philadelphia.
While Callie was in rehab from painkillers and this invisible thing assigned the letters PTSD, her counselor had suggested changing her “circle of friends,” as if Tony Maul or Peter Jagg were friends. More like a noose than a circle. Their presence haunted a dead zone within her, and she was having trouble escaping it. She had deleted Tony’s info six months ago. But he was addicted to his own menace, like a house fly you couldn’t kill. This afternoon a package was waiting for her at the Grave addressed in Rachel’s scratchy handwriting. A return address from a ranch in Guatemala of all places. The manila envelope sat unopened below the bar on the ice machine. She was waiting for a quiet moment to open it. Mail in the twenty-first century was rarely good.
Her friend Rachel’s in trouble with her ex-dealer, Tony Maul: she asks Callie for help. Callie lives in a Roman Catholic halfway house, alone. Her son Dillon doesn’t live with her because of her struggles with addiction—her sister has custody. John F. Kennedy once said, “To have a child is to give fate a hostage,” so why, with everything to lose, does Callie agree to help an old friend get out of trouble? Is it loyalty? A vestige of her time in the military—never leave a comrade behind?
Cassie reaches out to Tony and Rachel.
She grabbed her phone, thinking, No, don’t fuck with me, Tony. I could blow your world apart before you even know I’m there. She replied to Rachel: R, Getting weird messages from Tony. He thinks I’m helping you. Let me know you’re okay. Like give me an email once a day?
She doesn’t hold back when she texts Tony.
She typed and retyped ten times, debating how to walk the line between calm and kickass. Tony might be self-involved, be he was always intense and thinking. Finally, she had: Nobody’s after you. Just leave Rachel alone. Or I will flush whatever business you’re into down the shithole. Like mixing a cocktail, just the right blend: an offer to walk away with the obvious hint of a bullet in the chamber if he opted for stupid.
Something else is troubling Callie: “For most of her life, she had loved being around guys.” But now, the male species is “small, faint, and insignificant to her.” With insight gained from her time in rehab, she acknowledges that she doesn’t “really care about anybody else except those just as busy being addicted.”
Now, she was learning to carry her sadness around, to live with boring routine as a matter of existing within so-called normalcy. But she had lost the ability to interact with men from any position of comfort in her own skin.
To rescue her friend, Callie must reignite her ability to work alongside men—she can’t pull off a rescue in another country solo. With Betty, “her Beretta M9 pistol—the sidearm MPs carry—strapped to her back beneath her loose t-shirt,” Callie pays a visit to Lukas “Angus” Kistler. She tells him Rachel is in trouble. Johnnie Dun paints a vivid picture of Angus.
Angus had liked Rachel, but she had always turned him down, except one drunken night, and then promptly returned to the same dismissals. But Angus kept a protective ring around women he cared for, no matter what. It made him a strange combination of rural Pennsylvania beef farmer, twenty-first century army body armor, and old world chivalry.
Angus tells Callie that he’ll go on his own, that she needs “to stay here for Dillon,” but Callie realizes that Tony’s threatening messages were “meant to put her in a box of inaction.”
The message from Rachel that had an absolute trust in her to act, just as Rachel would do for her or Angus. Life had almost been easier in rehab, where you just took care of yourself.
Deep down, Callie believes that “war for some greater good led to living.” The alternative, a solitary life where she only thinks about herself. Backstrap is a wild ride: “Callie must navigate the underground world of drug and sex trafficking between the jungles of Guatemala and a shady Manhattan leather import business.” When Callie and Angus fly into the Belize City airport and make their way to the remote ranch, Callie feels an excitement she hasn’t felt since her time in Basra, Iraq: “There was the wonderful, thick sense of being alive and lost at the same time.” The tension and excitement of Backstrap is unrelenting—Callie Byrne really does “walk the line between calm and kickass.” She’s a flawed, indomitable woman on a quest to save a friend—and maybe herself as well.
Book given to reviewer for honest review.
While Callie was in rehab from painkillers and this invisible thing assigned the letters PTSD, her counselor had suggested changing her “circle of friends,” as if Tony Maul or Peter Jagg were friends. More like a noose than a circle. Their presence haunted a dead zone within her, and she was having trouble escaping it. She had deleted Tony’s info six months ago. But he was addicted to his own menace, like a house fly you couldn’t kill. This afternoon a package was waiting for her at the Grave addressed in Rachel’s scratchy handwriting. A return address from a ranch in Guatemala of all places. The manila envelope sat unopened below the bar on the ice machine. She was waiting for a quiet moment to open it. Mail in the twenty-first century was rarely good.
Her friend Rachel’s in trouble with her ex-dealer, Tony Maul: she asks Callie for help. Callie lives in a Roman Catholic halfway house, alone. Her son Dillon doesn’t live with her because of her struggles with addiction—her sister has custody. John F. Kennedy once said, “To have a child is to give fate a hostage,” so why, with everything to lose, does Callie agree to help an old friend get out of trouble? Is it loyalty? A vestige of her time in the military—never leave a comrade behind?
Cassie reaches out to Tony and Rachel.
She grabbed her phone, thinking, No, don’t fuck with me, Tony. I could blow your world apart before you even know I’m there. She replied to Rachel: R, Getting weird messages from Tony. He thinks I’m helping you. Let me know you’re okay. Like give me an email once a day?
She doesn’t hold back when she texts Tony.
She typed and retyped ten times, debating how to walk the line between calm and kickass. Tony might be self-involved, be he was always intense and thinking. Finally, she had: Nobody’s after you. Just leave Rachel alone. Or I will flush whatever business you’re into down the shithole. Like mixing a cocktail, just the right blend: an offer to walk away with the obvious hint of a bullet in the chamber if he opted for stupid.
Something else is troubling Callie: “For most of her life, she had loved being around guys.” But now, the male species is “small, faint, and insignificant to her.” With insight gained from her time in rehab, she acknowledges that she doesn’t “really care about anybody else except those just as busy being addicted.”
Now, she was learning to carry her sadness around, to live with boring routine as a matter of existing within so-called normalcy. But she had lost the ability to interact with men from any position of comfort in her own skin.
To rescue her friend, Callie must reignite her ability to work alongside men—she can’t pull off a rescue in another country solo. With Betty, “her Beretta M9 pistol—the sidearm MPs carry—strapped to her back beneath her loose t-shirt,” Callie pays a visit to Lukas “Angus” Kistler. She tells him Rachel is in trouble. Johnnie Dun paints a vivid picture of Angus.
Angus had liked Rachel, but she had always turned him down, except one drunken night, and then promptly returned to the same dismissals. But Angus kept a protective ring around women he cared for, no matter what. It made him a strange combination of rural Pennsylvania beef farmer, twenty-first century army body armor, and old world chivalry.
Angus tells Callie that he’ll go on his own, that she needs “to stay here for Dillon,” but Callie realizes that Tony’s threatening messages were “meant to put her in a box of inaction.”
The message from Rachel that had an absolute trust in her to act, just as Rachel would do for her or Angus. Life had almost been easier in rehab, where you just took care of yourself.
Deep down, Callie believes that “war for some greater good led to living.” The alternative, a solitary life where she only thinks about herself. Backstrap is a wild ride: “Callie must navigate the underground world of drug and sex trafficking between the jungles of Guatemala and a shady Manhattan leather import business.” When Callie and Angus fly into the Belize City airport and make their way to the remote ranch, Callie feels an excitement she hasn’t felt since her time in Basra, Iraq: “There was the wonderful, thick sense of being alive and lost at the same time.” The tension and excitement of Backstrap is unrelenting—Callie Byrne really does “walk the line between calm and kickass.” She’s a flawed, indomitable woman on a quest to save a friend—and maybe herself as well.
Book given to reviewer for honest review.
August 4, 2017
I love shipping containers. It's just one of those things. It's all about math. They are pretty little boxes that you fill with other boxes and then you fit them all together on a boat and send them places. It's like Legos with velocity as an actual grown up job. Someone actually pays me to do Geometry all day long. I love it. I requested this book on NetGalley because it had a shipping container on the cover. And then it turned out to be about a smuggling ring. The story was exciting and intriguing. Callie goes to Guatemala to find her friend Rachel and ends up in the middle of a drug and human smuggling operation (though it made the novel more exciting and allowed it to flow better, I'm pretty sure I'd never send both of these things together on one boat but I'm not actually a criminal, so who knows), which may cause harm to her family. It was really different from most of the books I read and I really liked it. You don't have to be a logistics or shipping nut to enjoy it either, so don't be put off by the geekiness of my review. There is little to no actual math in the book itself.
An aside, Hapag-Lloyd is mentioned (I hope the spelling was fixed in edit) and I happened to read that part on a day that I had spoken to someone from Hapag-Lloyd (my favorite steamship line) twice on the phone, and that almost never happens. It made me laugh.
An aside, Hapag-Lloyd is mentioned (I hope the spelling was fixed in edit) and I happened to read that part on a day that I had spoken to someone from Hapag-Lloyd (my favorite steamship line) twice on the phone, and that almost never happens. It made me laugh.
May 31, 2017
"She stood on the edge of an old life with no place to go."
Callie Byrne served as an Army MP in Iraq. After she got out of the service she fought the memories and the PTSD with drugs and is now a recovering heroin addict. During this dark time in her life she lost custody of her son, Dillon, to her proper suburban sister and all she wants now is to regain custody of him again.
She's working as a bartender in Philadelphia when she receives a packet from an old friend from her Iraq days and she ends up heading down to Guatemala to try to help her friend.
Drugs, drugs and more drugs, drug cartels, human trafficking, a young Mayan mother that Callie wants to help, deaths, threats of death - this is one dark story.
Callie is trying to do what is right and stay safe so she can get back to her son but circumstances seem to be conspiring against her.
This is a dark, gritty tale of a steamy underworld that most people don't even think about. The author is very good at bringing his characters to life with a minimum of words and his description of this noirish, sinister lifestyle is darn frightening.
Callie ends up having to make a series of difficult decisions - and I sure don't know what I would have done in her place.
I received this book from Pearly Baker Crimes through Net Galley in exchange for my unbiased review.
Callie Byrne served as an Army MP in Iraq. After she got out of the service she fought the memories and the PTSD with drugs and is now a recovering heroin addict. During this dark time in her life she lost custody of her son, Dillon, to her proper suburban sister and all she wants now is to regain custody of him again.
She's working as a bartender in Philadelphia when she receives a packet from an old friend from her Iraq days and she ends up heading down to Guatemala to try to help her friend.
Drugs, drugs and more drugs, drug cartels, human trafficking, a young Mayan mother that Callie wants to help, deaths, threats of death - this is one dark story.
Callie is trying to do what is right and stay safe so she can get back to her son but circumstances seem to be conspiring against her.
This is a dark, gritty tale of a steamy underworld that most people don't even think about. The author is very good at bringing his characters to life with a minimum of words and his description of this noirish, sinister lifestyle is darn frightening.
Callie ends up having to make a series of difficult decisions - and I sure don't know what I would have done in her place.
I received this book from Pearly Baker Crimes through Net Galley in exchange for my unbiased review.
June 2, 2017
Thank you for sending me this book from Goodreads Giveaways, I completely enjoyed reading this novel about murder, drugs and the exploitation of women as sexual property. The book starts out in one of my old stomping grounds, Philadelphia PA. then our hero Callie goes to the jungles of Guatemala in search of her friend Rachel. What Callie finds is more than she bargained for, but as an ex-army MP, she seems to handle the violent situations with relative ease with her sidekick Angus, who also spent some time in the military. What they uncover and become entangled in is a 50 million load of cocaine, twenty-four young woman being sent to Atlantic City, NJ to become prostitutes and ruthless men whom will take your life at the drop of a dime.
Will they all make it home safe? Read and find out. To this day women are still considered cattle to be bought and sold by men. When will the day come when women are equal to men? By teaching others what is right and wrong with this situation we might be able to make the world a better place, not just for women but men also.
Will they all make it home safe? Read and find out. To this day women are still considered cattle to be bought and sold by men. When will the day come when women are equal to men? By teaching others what is right and wrong with this situation we might be able to make the world a better place, not just for women but men also.
June 13, 2017
I'm a sucker for flawed characters and that's exactly what Callie Byrne is--ex heroin addict, Iraqi vet, street savvy, and acerbic witted. Fighting her past with shady drug dealers, she is determined to live a clean life and reclaim her young son, Dillon who is living with her mother and sister as Callie is homeless. But when her friend, Rachel reaches out to her for help, Callie knows she must step in and once again cross tracks with her ex, Tony and his shady gangster accomplices. Her journey takes her to Guatemala where she runs head on into the sex-trafficking and heroin smuggling business as she attempts to rectify past mistakes and prevent anyone else from getting hurt. Lots of violence and breakneck pacing make this novel perfect if you like the roller-coaster ride of gang-banging, kick-ass female protagonists!
August 10, 2017
I really find myself gravitating toward characters who have gone through tough times and sincerely want to change. Callie Byrne is this type of person, she has overcome drug addiction, time in the military in Iraq that traumatized her and the loss of custody of her son. Callie now has a job, is clean and wants to do what it takes to get her son back.
Callie receives a disturbing letter from her friend Rachel and winds up in Guatemala dealing with people and situations that are dark, disturbing, illegal and at times deadly. Callie tries her best to help those she encounters in need so she can then return home to her son. The story moved along at a fast pace and the author did a great job developing characters. I love when I can “see” a character which pretty much stops me from watching books made into movies. If the actor doesn’t look like my picture, I am totally disappointed! (Personal problem for me to try and overcome.)
Thanks to Johnnie Dun, AuthorBuzz and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review. I will definitely be looking for his next book.
Callie receives a disturbing letter from her friend Rachel and winds up in Guatemala dealing with people and situations that are dark, disturbing, illegal and at times deadly. Callie tries her best to help those she encounters in need so she can then return home to her son. The story moved along at a fast pace and the author did a great job developing characters. I love when I can “see” a character which pretty much stops me from watching books made into movies. If the actor doesn’t look like my picture, I am totally disappointed! (Personal problem for me to try and overcome.)
Thanks to Johnnie Dun, AuthorBuzz and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review. I will definitely be looking for his next book.
July 5, 2017
I received this book free from the publisher via netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.
Please see my full reviews available at www.coffeeandtrainspotting.com.
For requesting arcs and books to review, please visit www.netgalley.com.
Please see my full reviews available at www.coffeeandtrainspotting.com.
For requesting arcs and books to review, please visit www.netgalley.com.
September 23, 2017
A thrilling tale set in Guatemala. Callie Byrne has finally found a new life—she’s been through rehab, she’s got a job, and she’s working to get her son back. But Callie can’t ignore a message from her best friend Rachel that suggests Rachel is in trouble. Before she knows it, she’s in Guatemala in the middle of a drug ring.
This action-packed adventure keeps things moving. There is danger around every corner as Callie fights to get herself home from Guatemala. An exciting read.
I received an advance reader copy of the book in exchange for my unbiased review.
This action-packed adventure keeps things moving. There is danger around every corner as Callie fights to get herself home from Guatemala. An exciting read.
I received an advance reader copy of the book in exchange for my unbiased review.
July 15, 2018
The main character, Callie Byrnes, is a former Iraq vet whose post-service life is pretty dismal; her son is living with her sister, she's a recovering addict, and she is living day-to-day with no real plan for the future. Her loyalty to her friend Rachel gets her into a lot of trouble in Guatemala, but it also brings her life back to her. Through a series of horrifying events, Callie's survival skills, her love for her son, and her unexpected bond to young mother Ixchel, Callie finds her purpose and her future.
What struck me most about this book, especially given current events, was the unflinching bravery required by Ixchel and other women from Guatemala to dare escape their horrific circumstances in exchange for unknown, also probably horrific circumstances, for the slim chance of a better life in the US.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
What struck me most about this book, especially given current events, was the unflinching bravery required by Ixchel and other women from Guatemala to dare escape their horrific circumstances in exchange for unknown, also probably horrific circumstances, for the slim chance of a better life in the US.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
March 29, 2017
Backstrap by Johnnie Dun is a great novel. The writing is compelling and it has wonderful character description as well as a fast paced story that keeps you reading. I really identified with the main character Callie Byrne who is a recovering heroin addict and an Iraqi war veteran. She gets mixed up with a young Mayan woman who desperately wants to be smuggled to the United States. The book does a wonderful job with the individual characters dealing with their own checkered pasts and demons and how to deal with a morally complex situation. I'm excited to see what more this author has to offer.
February 3, 2017
I received this book through one of the giveaways. The story itself was good. I found myself getting sucked into the suspense and wanting to find out what would happen to the main character (Callie), and the others around here. I really wasn't sure what to expect with who was the "worst bad guy" out of all those involved with the dealing. The typo's and grammatical errors throughout the entire book made some parts a difficult read though. For example, there as several spots where words were either added or omitted from sentences. Some words were the wrong form like being pluralized or past-tense. Some words looked like auto-correct mistakes. With some better editing the book would be much better. I think it's at least a good base.
May 13, 2018
Backstrap is an indictment of the drug trade that originates in harsh little rundown towns in places like Guatemala. I felt the sense of hopelessness that lives in areas that are run by murderous cartels. They suck the life out of people that have no other way to earn a living. This story made me cringe at times knowing there are people who have no regard for human life. Writing that can cause this kind of reaction is very good. I commend Johnnie Dun on writing such a powerful first novel.
February 3, 2018
It took a while for me to really get into this book, but it was a good thrill once I did. I don’t do “book report” reviews - I leave that up to the folks like Goodreads who tell you the base of the narrative and grab your interest. What I do believe is a pertinent review is to tell you what I thought of the book, how it engaged me, how well the characters were developed, and whether or not I enjoyed the book. So, as I said, it took a little while to engage and draw into this book but once I did it kept my attention. It is a great narrative and certainly falls in the thriller genre. It moves quickly with a conspiracy angle and fast pace. The characters are very well developed. I felt myself present in the mind of the main character, Callie, always speed thinking and plotting the next move. I could see her (personal opinion) awful dreads and feel the devotion she has to friends, family and strangers. The secondary character, Ixchel, is more my favorite character. I can feel her desperation to pursue a better life, and I see her as beautiful with dark, darting eyes, protective and wary. And the other characters are also well defined and easy to relate to and commune with. As the book started out (in my opinion) a little slow, I found that I really enjoyed the story and (a very good sign for me) was left wondering what would become of these lives. I have a tendency to become attached to characters in books I enjoy, and am always left wondering about them beyond the last page, so if I have those questions of what happened next bubbling in my mind after the final period, that’s a true proof that it was indeed a good book with characters you can really attach with. And I am pleased to say I was left in that state of wondering, so indeed I did like the book very much.
I took off one star because what initially made me crazy and uninterested in this book is it seems to be unedited, with many grammatical errors. In fact, since I often receive Advance Reader Copy books to review, I thought that this was an advance, unedited version. While I am no scholar, I am an avid reader and nothing annoys me more than lack of punctuation, spelling errors, and incomplete or grammatically incorrect sentence structure. I was surprised to realize this is a finished work - soooo many errors! I don’t intend this to be rude, though I am sure it will be perceived that way, I will say the author and editors should have looked a little closer at these grammatical errors...they aren’t hard to miss - they glare up off the page, many many times. And for an avid reader this becomes annoying and shouts a lack of final attention to detail. But even as I struggled with this, I still enjoyed the book.
**I received this book as part of the Goodreads Giveaway Program**
I took off one star because what initially made me crazy and uninterested in this book is it seems to be unedited, with many grammatical errors. In fact, since I often receive Advance Reader Copy books to review, I thought that this was an advance, unedited version. While I am no scholar, I am an avid reader and nothing annoys me more than lack of punctuation, spelling errors, and incomplete or grammatically incorrect sentence structure. I was surprised to realize this is a finished work - soooo many errors! I don’t intend this to be rude, though I am sure it will be perceived that way, I will say the author and editors should have looked a little closer at these grammatical errors...they aren’t hard to miss - they glare up off the page, many many times. And for an avid reader this becomes annoying and shouts a lack of final attention to detail. But even as I struggled with this, I still enjoyed the book.
**I received this book as part of the Goodreads Giveaway Program**
July 3, 2017
I received this book courtesy of NetGalley and Pearly Baker Press, the publisher.
In this book Callie Byrne, an ex-MP who served in Iraq, and experienced PTSD. She was in rehab from painkillers; basically, her life a mess. She is a divorcee who is unable to care for her child.
When her high school friend, Rachel, goes to Guatemala and leaves Callie a note in case she goes missing, Callie takes a trip with Angus. The book is about murder, sex trafficking, and drug cartel. Callie uncovers who is involved in these illegal activities. It is Callie’s journey to get the crooks put away and to protect her son and sister, who is caring for him.
The book moves quickly and you find yourself rooting for Callie throughout the book; but, at times, I found myself wondering how an ex-MP would do some of the things she does. For example, when Callie allows herself to be put in a dangerous situation with girls transported in a container. It seems like there should be a better way especially since the girl-filled container never made it to catch Hector.
It is a light, easy read if you enjoy this genre of book.
In this book Callie Byrne, an ex-MP who served in Iraq, and experienced PTSD. She was in rehab from painkillers; basically, her life a mess. She is a divorcee who is unable to care for her child.
When her high school friend, Rachel, goes to Guatemala and leaves Callie a note in case she goes missing, Callie takes a trip with Angus. The book is about murder, sex trafficking, and drug cartel. Callie uncovers who is involved in these illegal activities. It is Callie’s journey to get the crooks put away and to protect her son and sister, who is caring for him.
The book moves quickly and you find yourself rooting for Callie throughout the book; but, at times, I found myself wondering how an ex-MP would do some of the things she does. For example, when Callie allows herself to be put in a dangerous situation with girls transported in a container. It seems like there should be a better way especially since the girl-filled container never made it to catch Hector.
It is a light, easy read if you enjoy this genre of book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2017
Callie Byrne is an Iraq war vet, former MP, recovering drug addict and suicide attempt survivor working to get her life together enough to regain custody of her son. When her friend and fellow MP veteran sends her some computer files and request for help from Guatemala, Callie balks, but knows she has to go and help. She quickly finds herself in the middle of a drug cartel and human trafficking ring that seems to be imploding as key players are turning against each other.
This is the first novel by Johnnie Dun. The first half had a few slow spots, and there was an abstract feel throughout. The characters were compelling, particularly Callie Byrne and the complicated, compromised, unpredictable, and even by the end of he book hardly understood John Slinger. The plot was also solid, unpredictable, and finished with the emergency abated but certainly no resolution for Callie and her unlikely allies.
This is the first novel by Johnnie Dun. The first half had a few slow spots, and there was an abstract feel throughout. The characters were compelling, particularly Callie Byrne and the complicated, compromised, unpredictable, and even by the end of he book hardly understood John Slinger. The plot was also solid, unpredictable, and finished with the emergency abated but certainly no resolution for Callie and her unlikely allies.
October 31, 2017
Truthfully, I have very conflicted feelings about this novel. I was drawn into it slow and increasingly as the tension ratcheted but found the characters so despicable that it was hard to care for them. Callie Byrne is a sassy Iraq vet and a previous heroin addict with a mouth that can throw poison darts. Initially, the novel takes place in Philadelphia where I live so I got a real kick out of being familiar with the background. Most of the action though takes place in Guatemala where Callie ventures to find her missing friend Rachel. She got a more than she bargained for with the discovery of a girls being shipped to the US as prostitutes along with a huge shipment of cocaine. How she manages to escape this misery and return home to her son is the ultimate goal . This novel might appeal to individuals who enjoy gritty language and abstract characters.
September 15, 2017
No matter how many times I tried to get into this book, I just couldn't. There was a promising cast of characters and the plot was interesting, but there was something about it that just did not catch my attention. Backstrap had a little bit of everything that I like in a thriller: morally gray characters, mysterious happenings just under the surface, people trying to get their lives together but getting sucked back into unsavory storylines. I think I'm just over stories about fictionalized stories about Latin American countries that focus on drug-trafficking and human smuggling without acknowledging all of the other factors (like white people coming in, profiting, or acting as white saviors).
Thanks to Netgalley for the copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to Netgalley for the copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.
August 16, 2017
It is not typical of me as a reviewer to not see a book to its ending, but there was just something too jarring about Johnnie Dun's Backstrap. The writing felt stilted, unbelievable (unedited?) and it just did not reach out to me like I hoped it would. I can usually even put aside an unlikable character for the hope of something more, but I could not get past Dun's Callie, a war vet with a drug-addled past, trying to make up for lost time.
Blame it on first novel jitters I suppose, or, better yet, Backstrap is for a particular group of readers, who will put aside a slow start for the hopeful sugar rush in the middle or end of a book.
Blame it on first novel jitters I suppose, or, better yet, Backstrap is for a particular group of readers, who will put aside a slow start for the hopeful sugar rush in the middle or end of a book.
November 26, 2017
This is a book filled with violence, depravity and evil, yet it is basically the story of the triumph of the human spirit as Carrie, a wounded soul, finds the goodness within herself when she decides to assist a young woman mired deep on the cartel drug and human trafficking trade. The writing provides enough description to create images of the action, but is more about the action than the location. More than one person is trying to do some good, but only one survives. The only character I could relate to was not a survivor, which made the book less enticing for me.
June 12, 2017
While the synopsis of this book sounded as though it was right up my alley, I could not get into it. I tried more than one. I just found it difficult to read and to follow. I do believe the fault was mine and that the author is a good one, I just feel the voice of the book was not suitable to me.
September 4, 2017
Murder, human trafficking, drugs, all things gone bad have happened in this book. Callie has PSTD but she is working to right wrongs. The writing style leaves some to be desired for me. It takes some doing to finish the book, but it picks up more in the second half.
My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.
My copy came from Net Galley. My thoughts and opinions are my own. This review is left of my own free volition.
June 25, 2017
I received this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.
I tried my best to connect with this story on any level and did not find anything to make it memorable. I found myself loosing interest and having to backtrack to pick up details I missed.
I tried my best to connect with this story on any level and did not find anything to make it memorable. I found myself loosing interest and having to backtrack to pick up details I missed.
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July 30, 2019I requested this from NetGalley on the basis of the name and the promised Central American location. I read a couple of chapters, but it was quickly turning into a noir or thriller, seeming to be set largely in the US - neither noir nor thriller is my type.
Fully my mistake.
Fully my mistake.
November 27, 2017
It was suspenseful enough for me to want to finish it.
June 11, 2018
I've started reading this book twice and just couldn't get into it. It was good writing but I just couldn't get into the story line.
March 10, 2017
An awesome, suspenseful book! "Backstrap" by Johnnie Dun is full of suspense, mystery and a fantastic plot! This is the kind of story that pulls you right into the action!
Backstrap is the kind of book that you do not want to put down! You dont want to stop reading this book due to its invigorating story that is full of mystery and suspense. The main character Callie goes through a lot in this book, that if i mention would just be spoilers! Johnnie Dun has done a great job writing this book, its gritty and descriptive which overall enhances the story. Throughout the book there were a lot of parts where it made me feel like i was watching a suspenseful and thrilling movie which says something about the writing which is, its written really well, the descriptions, the setting, the pacing all these elements make the book a very thrilling read. I think this book should be made into a movie due to these aspects!
Overall the writing is on point, the story is terrific and the characters are written really well! Johnnie Dun has done a fantastic job writing this book and i would recommend it to anyone! 5 stars! Won in goodreads giveaway!
Backstrap is the kind of book that you do not want to put down! You dont want to stop reading this book due to its invigorating story that is full of mystery and suspense. The main character Callie goes through a lot in this book, that if i mention would just be spoilers! Johnnie Dun has done a great job writing this book, its gritty and descriptive which overall enhances the story. Throughout the book there were a lot of parts where it made me feel like i was watching a suspenseful and thrilling movie which says something about the writing which is, its written really well, the descriptions, the setting, the pacing all these elements make the book a very thrilling read. I think this book should be made into a movie due to these aspects!
Overall the writing is on point, the story is terrific and the characters are written really well! Johnnie Dun has done a fantastic job writing this book and i would recommend it to anyone! 5 stars! Won in goodreads giveaway!
September 16, 2017
Thank you Netgalley for sending me this book in exchange for a honest book review. It was the cover & the synopsis that caught my eye & I requested it. The plot was interesting but for some reason it wasn't a book that kept me intrigued. It surrounds a group of ex-military friends that served together in Iraq. The main issue in the book is around drugs & human trafficking which can be made really really good.
February 12, 2017
A great read! Dun’s descriptive language is refreshingly unique and the gritty complexity of the characters challenges the readers to move beyond simply categorizing them as “good guys” and “bad guys”. Their story lines become increasingly entangled with each other’s, for better or for worse, and I found myself turning page after page to find out their outcomes. The plot was filled with suspense and some great unexpected twists and turns. Overall, a great first novel, one I definitely won’t forget! Hope there’s more to come from Dun! Maybe a sequel??
February 12, 2017
Well developed characters, some nice plot twists as well as a good story line. Very nice effort for a first novel. The writing is compelling and packed with references to Philly and the Jersey Coast and the book has a gritty, East Coast vibe.
Looking forward to Mr. Dun's next effort!
Looking forward to Mr. Dun's next effort!
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