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Tim Rackley

Dirty Weather

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Experience a heart-pumping and thrilling tale of suspense!

Originally published in THRILLER (2006),edited by #1
New York Times bestselling author James Patterson.



In this intense Thriller Short, New York Times bestselling author Gregg Hurwitz once again explores justice versus the law. Here his research for his deputy US marshal character, Tim Rackley from The Kill Clause and Troubleshooter, comes into full focus.

Laura Hillman runs a bar near a prison, and she is also quite lonely. When Brian Dyer arrives to have a drink, she’s enamored with his charm and sense of honor. An attempted robbery puts a bullet in Brian’s foot, but he’s able to force the thief to flee. But from all appearances, the thief is going to come back, and this time lives will be on the line.

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20 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 14, 2015

88 people are currently reading
339 people want to read

About the author

Gregg Hurwitz

303 books6,887 followers
Gregg Hurwitz is the critically acclaimed, New York Times and internationally bestselling author of 20 novels, including OUT OF THE DARK (2019). His novels have been shortlisted for numerous literary awards, graced top ten lists, and have been published in 30 languages.

He is also a New York Times Bestselling comic book writer, having penned stories for Marvel (Wolverine, Punisher) and DC (Batman, Penguin). Additionally, he’s written screenplays for or sold spec scripts to many of the major studios, and written, developed, and produced television for various networks. Gregg resides in Los Angeles.

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5 stars
51 (18%)
4 stars
78 (28%)
3 stars
85 (31%)
2 stars
29 (10%)
1 star
26 (9%)
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
Profile Image for Melanie.
1,646 reviews377 followers
June 8, 2022
Dirty Weather was a short read that didn't work for me as well as the author's newer work.

Laura Hillman runs a small-town bar that's near the local prison. When Brian Dyer, someone new in town, comes in for a drink, Laura is immediately pulled in by his charm. After someone attempts to rob the bar, Brian is able to drive them off but not before he's injured. With the robber still lingering outside, Laura and Brian will need to make a run for it. But all is not as it seems and if Laura's not careful, she may not make it through the night.

Dirty Weather was an incredibly quick read that suffers somewhat due to its' length. With very little time to expand upon the premise, Dirty Weather feels rushed and the characters fall a bit flat. We do get a bit of background on Laura but not enough to make me care about her character. Ultimately I wasn't a big fan of this story as it wasn't very thrilling despite being marketed as such. I will say I didn't see the ending coming so the twist was good but unfortunately everything leading up to that point wasn't great.

Overall Dirty Weather didn't work for me and I will definitely be sticking to the author's Orphan X series which is much better.
Profile Image for David Dalton.
3,082 reviews
January 7, 2019
Did not see that coming!

Loved the ending. Caught me off guard. I really like these short thrillers. I plan to read several more of them.
Profile Image for Abibliofob.
1,601 reviews103 followers
June 2, 2021
Dirty Weather by Gregg Hurwitz is a dark and brutal short story said to be a pre study for his Tim Rackley series. I don't care if it is. It's a great fast little read anyhow.
Profile Image for Lisa.
1,133 reviews21 followers
February 6, 2024
Quick read about a prison escape.
Profile Image for Laurie.
920 reviews49 followers
September 27, 2021
A super quick story which I wouldn't really categorize as a thriller. It just wasn't long enough to get very thrilling. I still love Gregg Andrew Hurwitz and barely tolerate James Patterson only when one of my favorite authors for whatever reason feel the need to collaborate with him. They are so much better with out him.
Profile Image for Pisces51.
773 reviews54 followers
April 11, 2019
DIRTY WEATHER By Gregg Hurwitz
MY REVIEW TWO STARS**

I have been interested in the works of this writer for quite a while now, specifically his ORPHAN X Series. Our county library system did not carry any of his works, and I put in a request probably last year for them to consider acquiring at least a novel or two by this author.

Recently I was pleased by a note from the library system to let me know that something was available by Gregg Hurwitz. I was happy, then let down that it was a short story. I think the only reason they had it was the fact it was a compilation stories edited by James Patterson.

Anyway, I have been trying to decide whether this short story has saved me money or not. I don't know if I would have rolled the dice and spent the money buying the introductory novel of his. I have done it before. On the other hand, I did not like this story.

The novel and the short story are two different mediums that are well, to me kind of like charcoal sketching and oil painting. Because a person can draw does not mean he can paint, or vice versa. Deaver is probably the best in the short story genre, a master of misdirection. Even when you know you've been "had" by Deaver, you don't feel well, sad or depressed.

In DIRTY WEATHER, Hurwitz failed to successfully misdirect. I knew the score from the moment the robber crashed into the bar. It was easy for any short story reader to guess. That negative was compounded by the ending. It sucked.

The only thing I liked about this tale, a good entry for the iconic TALES FROM THE CRYPT actually...is that it MIGHT have saved me some coins.
Profile Image for Mark.
156 reviews4 followers
August 16, 2022
The author had some good recommendations recently, but this book is not the one to start with. It was just a few pages as a short (really short) story, with no character development and not much of a plot. I'm not sure why this book exists. I started a longer thriller by Hurwitz and it is much better, so don't take this review to avoid the author.
Profile Image for Denice Langley.
4,851 reviews49 followers
July 2, 2025
Hurwitz for the win.....again

I've read many of Gregg Hurwitz' books and loved them all. Even flexing his skills with a short story, he's written a thriller full of tension and twists
Profile Image for Deyth Banger.
Author 77 books34 followers
January 7, 2018
It's Dwelish
Work...
It's like those very well predictable movies... we know that this is going to happen and it happens.
619 reviews4 followers
February 12, 2018
Nice, tight little sucker punch of a short story. The worst thing about it is the title.
98 reviews2 followers
August 7, 2020
Good story

The trouble with short stories is that they are too short. I would have enjoyed reading much more. Mr. Hurwitz is an exceptional writer.




Profile Image for Sara.
496 reviews
October 29, 2021
fun short

Buy the book Thriller instead of story by story. So much cheaper that way. Worth reading. I’m pretty sure I read it when it came out b
Profile Image for John McPhee.
963 reviews37 followers
March 6, 2023
not where i thought that was going!

Brief but fast and easy to read - a good idea of what Orphan X became. Probably barely worth a read for us all.
Profile Image for Emz.
647 reviews
July 19, 2023
A short review for a short story. So much to take in, in just twenty-odd pages. An ingenious and clever plot, a definite 'ta-da' moment worthy of an "Elementary, my dear Watson".
2 reviews
April 9, 2025
Extremely disappointing. It took about 10 minutes to read, predictable ending, no character development whatsoever. Not worth the 99 cents or the time.
1,995 reviews17 followers
April 16, 2025
Brian walks into the bar near the prison and convinces Laura that he is a new CO. Little does she realize that he's an escapee.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews

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