Ugly as Sin

Ugly As Sin by James Newman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nick Bullman used to be The Widowmaker, the baddest man in sports entertainment. That is, until two crazed wrestling fans kidnapped him and cut his face off. Now he's disfigured and drifting through life after assaulting his former boss, Lance McDougall. When a daughter he hadn't seen in years tells him the granddaughter he never knew existed is missing, Nick goes looking to find the people who took her...

This is the nineteenth book in my Kindle Unlimited Experiment. For the 30 day trial, I'm only reading books that are part of the program and keeping track what the total cost of the books would have been.

There isn't a ton of crime fiction featuring a former pro-wrestler as the main character. In fact, Hoodtown is the only other one I can think of. Since this one is redneck noir with a former wrestler as the lead character, it was right in my wheelhouse.

The title, Ugly as Sin, seems to refer to Nick Bullman's disfigured state, but it also refers to the ugliness Nick encounters while looking for his granddaughter. Nick enters a world of meth, crack, prostitution, and pedophiles. Nick approaches the mystery of his missing daughter much like he did his wrestling matches, like a battering ram knocking aside all obstacles.

There's not a lot more I want to reveal. The main villain is easy to hate and the cops turn out not to be totally clueless assholes for once. I loved that the town's theater was called the Lansdale Drive-In.

I wanted to give this a five but I had to dock it a bit for something really illogical that happened near the end. Other than that, this book was pretty great. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Current Kindle Unlimited Savings Total: $108.40.


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