AMERICAN STATIC by author Tom Pitts is an adventure filled novel that takes place across California, and begins with Steven, a young man on a bus ride who takes advantage of a stop to have a smoke break, only to be pummeled by three guys who steal his backpack with everything he owns inside; thus leaving him without money, i.d., or the 3 lbs. of marijuana he planned on selling.

Steven is approached by an older man named Quinn who offers to give him a ride, and who then announces he needs to make a stop at a vineyard first to visit an old friend.

Quinn is not who he appears to be, and it takes Steven awhile to catch on, and when he does he realizes that Quinn is not only a car thief, but a stone cold killer who claims he’s trying to find his daughter Teresa, and seems to believe that the ends justify the means as Steven is stuck in a position of being part of Quinn’s crime spree, and while in awe of his charm and toughness, is also frightened by him.

Is Quinn simply trying to find his daughter, or is this a revenge filled journey with much more involved than Steven knows?

Solid action-packed road trip novel with enough questions along the way to keep things interesting, and would be of interest to fans of hard boiled/noir novels that don’t shy away from violence.

4 stars.

I read and enjoyed Hustle by this author, so I wanted to give this one a try. while not as in the gutter (figuratively and literally) as that one, American Static is an even better action packed, page turning heck of a good read. the action starts with the first scene and doesn't let up until the end. this features quite a few characters but I really found myself rooting for retired cop Carl who gets dragged into this murder mystery as it escalates into multiple homicides and kidnappings. would love to read more books with this character. I don't want to say too much about the plot, but their were plenty of surprises and the gradual increase in the level of violence was both surprising to me the reader as well as some characters in the book. thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a review copy, much appreciated. 4+ stars

American Static sizzles. It's easily the best crime novel of the year for me, and I read a lot. We see two cops, one retired, from Northern California take a ride to San Francisco to ferret out a witness who had absconded. There was so much in store for them that a summary would hardly do. But the ride they take becomes the ride of their lives as their absconded witness turns out to be a serial killer with the inside goods on corruption in San Francisco. Author Tom Pitts plays the cards perfectly. No cheap stunts, no exaggerated italics to make you feel excited. He doesn't need those tricks, he has the real goods This novel is authentic, believable, gutsy, and all out exciting. I don't rave like this as a matter of course. I liked this book!
Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I hope you have a best seller on your hands.

This book was fantastic! I've added the author to my read list. (5) star review on Amazon.

This thriller has everything: murder, corruption, drugs, a heroin-addled femme fatale...all set in San Francisco, which of course means frantic chase scenes as well. When Steven gets involved with Quinn he has no idea what he is in for as Quinn proves to be a ruthless, cold-blooded killer who will stop at nothing to find his daughter, Theresa. Cops on his trail, the two battle both good guys and bad guys, all the while uncovering a mystery that ties everything together. Fast-paced and often humorous, this novel moves at warp speed so beware!

Very nice book, filled with violent revenge plots, and a couple of kids trying to find their way. Liked the book alot, almost five stars for me, but just fell a little short in the character development part for me. had a couple characters that i just needed a little more from to really push it to five stars. But a very enjoyable novel that was a ton of fun to read. Just would have liked to get to know the characters just a little more.

This is the first book I have read by Tom Pitts. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. While some parts of it were a little predictable, there were still many twists that kept me reading till the end. The characters were perfectly depicted. There was a lot of action without going into a lot of background descriptions, which I find boring in a book. I would definitely recommend this book for mystery/thriller book fans.

American Static is a pounding shuddering racecar careening ahead into the night. It is a modern crime fiction story that is written so smoothly it draws the reader in, encircles the reader like a python that won't let go - that is, until you finish the book.. The writing style is fairly light and easy at first, sort of hiding the grittiness and the violence that erupts.

It starts with the classic pulp theme of a young innocent unwittingly used as a pawn, a shell, a sucker - and, yes, there's one born every minute. And then echoes so many other classic novels with a race against time with the bad guys and the law on a collision course. But there's more than that because there's so many different threads being pullled apart and no one can trust anyone else in a world of shifting loyalties and double crosses.

Just an all-around terrific crime thriller filled with killers, drug-addled runaways, secrets, desperation, and more. But -and here's what's most important - this writer tells a damn good story.