Nickolas Butler's suspenseful, character-driven fourth novel tells of the lengths three friends will go to in the quest to better their lives.

In Jackson, Wyo., a haven for hipster tourists and ski bums, it's the have-nots who build the area's multimillion-dollar houses and the haves who inhabit them for just part of the year. The three longtime buddies behind True Triangle Construction-family man Teddy; Bart, a former metal band drummer; and Cole, going through a divorce-struggle to make ends meet. When Gretchen hires them to finish building her massive eco-home, offering $175,000 bonuses if it's done by Christmas (just four months away), they leap at the chance. Teddy longs to get on the property ladder; with a luxury wristwatch, Cole will feel like he's made it.

From the start, though, the project seems cursed. Under the previous contractor, a laborer died in an accident on site. Heavy rains destroy the access bridge and winter snows could bring work to a halt. Bart turns to meth for the energy to put in long hours. Butler charts his worsening addiction in convincing hallucinogenic descriptions. A sense of foreboding explodes into dramatic events that will require luck-and deception-to resolve.

As in his debut, Shotgun Lovesongs, Butler insightfully explores his protagonists' psyches and the dynamics of male friendship. He also patiently reveals why Gretchen, a workaholic lawyer, is desperate to have her house ready. In this poignant story, time and life are precious yet so easily wasted. (3.5 stars)

The premise and characters read well from the blurb but the story just fell flat for me I'm afraid and it didn't gel in any way. Needs more meat on the bones as my granny would say.

Even if it's well written I couldn't connect to the characters and didn't care for them. The story fell flat.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Godspeed is a new standalone thriller from award-winning author Nikolas Butler and is a compelling tale in which three troubled construction workers get entangled in a dangerous plan against an impossible deadline. Why is it being built here, and why so quickly? These are the questions Cole, Bart, and Teddy, the three principals of True Triangle Construction, ask themselves when they are hired to finish a project for a mysteriously wealthy homeowner. Nestled in the mountains outside of Jackson, Wyoming, the house is a masterpiece, unlike anything they've done before. Once finished, it promises to be the architectural prize of Jackson and could put True Triangle on the map. But despite the project's lure, the owner is intent on having it built in a matter of months, an impossible task made irresistible by the exorbitant bonus that awaits them if they succeed. A bonus that could change the course of their business, and their lives. Up against the fateful deadline, and the looming threat of a harsh Wyoming winter, Cole, Bart, and Teddy are willing to do anything to get the money, even if it means risking life, limb and family. And what becomes an obsession for all three quickly builds to tragic consequences for some.

Struck through with heart-pounding danger and an arresting lyricism, Godspeed is a stark exploration of the haves and the have-nots, a cautionary tale of greed and violence that asks: How much is never enough? This is a compulsive and engrossing thriller and Butler’s most ambitious novel to date in which he explores deep, topical themes including egalitarianism, inequality, self-belief, pride in carrying out your work, very human mistakes, inaction and greed. It's a slow-burner revolving around the medium of money as the strange collective myth that it actually is. The first half requires patience as Butler builds the story, but it shifts into a completely different gear in the latter half, when the fascinating, deeply flawed characters truly come alive and the twists and action take you by surprise just as they should in a decent thriller. A palpably suspenseful tale of avarice and friendship, it culminates in a stunning, unexpected denouement and finale complete with evocative descriptions of mother nature's bounty and the ecological world. A didactic allegory reminding us all that love and friendship can be a redeeming force in a world becoming increasingly more invested in materialism and the tangible. Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately this book just didn’t work for me and I found the plot a lot less thrilling than the premise suggested. I didn’t find the characters particularly relatable or likeable and so it was difficult to really get into the story.

Godspeed is set in Wyoming where three men, friends and colleagues for twenty years, are offered the job of a lifetime: the construction of a gorgeous, palatial house in the mountains.

Cole, Bart and Teddy run a small construction company in Jackson. Teddy is a father of four, happy in his long marriage although his wife wants more financial security. Bart is contemplating leaving construction, his knees shot and his constitution assaulted by drug use. Of the three, Cole is the most ambitious, set on building this astonishingly ambitious house to consolidate their company’s reputation. Gretchen has offered them the kind of money that would set them up for life but the house must be completed by Christmas, just four months away. They set to work, jubilant at first, then increasingly exhausted. Four months later, the true cost of this colossal task has taken a toll far outweighing any gratification its rewards could offer while the reason for Gretchen’s intractable deadline has been revealed.

Most of Butler’s story is told from the perspective of Teddy, Cole and Bart, with Gretchen’s backstory interspersed. A thread of suspense emerges some way into the novel as the three men become increasingly desperate to meet Gretchen’s exacting deadline, their exhaustion resulting in a terrible accident and worse. As with all Butler’s writing there’s a reverence for nature and landscape expressed in lovingly evocative descriptions. Running through his engrossing novel is a simple message which sings out loud and clear: greed is not good while love and friendship pave the road to redemption.