This book was simply amazing. A thrill ride from start to finish, I highly recommend everyone read this book. I was enthralled by the characters in the book, and it is unlike any thriller I have read previously. I cannot wait to see what Adam writes next. Add this to your TBR pile and put it at the TOP of the pile.

How much you enjoy DEADBEAT might rely on how well you can suspend disbelief and overlook logistical issues. Deadbeat is a fast-paced thriller with breezy prose that carries you along from one dire situation to another and at that level, it really satisfies the suspense and thriller itch. What tugs against that fast-forward plot current is the continually mentioned anchor of Peyton's guilt over becoming what is, in essence, a serial-killer. On one hand, he takes to the role of a hitman with relative ease while agonizing over his own choices throughout. Initially, he's convinced he's doing the world a favor by ridding it of nasty actors (i.e, people who deserve it) based upon what he reads about them on (planted) search result pages. He's paid incredible sums of money to kill his victims, but becomes victimized (and brutalized) himself by petty criminals. I kept wondering why he didn't think about hiring bodyguards. And having sudden large sums of money on hand doesn't seem to raise enough eyebrows as he buys an expensive car and a new home in a new, ritzy neighborhood, along with hiring a very expensive lawyer. Since he can't put the money in the bank without raising IRS flags, he spends time storing it in furniture in a home he doesn't own (yet), or underground, like a pirate. Then there's the hooker with the heart of gold who seems way too eager to accept his murderous choices. She seems put in place to provide Peyton with the potential for a happy ending—no pun intended. There's a revelation (not exactly a twist) that gives a reasonably satisfying reason for everything that's happened to Peyton, but there are still a lot of "oh, really?" moments throughout that stretch credulity. And yet, if you're willing to cruise along with the story without stopping to ask too many questions, on ponder the implausibilities, you'll enjoy the ride.

Thank you to @atriabooks and @atriathrillers for the physical ARC! Thank you @librofm and@simon.audio for the ALC!
I've been enamored with Adam Hamdy's writing since l stumbled across The Other Side of Night in December of
2022. Once again, Adam Hamdy has come in clutch with another ***** read at the end of the year.
I am stunned at Adam Hamdy's uncanny ability to write two polar opposite books that are absolute bangers. Deadbeat is a compelling novel of one man's desperation and reads like a an action film. I was glued to this novel and finished it in less than a day. I can't recommend this enough, an absolute banger!

3.5
Peyton is one of those guys who doesn't seem to realize that he's not so unlucky as he is a terrible decision maker. There were SO many times I found myself anxious about the awful circumstances that he was putting himself in!

Peyton's life went off the rails when he killed a girl while driving drunk. Now, after another evening in jail, he finds himself bailed out by an anonymous benefactor, though not without strings. The benefactor has offered Peyton payment for killing some folks, along with a description of their offenses. With nothing left to lose, Peyton rationalizes that it's ok to rid the world of these bad people, until some pieces of the puzzle stop fitting.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

The book tells the story of Peyton Collard who is a deadbeat alcoholic. He gets into a terrible accident that changes his life and leads him down a very slippery slope. You see Peyton, doesn't have a job and is a deadbeat dad who has left the financial burden of caring for his daughter Skye to his ex-wife Toni whom he owes over 12,000 to. With no prospects or the willingness to find a job, Peyton accepts a financial job opportunity that will change his life forever. The job offers an enormous sum of money, and all he has to do is one thing: kill a man.

Peyton is rather a despicable character who never takes accountability for his actions. In fact, he plays the victim and blames everyone else for his circumstances. The story is told from the POV of Peyton, and he is quite a character! I couldn't put this book down. now there were somethings that I questioned like fingerprints on one of the guns that he used. I also thought Toni was a rather passive voice and I am not sure of who she is. Her character didn't have enough depth for me, but I did feel for her to put up with such an ex like Peyton who she will forever be tied to because of their daughter. She herself was a bit of a contradiction because on one hand she didn't want Peyton's dirty money but on the other hand she turned a blind eye and accepted money from him. She could have been a bit tougher with Peyton, because he truly deserved it. I did like the dynamic between Peyton, Toni, Skye and Toni's fiancé Jack.

I also found the situation at Frankie's house incredulous to believe lol. If you read it then you know, if not you will be laughing when you get there. Peyton himself as a hitman is like the three stooges lol. This book was fun, entertaining and a quick read. It had a great plot, and the story was executed well. I couldn't put this book down
I will end this review with a quote from the author's acknowledgments. "I think when all is said and done, the best I can say about Peyton is he's a mirror we hold up to ourselves. What we see in him is a reflection." That would be a very scary world

Really enjoyed this book although it lacked the emotional depth of THE OTHER SIDE OF NIGHT. The fast paced nature of the plot kept me engaged and there were a few unexpected developments along the way. I will continue to read Hamdy's work in the future.

Deadbeat by Adam hardy was a fast-paced, page turning thriller. Peyton is a down-on-his-luck father who was just released from prison for a drunk driving accident in which he claims the life of a young girl. Peyton is ready to call it quits on his life when he receives a mysterious phone call from an anonymous source-if he kills a target from the pastor he will be paid handsomely. The target is not a good person and Peyton is able to do it thinking he’s a vigilante. Another target arrives with more money and then another. However, Peyton looks deeper into the victims and realizes he’s been manipulating into killing-but by whom and why?
Peyton may die himself to find the answers. The novel reads like an action movie at times as it is very plot-driven. However, even with the heavy plot, Peyton is a sympathetic character and one the reader can’t help but root for in the end. The suspense and twists are well-done! Really enjoyed it.

Thanks to the publisher for providing the ac via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I felt like I was watching a mini series on tv as I was reading this. Peyton is a hard on his luck man who just can't get out of his own way. He is in such a downward spiral that all of his decisions are tainted with darkness and doom. Even when he thinks he's doing something that will better his daughter's future, it is morally wrong.
<i>Deadbeat</i> is a story about how one bad decision that you think you are making solely for yourself actually makes many, many changes to other people's lives. What you decide to do can affect people you didn't even know existed.

The book was interesting. I enjoyed the concept but felt that it was channeling an action movie that did not have a large enough payout. I did not enjoy the drunken haze aspect to the story, but understand why it was necessary to the character development.

I absolutely LOVED "The Other Side of Night" by this author and so I was thrilled when I was able to snag an advanced copy of his latest book on Netgalley. Unfortunately, this one wasn't as big a hit with me. The writing was a little clunky and the story was pretty far-fetched but also somehow not that exciting or interesting, oddly, while being an action-packed thriller. The main character wasn't super rootable which is fine except that it meant I didn't care that much about the mystery as a whole. I think part of the point of the story is that people's choices often don't make sense when they don't see a way out of the hole they're in -- kind of like the premise of Squid Game, actually.

I will definitely read this author again, but I think I will stick to his more literary, experimental works. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sharing a copy of this book with me.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for this arc. I was sent a copy in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts are entirely my own. I received both a digital and physical copy of this book.

Peyton Collard is a divorced drunk who seems to be drinking his life away. Peyton went to jail after drinking while celebrating a new job and accidentally killed a young woman which unknown to Peyton will cause a chain of events that he has to go through during this story. We go through this book while Peyton tells his story and seems to be talking to the detective who stumbled onto the case. Peyton finds out from his ex wife Toni that their daughter may have diabetes after she ends up sick and not acting like herself. Peyton goes to his house in a bad part of Los Angeles and finds an envelope with cash and instructions to kill a man that this mysterious person wants dead and tells Peyton that this man is evil. Peyton goes to check the guy out and looks him up online and finds an article that all turns out to be fake. Peyton does this two more times and even pays his wife child support and gets a new house and even money to put his daughter through college. Peyton later finds out that every job was a hoax and that he killed innocent people who all happened to have deceived organs from the young woman that Peyton accidentally killed years earlier. After failing to kill an elderly woman who owns a family restaurant Peyton is wanted for murder and learns that the father of the young woman he killed had hired him and wanted him to kill those people to get their organs that have a protein that would save his life since the night his daughter died she was on the way to the hospital to help save his life. The police officer who has been after Peyton for the murders he committed goes to Joseph’s house to ask him about his daughters organs and she ends up drugged and Peyton saves her and Joseph is killed by his own security robots. Peyton gets the money Joseph was going to pay him and starts a new life with a woman who loves him even after what he has done and he has his daughter in his life.

If you were given a life changing amount of money to kill someone you don't know? Peyton is struggling with this offer as he has nothing else going for him. This book was so good!

Really struggled with this. Found the writing to be awful and the names of the characters kept making me feel like it was a farce. Overall though there’s nothing redeemable about Peyton so as a reader I didn’t care what happened to him at all with all of his bad choices.

*Deadbeat* by Adam Hamdy is a high-octane, pulse-pounding thriller that grabs you by the collar and doesn’t let go. From the first page, Hamdy thrusts readers into a heart-stopping game of cat and mouse, filled with suspense, twists, and shocking revelations that will keep you up long into the night. This is a thriller that delivers on every level—gripping action, complex characters, and a plot so tight it will leave you breathless.

The story follows a protagonist who’s caught in a web of intrigue and danger, trying to uncover the truth while being hunted by a relentless force. The stakes couldn’t be higher, and Hamdy expertly ratchets up the tension with every chapter, pulling you deeper into a dark and unpredictable world where no one can be trusted, and danger lurks at every turn. The pacing is relentless—every page feels like a countdown to the next twist, and just when you think you’ve figured it out, Hamdy hits you with another shocking turn.

What really sets *Deadbeat* apart is Hamdy’s ability to blend emotional depth with breakneck action. The characters are complex and flawed, making them feel real and relatable even as they navigate life-or-death situations. The tension between the protagonist’s personal struggles and the external threats they face creates a compelling narrative that will have you on the edge of your seat.

The writing is sharp, immersive, and cinematic, making the action sequences vivid and intense. Whether it’s a chase scene through the city streets or a quiet moment of introspection, Hamdy’s prose pulls you into the heart of the story and never lets you go. The sense of urgency is palpable, and each twist is more mind-bending than the last. *Deadbeat* is the kind of book that will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew and keeps you guessing until the very end.

If you’re a fan of thrillers that pack a punch with non-stop action, deep psychological tension, and jaw-dropping twists, *Deadbeat* is an absolute must-read. Adam Hamdy has crafted a masterpiece of suspense that will leave you breathless and craving more. Prepare for a wild ride you won’t soon forget.

Published by ‎ Atria Books on December 3, 2024

Crime and Punishment remains the greatest story about a murderer’s guilt. Adam Hamdy is no Dostoevsky, but Deadbeat takes an entertaining if over-the-top look at how guilt affects the life of a serial killer who learns that he might not have been murdering for a good cause.

Peyton Collard was a military engineer. He left the military for a civilian job so he could build a stable family. Unfortunately, he celebrated the job with too much alcohol, drove drunk, and killed nineteen-year-old Freya Prisco in a traffic accident. Collard went to prison for manslaughter, his wife left him, and he’s done nothing but accumulate debt since his release. Not to mention that Freya occasionally scolds him for killing her.

Prison taught Collard to take a beating, but that seems to be his only life skill. Having not learned much of a lesson from his manslaughter vacation, Collard tries to drown his guilt with nightly drinking at a bar with Jim Steadman, another ex-con. As protagonists go, Collard is more self-destructive than most. Readers might nevertheless sympathize with him because he has the good grace to feel guilty. Unfortunately, he so often tells us about his guilt that I got tired of hearing it. Dostoevsky let the reader see how guilt was consuming Raskolnikov; Collard can’t stop narrating his guilty thoughts.

A small bundle of cash turns up in Collard’s mailbox with the address of a website. A recorded message on the website promises to pay Collard a lot more money if he murders a nightclub owner who is dealing drugs and generally being a bad guy.

“Would you kill a bad person if doing so would make the world a better place for someone you love?” A murder that improves the world is still murder, but Collard asks and answers the question from the perspective of desperation rather than morality. Desperate men, Collard believes, don’t have “the luxury of moral certainty.” Dismissing morality as a disposable luxury seems to be a widely held opinion in today’s America. That’s a topic a book club could discuss in the unlikely event its members choose to read Deadbeat.

Collard sets morality aside and commits the murder. He’s paid but is quickly beaten and robbed by thugs who were drinking in his favorite bar. He commits a second murder to recoup his loss, then a third to pay for a nice place where he can hide from the thugs while impressing his daughter. His benefactor tells him that the second victim launders money for the mob and his third is a priest who diddles children.

As is the vigilante way, Collard tells himself that his killings are righteous. The ghosts of his victims disagree. Unsurprisingly, Collard learns that the ghosts might have a legitimate beef with him. The realization that his victims might not have been as evil as he thought compounds his growing guilt.

Collard is something of a dolt for not realizing he’s being played, but he’s a desperate dolt and the line between desperation and greed is thin. He becomes a baffled dolt when the bodies of his victims are mutilated in the morgue, postmortem crimes he didn’t commit but that inspire the media to refer to the serial killer as the West Coast Ripper. He’s an even bigger dolt for not understanding that he will be blackmailed into continuing his murder spree by the person who financed it. Can people really be this stupid? Sure they can, but I found it hard to believe that Collard would not have thought this through before committing the first murder. The guy is an engineer, after all.

This setup establishes the mysteries that must be resolved before the story concludes. Who paid Collard to commit the murders? What ties the victims together? Why are the bodies of his victims being mutilated postmortem? How do the thugs track him to his new home and why are they certain that he has hidden bundles of cash?

I found it hard to warm up to Collard — he’s self-pitying and, well, he’s a serial killer — despite his frequent and sincere proclamations of love for his daughter, whose need for a supportive father supposedly motivates Collard’s crime spree. My favorite character is a clichéd hooker with a heart of gold who gives Collard comfort when no one else will. Her refusal to judge Collard (she carries guilt of her own for an act of self-defense) might support a book club discussion about the evil of judging others, but I’m not sure that general rule applies to serial killers.

The hooker joins Collard in bemoaning life’s unfairness; to her, fairness is “just a comforting lie that’s designed to stop people tearing each other apart with the unfairness of it all.” She also offers a form of absolution when she assures Collard that what he did “makes sense when seen through the lens of your life,” a perspective that “means you’re not a monster, because monsters walk alone.” I’m not sure the hooker makes these points credibly, but I give Hamdy credit for taking a chance with his effort to create a sympathetic serial killer.

Two unimaginative action scenes turn Collard into a Reacher-like superhero near the novel’s end. I suppose Hamdy couldn’t come up with anything better to achieve his desired outcome, but Collard’s sudden proficiency in armed combat was one of several plot twists that I didn’t buy. The answer to the novel’s biggest question — what connects the people Collard is instructed to kill — is clever but preposterous.

Identifying the person who pays Collard scads of money to commit the murders isn’t difficult (there aren’t a lot of wealthy characters), but the criminal scheme is a ridiculously complicated way to achieve the villain’s end. The bad guy’s plan requires Collard to behave repeatedly in exactly the way that the villain predicts. The scheme is so unlikely to succeed that nobody with any sense would implement it — but then, if the villain had any sense, we wouldn’t have a plot, would we?

The artificially joyous ending is a gift to readers who insist on happy endings. Whether the protagonist deserves a happy ending is debatable, although forgiving readers who have sympathy for Collard might be pleased. Readers who think forgiveness should be accompanied by justice might be disappointed, although everyone has a different concept of justice, so it’s difficult to say whether readers will be satisfied with the outcome. I’m recommending the story because it entertains, not because I found it credible or was drawn to its muddled message.

RECOMMENDED

A gritty thriller about how far a man will go for his family. This read like an action movie. I didn't have strong feelings.

This book is a fast-paced, tension-filled ride, and I couldn’t put it down. Hamdy masterfully weaves a story of guilt, revenge, and self-discovery. The twists and turns were unexpected and kept me on edge, making it a thrilling read from start to finish.

If you enjoy psychological thrillers with flawed, complex characters and a dark edge, Deadbeat is an excellent choice. It’s gripping, well-written, and packed with suspense, making it hard to put down. 3.5 stars rounded to 4.

One of the best books I’ve ever read. It had all the elements of a great read. I was shocked, humored, upset, and melancholy, all at the same time!!

Five stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I gave this one a good effort and read the first 30% and then decided to DNF -- I wasn't engaged with the story and found Peyton to be so stressful. Every one of his choices made me anxious and I decided this wasn't a story I wanted to spend time with right now.

I am sure this book would work for lots of readers, but it did not work for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

“Other folk can beat you physically, mentally even—trust me, I know—but you’re the only person who can harm your soul, down at the very core of you, deep where you’re bound to a world beyond the physical.”

Peyton Collard was a good man once. Divorced, drunk, and severely damaged, Peyton is offered a life-changing sum of money to kill an evil man. As he goes on a vigilante journey that leaves a trail of bodies across California, Peyton wonders about the identity of his anonymous patron. Soon he embarks on a tense and potentially deadly investigation to discover the truth about the murders he’s committed.

This was a solid murder mystery that I easily stayed invested in. The twist at the end shocked me twofold because I was shocked at the WHO but also I wasn’t expecting there to be a twist at all. Peyton had me rolling my eyes multiple times throughout the story at the ridiculousness of his antics and there are a few wtf moments…but I found myself rooting for him anyway.

“What dreams would you trade for the life of a bad man? Because that’s what money is…Dollar bills are dream tokens…Money is the key.”

Thank you to Netgalley, Atria Books, and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.