This book is a thrilling moral tightrope that is unputdownable.

Adam Hamdy's "Deadbeat" is a pulse-pounding thriller that masterfully balances character depth with breakneck pacing. The story centers on Peyton, a morally ambiguous protagonist caught in a gripping ethical dilemma. Hamdy's skillful narrative keeps readers on edge, building suspense with each chapter and culminating in an unexpected twist. The author's ability to evoke empathy for a complex character showcases his deep understanding of human nature under duress. "Deadbeat" is a must-read for thriller enthusiasts, offering a fast-paced yet thought-provoking experience that lingers long after the final page.

Thank you, NetGalley and Atria, for my free books for review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria for this ARC!

I was very interested in the premise - I really enjoy thrillers and this one seemed right up my alley.

Unfortunately, it really fell flat for me. I struggled to get into it, and the character development was not as strong as I prefer.

Deadbeat by Adam Hamdy

Peyton Collard loves to opine on all the stupid thoughts in his head. Being in his head was real misery for me. "What an idiot" was a common refrain from me to my buddy read friends and it was so good to get to rant and rave to Jayme and Mary Beth. I don't want to read an entire book about such an unrepentant lowlife but the fact that the author wrote this character that had my blood boiling says something about the book. Still, I wouldn't want to give this character another second of my time.

Peyton really oversells himself when he goes into the definition of a deadbeat and how he is one. Instead Peyton is so much less than a deadbeat, he's an active and willing participant in bringing himself so much lower than deadbeat status and he'll justify his killing spree the entire book long, telling us that we'd do the same thing, over and over. He's not sorry, he'll keep doing it, he's all excuses and full of blame towards anyone but himself and he has not an ounce of true self reflection that might ever lead him to repenting for what he does or accepting responsibility.

We meet Peyton, wallowing in his self inflicted muck, spouting his jealousy and resentment towards anyone who has more than he does, poor, poor Peyton, drinking and drugging himself through another hour, making no effort to change, seeming to hit a permanent bottom, until he's given a offer to go even lower that he's not about to refuse. What is interesting about the story is wanting to know who is giving Peyton these deadly and lucrative opportunities, why are they doing it, and how does about everyone, bad guys and good, know where Peyton is almost all the time. Things get really OTT towards the end, in so many ways, but this is Peyton's story and you can be sure I wish things went differently.

Thanks to Atria Books, Edelweiss, and NetGalley for this ARC.

While this wasn't my personal favorite Adam Hamdy thriller, fans of morally grey anti-heroes might really enjoy this story about an ex-con who gets tricked into becoming a killer for hire under the guise of using the money to save his possibly diabetic daughter. The narration by Chris Henry Coffey wasn't amazing but he did do an okay job with the first person narrative voice but his attempts at the secondary characters fell a bit flat for me. Twisty and full of unlikeable characters doing terrible things for what they believe are justifiable reasons. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Peyton is a drunk, lowlife who has been to prison, trying to turn his life around and get back on good terms with his wife and daughter. He receives a note to kill someone in exchange for money. He goes through with it, but it is far from over. He continues to get names of people to kill. With no hope and him wanting to support his daughter, he continues to kill. But at what price? This is a fast paced, short chapters which makes you continue to read. Peyton is a frustrating character, but that's how he's written. You want him to do good, but his decisions can be frustrating. The story is good, but I was hoping for more of the story revolving him actually investigating who the person behind this is. I felt like it cam together quickly and I was hoping it would stretch out more. It is a different take on a thriller so if you're looking for something slightly different, this could be one to pick up

After previously loving THE OTHER SIDE OF NIGHT from Adam Hamdy, I was excited to check out another book from him. However, I quickly found this book had a very different tone and style than what I've previously read from the author, and unfortunately it was not engaging for me. I was not invested in the main character, and I felt like it took too long building up the action in the beginning.

Thank you to the publisher for granting me access to an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions remain my own.

Emotionally hollow, The Other Side of Night was a 5-star read that came out of nowhere for me, so I was very excited diving into Adam Hamdy's new title. I think expectation kind of tainted my experience with Deadbeat, as this new novel's intent and tone are vastly different from The Other Side of Night — more of a gritty, ultra-masculine action thriller, rather than the genre-bending, nuanced mystery that was The Other Side of Night.

For me, the most immediate comparison is Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby, with both stories spotlighting a father figure as its protagonist, and the reader following him through action-packed ordeals in the name of his children. Unfortunately, Deadbeat never manages to engage me emotionally with its anti-hero, so as the set pieces get more grandiose and ridiculous, I feel disconnected and can't fully sympathize the character's decisions at each critical junction. There are also some nitpicks I have with the overall storytelling: the overuse of the word 'deadbeat' as punchline (at least once in every chapter), and an predictable twist that arrives far too late to be effective.

While action thriller is not really a sub-genre I gravitate towards, it has worked for me in the past (such as the aforementioned Razorblade Tears), but Deadbeat just doesn't quite click: the writing style tries too hard to be urban and grungy (though the dash of the supernatural is a nice touch), the plot meandering and its drawn-out delivery really kills the twist (too many hints beforehand), and the protagonist too impersonal to form an attachment (a lot of telling not showing). I'm all for author diversifying their output, but the drastic difference between The Other Side of Night and Deadbeat makes me cautious to whether I should pick up Adam Hamdy's next title.

Deadbeat is a single dad that has had a bad few years. He doesn't always make the best decisions. Drinks way too much gets plastered then makes these bad decisions under the influence. I loved this book. I kept turning the pages to see what he was gonna do next. I'm hoping there will be another book about Peyton in the future. Gave this 4 stars. Read it you won't be disappointed.

3.25/5

This is the type of book with a pretty outrageous premise and you’ll have to be able to suspense your disbelief to enjoy it, but I liked the premise and I mostly enjoyed it! Peyton is a frustrating character, he makes terrible decisions and I was pretty annoyed by him for most of the book. Many people are describing this one as fast paced but I found it be on the slower side, yes the chapters are short and there are pacey moments but there are also plenty of slower sections making this one more steadily paced for me. Parts seemed almost repetitive and it definitely could’ve been a little shorter for me. Do I recommend this? Sure, to the right reader. You’ll like this if you don’t need a likable or reliable MC and if you like stories that go a little out there.

Peyton Collard, used to be a good man; but a car accident sent him down the wrong path and now he’s a deadbeat. When he’s offered a life-changing sum of money to kill a man, Peyton must decide if being a vigilante is can redeem him. But as the requests keep coming, Peyton starts to wonder who exactly his patron is and what is their end goal. As he investigates who his patron is, Peyton finds himself in a web that he might not escape from.
Peyton is such a complex and frustrating character. The way he continuously makes poor life choices was hard for me to swollen but certainly lends itself to his addict characterization. It felt like every step forward he took set him three steps back. There were a few points where you needed to suspend belief and while the short chapters kept me entertained, there were some lulls in the writing that could have been edited out.
A gritty thriller, I did enjoy the story overall. There were a few pacing issues and some repetition that brought the story down in my opinion. But ultimately it was an enjoyable dark mystery filled with regret and the tough choices we make. If you like seedy mysteries and morally grey characters, you’ll enjoy this book!

Deadbeat comes out December 3, 2024. Thank you to Atria for my advanced copy in exchange for my review. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my:
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I was excited to get this because I really liked some of this authors other works but this one just didn’t work for me. It was repetitive to annoying and I didn’t like the characters enough to stay interested. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for read and review

In a nutshell: Convoluted and repetitious, but I still liked the second half, and especially the ending.

Loser is as loser does. p140

I don't know why the book gods keep sending me contemporary stream-of-conscious novels, but I'll take a rom com or something next time. Now about this book...

I feel like its downfall is its form. If it were written in first person present, it would move more smoothly and the plot would not get so swallowed up.

It's actually really difficult to write in an authentic stream of consciousness style. For a brilliant example, check out James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake or his Portait of an Artist.

I recommend Deadbeat to readers of adrenaline thrillers or action thrillers, and who like thoughtful themes. This one really takes on the source of identity and how it reflects in character/personality.

Three things I loved:

1. The best thing about this book is the narrating character's internal debate about what sort of criminal he is. It's interesting material. And also, this aspect of the story doesn't really develop until halfway through the book.

2. The plot really starts coming together in the second half of the book!

3. For this particular book, the ending is perfect!

Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. I don't find the point of this paragraph clear. See, when you’ve had bad luck, you know it can happen to anyone. You know just how much of it there is to go around. But folk at the top living the billboard life haven’t had bad luck. That’s why they’re on the billboard. They think they made it there through hard work, that the people far below them, seen dimly through their privacy glass, are stuck in the gutters of the real world because they didn’t work hard enough , dabbled in drink or drugs, or lack the ambition to climb to the shining world of the billboards. They never think about the good luck, or lack of bad luck, that put them in paradise. Why would they? p85 I feel like this whole book is like this paragraph: emotional and unsure of itself.

2. The book doesn't seem to know what it wants to say about this protagonist. Is he at fault for his disaster of a life, or just unlucky and therefore pitiable?

3. As I crept through this modern Olympus, I grew to resent these people and everything they had, and by the time I spotted Farah’s red BMW in the driveway of an enormous double-fronted mansion, I was truly in the grip of envy. p150 Distaste for personal wealth can be a compelling character trait, but I can't figure out what the author is trying to say about this subject, with all he writes about poverty and wealth.

4. This unreliable narrator is the sort I don't really understand. "It's not my fault! Yes it is! No it's *their* fault! No it's mine! No, I'm a victim of circumstance! No, I accept responsibility for my actions!" It's either messy, or I feel like this author is messing with me.

5. What is "a wholesome breath?" p181

6. This one needs to end 100 pages sooner. Take out all the repetition and tail-chasing, and that would probably do it.

Rating: 💭💭💭 /5 great concepts
Recommend? Yes, for the right readers
Finished: Nov 18 '24
Format: Digital arc, NetGalley
Read this book if you like:
🏎 action thrillers
🧗‍♂️ adrenaline thrillers
🗣 stream of consciousness
☘️ bad luck trope
🌄 redemption stories

Thank you to the author Adam Hamdy, publishers Atria Books, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of DEADBEAT. All views are mine.

I wasn’t sure of the style at first, or our main character, but eventually I found myself absolutely intrigued. Ended up loving the story. So many twists and turns!

This one grew on me.

I wasn’t sure of the style at first, or our main character, but eventually I found myself absolutely intrigued.

Don’t get me wrong, our MC is morally dark gray edging on black, and I could never get behind his decisions, but the reasons behind everything were fascinating and I kept hoping that, somehow, even our main character would find his happy.

Expect a lot of surprises and definitely some sadness.

Oh…and drugs and booze and generally not-so-good behavior. But, he tries.

A good read.

• ARC via Publisher

Peyton Collard used to be a regular guy, a decent man who was married to his childhood sweetheart. They have a daughter, Skye, and Peyton tried his best to be the man he should be for her. Unfortunately, after leaving his job as an engineer in the military, he had a few too many drinks in celebration of a new job. On his drive home, he killed a young woman and was sent to prison. His time there changed him - not only did he lose his wife and the family they had made, he lost part of himself.

Now out of prison, Peyton is living in a horrible neighborhood, and his new job is drinking himself to this point of not remembering he took a life, something he didn’t even do in the military. Then one day, in his mailbox is $1000 and a note with a URL that takes him to a voice note. This person wants him to kill a drug dealer, and is willing to pay $100,000. Life-changing money that could help his now-teenage daughter into the medical school she wants, and set her up for a better life than his, has Peyton considering this offer. The guy’s a bad person…it’s not like he’s killing a priest (just kidding - he does kill a sex-offending priest). As soon as the dealer is dead, he has his money, and another note, this one with $2000, offering him $200,000 to kill a crooked lawyer who launders money. And so on and so on…

Now Peyton’s life is really changing - he has rented a nice house in the hills, his daughter and ex-wife are starting to respect him again - but now he’s a murderer. A MASS murderer. The ghosts of the people he’s killed live rent-free in his head, constantly telling him what a terrible person he is. It’s worth it to him to give his daughter a nice life, but now he’s determined to find out who has turned him into a serial killer. This search takes this book to an ending I saw coming, but that still shocked me as I missed a huge part of it! This was engaging, well-written (from Peyton’s POV as he writes a book about this time in his life) and the ending was great. The whole book was great. Can Peyton be a regular person again? The author’s notes say Peyton is both loath-able and lovable. It’s up to you to decide whether you love or hate him, but I guarantee you’ll feel one way or the other. 4.5 stars!

(Thank you to Atria Books, Adam Hamdy and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released December 3, 2024.)

First thank you to Atria books and NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5 stars

Synopsis: Peyton was getting out of the military and had a great job lined up. However he celebrated too hard and got in an accident and killed someone. He went to prison and his life has went downhill since then. After a bad night he is in jail again but suddenly gets bailed out. When he gets home he has a mysterious offer in exchange for his freedom. He has to kill a person who doesn’t appear to be a good guy. Can he do that or is that too much?

What I liked: I like to call these popcorn thrillers because it reminds me of the movies. I wasn’t surprised to hear the author Adam Hamdy is a screenwriter. There is a lot of action in this book from start to finish and very interesting premise. I liked how the main character Peyton would talk to himself and us about his decisions and steps. I felt like the pacing was right and there were some good twists and turns in the book. Peyton is definitely flawed but liked to hear how he felt things happened in his life and what he wanted. He did love his daughter and ex wife and his friend Jim. Jim was a great character this guy was even rougher than Peyton. He definitely seem like he had some stories to tell. I don’t want to spoil anything but I liked what Peyton did at the end to resolve the case.

I think the romance for Peyton seem a little out of place for me and didn’t think the story needed it.

This was a fun quick thriller that kept you entertained while reading it.

I’d heard rave things about the authors previous book so when I saw this on NetGalley I grabbed it. It sounded good: a high octane thriller where the anti-hero kills people for money then sets out to find the person behind the whole scheme. Short chapters moved quickly though I really did not care for the main character at all, I tried. This was an ok drug fueled thriller but really was not my kind of book. I’ll give the author another try though.

Thanks to the author and publisher for the e-arc I received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Atria Books publishing for providing me an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review!

I very much enjoyed this book. It was intense, fast paced, and had lots of action. The main character was absolutely infuriating, although I'm sure that's what Adam Hamdy was shooting for. I appreciated the themes throughout, and the thought it provoked when it comes to right and wrong. I loved the first person perspective and how it portrayed the characters story. It was relatable, and even though he made the stupidest choices possible, I felt connected to the main character. A great read and I can't wait to read more of Adam Hamdys work!!

Deadbeat - Adam Hamdy
Pub Date - 12/3/24
Rating - 3.5/5

Summary - An ex-military architect, Peyton Collard's life completely changed since the accident. Divorced and broke, Peyton suddenly comes across a request to murder an evil man for a life changing amount of money. After the first kill, Peyton keeps receiving requests to murder many more for increasing amounts of money. Who is sending these messages and why? What is the end game?

Thoughts - Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. I enjoyed the short chapters and the premise of the book. I could get through it pretty quickly and the overall story was very well portrayed with a different ending that I wasn't expecting. The main character frustrated me with his awful decision making and some of the writing became repetitive. For that reason, I didn't rate this higher. Overall, good story and decent read.

Peyton Collard was a good man once, but his life changed after a horrific car accident. Divorced, drunk, and severely damaged, Peyton is offered a life-changing sum of money to kill an evil man. But 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, his questions become an obsession, and he embarks on a tense and potentially deadly investigation to discover the truth about the murders he’s committed.

Peyton Collard is the main character. He is a deadbeat. He is divorced, a drunk and severely damaged. He thinks he is a vigilante. He kills bad people for money. He hears voices in his head and thinks they are the voices from the ghosts that he killed but it's actually his conscience speaking.

I had mixed feelings about this one. I started out not liking this one, then I would start liking it and then I wouldn't like it again. It did get good near 80% but that was a little bit too late for me. Near the end I had to suspend disbelief. There was a lot of repetition throughout the book and I struggle when there is a lot of repetition.

I thought it was very slow during the first half I love the short chapters because it kept me turning the pages This was a buddy read with Jayme and Marilyn. Check out their reviews.

I want to thank Netgalley and Atria Books for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.