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Chris Cherry #1
The Far Empty
"[So] good I wish I'd written it. The poetic and bloody ground of west Texas has given birth to a powerful new voice in contemporary western crime fiction."--Craig Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of the Walt Longmire series
In this gritty crime debut set in the stark Texas borderlands, an unearthed skeleton will throw a small town into violent turmoil.
Seventeen-year-old Caleb Ross is adrift in the wake of the sudden disappearance of his mother more than a year ago, and is struggling to find his way out of the small Texas border town of Murfee. Chris Cherry is a newly minted sheriff's deputy, a high school football hero who has reluctantly returned to his hometown. When skeletal remains are discovered in the surrounding badlands, the two are inexorably drawn together as their efforts to uncover Murfee's darkest secrets lead them to the same terrifying suspect: Caleb's father and Chris's boss, the charismatic and feared Sheriff Standford "Judge" Ross.
Dark, elegiac, and violent, The Far Empty is a modern Western, a story of loss and escape set along the sharp edge of the Texas border. Told by a longtime federal agent who knows the region, it's a debut novel you won't soon forget.
In this gritty crime debut set in the stark Texas borderlands, an unearthed skeleton will throw a small town into violent turmoil.
Seventeen-year-old Caleb Ross is adrift in the wake of the sudden disappearance of his mother more than a year ago, and is struggling to find his way out of the small Texas border town of Murfee. Chris Cherry is a newly minted sheriff's deputy, a high school football hero who has reluctantly returned to his hometown. When skeletal remains are discovered in the surrounding badlands, the two are inexorably drawn together as their efforts to uncover Murfee's darkest secrets lead them to the same terrifying suspect: Caleb's father and Chris's boss, the charismatic and feared Sheriff Standford "Judge" Ross.
Dark, elegiac, and violent, The Far Empty is a modern Western, a story of loss and escape set along the sharp edge of the Texas border. Told by a longtime federal agent who knows the region, it's a debut novel you won't soon forget.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2016
886 people are currently reading
2021 people want to read
About the author
J. Todd Scott
12 books346 followersA retired federal law enforcement agent with thirty years of experience, J. Todd Scott was a finalist for the 2024 International Thriller Writers Award for Best Paperback Original and is the critically acclaimed author of six crime, suspense, and thriller novels. He is also a film and TV producer and screenwriter, most recently for the Paramount+ series Lawmen: Bass Reeves.
Find Todd at JTODDSCOTT.COM.
Find Todd at JTODDSCOTT.COM.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 287 reviews
April 30, 2017
It all starts when a skeleton is found in Murfee, Texas. Secrets start coming out and they aren't unicorn farts.
You have the sheriff..or as he is known around town as the "Judge."
His deputy-Chris Cherry, who had left small town life with big hopes for a football scholarship when an injury brought him back home and he ended up working on the police force in the small town.
Another deputy, who is dark as night and dreams sometimes that he is a wolf. (Drugs do that shit to you kids) I totally saw him as this guy.
The sheriff's son, who knows how evil his father really is.
A new teacher in town, she left behind some nasty business and changed her name. She hopes for a new start in a small town.
Several more characters factor into this small town and one good thing the author does is bring each of them to life without getting bogged down with the story or having my simple brain get confused. I read for pleasure not the smarty farty stuff.
He does a really decent job with describing the setting and life in the small Texas town also.
The only problem that I found with this book is that sometimes I just wanted something to happen. It takes a whole lotta time just to get going and sometimes I lost interest in the meantime.
I'll still read more of this author since this type of book is totally my peanut butter and
(oh yes the log and I do judge but I loved that dang gif and wanted to use it)
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review
You have the sheriff..or as he is known around town as the "Judge."
His deputy-Chris Cherry, who had left small town life with big hopes for a football scholarship when an injury brought him back home and he ended up working on the police force in the small town.
Another deputy, who is dark as night and dreams sometimes that he is a wolf. (Drugs do that shit to you kids) I totally saw him as this guy.
The sheriff's son, who knows how evil his father really is.
A new teacher in town, she left behind some nasty business and changed her name. She hopes for a new start in a small town.
Several more characters factor into this small town and one good thing the author does is bring each of them to life without getting bogged down with the story or having my simple brain get confused. I read for pleasure not the smarty farty stuff.
He does a really decent job with describing the setting and life in the small Texas town also.
The only problem that I found with this book is that sometimes I just wanted something to happen. It takes a whole lotta time just to get going and sometimes I lost interest in the meantime.
I'll still read more of this author since this type of book is totally my peanut butter and
(oh yes the log and I do judge but I loved that dang gif and wanted to use it)
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review
February 22, 2018
To put this book into cowboy terms - it was more hat than cattle.
Caleb Ross is a high school student in a Texas town near the border which his father, the sheriff, rules by playing the classic western lawmen. However, Caleb knows that his father has a secret sinister side, and that he may have killed Caleb’s mother who he claims abandoned them both. New deputy Chris Cherry is a former football hero who has just returned home after an injury ended his playing days, and both he and his girlfriend are struggling to adjust to the situation. When Cherry investigates a body found in a shallow grave Caleb is positive that it’s his mother.
This starts a series of events that involve others in the town like the drug addicted and crooked chief deputy, a beautiful classmate of Caleb’s, a substitute teacher with a huge skeleton in her closet, and a deadly cartel hitman who has far more bodies to his credit than candles on his birthday cake.
This started off very strong rural crime novel with some good writing done that establishes all of the characters while giving us their viewpoints. The setting is also very well done so that you get the vibe of this desert town that’s a stone’s throw from the drug violence in Mexico. I was really into it for the first third of the book and thought it was going to be a next level book.
Unfortunately, it seemed to get stuck in a rut at the midway point and just keep going over the same old ground again and again. This was the debut novel from author J. Todd Scott, and it almost seems like he didn’t quite trust himself enough to think that he’d gotten the point across with the characters so that he felt the need to keep telling us about them when he’d already established everything we needed to know. It’s over 400 pages but could have easily been tightened up to around 300 without losing any of the richness of the better parts.
It’s one of those that’s not a bad book and had a lot of things I very much enjoyed, but the early expectations might have hurt it for me when it didn’t quite reach the heights I was hoping for. I also see that the sequel to it is even longer which makes me worry that it might suffer from similar problems. Still, Scott is a talented writer, and I’d be willing to check out more of his work someday.
Caleb Ross is a high school student in a Texas town near the border which his father, the sheriff, rules by playing the classic western lawmen. However, Caleb knows that his father has a secret sinister side, and that he may have killed Caleb’s mother who he claims abandoned them both. New deputy Chris Cherry is a former football hero who has just returned home after an injury ended his playing days, and both he and his girlfriend are struggling to adjust to the situation. When Cherry investigates a body found in a shallow grave Caleb is positive that it’s his mother.
This starts a series of events that involve others in the town like the drug addicted and crooked chief deputy, a beautiful classmate of Caleb’s, a substitute teacher with a huge skeleton in her closet, and a deadly cartel hitman who has far more bodies to his credit than candles on his birthday cake.
This started off very strong rural crime novel with some good writing done that establishes all of the characters while giving us their viewpoints. The setting is also very well done so that you get the vibe of this desert town that’s a stone’s throw from the drug violence in Mexico. I was really into it for the first third of the book and thought it was going to be a next level book.
Unfortunately, it seemed to get stuck in a rut at the midway point and just keep going over the same old ground again and again. This was the debut novel from author J. Todd Scott, and it almost seems like he didn’t quite trust himself enough to think that he’d gotten the point across with the characters so that he felt the need to keep telling us about them when he’d already established everything we needed to know. It’s over 400 pages but could have easily been tightened up to around 300 without losing any of the richness of the better parts.
It’s one of those that’s not a bad book and had a lot of things I very much enjoyed, but the early expectations might have hurt it for me when it didn’t quite reach the heights I was hoping for. I also see that the sequel to it is even longer which makes me worry that it might suffer from similar problems. Still, Scott is a talented writer, and I’d be willing to check out more of his work someday.
December 22, 2017
When Deputy Chris Cherry finds some skeletal remains on a ranch, it sets him on a collision course with the law of Murfee, Texas in the form of renowned sheriff Standford "Judge" Ross, local hero. Ross's son Caleb carries a horrible secret, that his father is crazier than a shithouse rat...
I've read hundreds of mysteries and thrillers, so many that there aren't a whole lot of surprises left and I've gradually shifted toward horror. This one had enough twists and turns to make me rethink things.
The Far Empty is part modern day western, part slow burning thriller. "What if Lou Ford from The Killer Inside Me had a family and was a lot better at keeping his demons under wraps" is a lazy way to describe the book but that's essentially what it is. Judge Ross has the Texas town of Murfee snowed and only his son suspects the depths his father can sink to.
Chris Cherry is a failed college football star barely limping by in his old home town with his unhappy girlfriend when a rancher finds some remains on his property. Who do the remains belong to and who doesn't want them identified?
J. Todd Scott has assembled a great cast and I can't believe this is someone's first novel. The viewpoints shift between half a dozen or so characters: Caleb Ross, his friend America, Chris Cherry, Cherry's girlfriend Mel, the Sheriff, Deputy Duane Dupree, and new teacher Anne, who is carrying secrets of her own. By the end, I couldn't decide who was the most dangerous: Sheriff Ross, meth-addled Duane, or Mel.
For my money, the hallmark of a good mystery is making me feel like a rube at some point. Scott did a great job with misdirection. He was also adept at building the tension. You know the ending is going to be a bloody train wreck but it was still a hell of a road getting there.
The remote Texas setting was another thing I enjoyed, a far cry from thrillers happening in crowded metropolises. Scott did a great job at capturing what small town life is like, warts and all.
The Far Empty was a fantastic first novel and I'll be ready for the second book in the series once it drops. Five out of five stars.
I've read hundreds of mysteries and thrillers, so many that there aren't a whole lot of surprises left and I've gradually shifted toward horror. This one had enough twists and turns to make me rethink things.
The Far Empty is part modern day western, part slow burning thriller. "What if Lou Ford from The Killer Inside Me had a family and was a lot better at keeping his demons under wraps" is a lazy way to describe the book but that's essentially what it is. Judge Ross has the Texas town of Murfee snowed and only his son suspects the depths his father can sink to.
Chris Cherry is a failed college football star barely limping by in his old home town with his unhappy girlfriend when a rancher finds some remains on his property. Who do the remains belong to and who doesn't want them identified?
J. Todd Scott has assembled a great cast and I can't believe this is someone's first novel. The viewpoints shift between half a dozen or so characters: Caleb Ross, his friend America, Chris Cherry, Cherry's girlfriend Mel, the Sheriff, Deputy Duane Dupree, and new teacher Anne, who is carrying secrets of her own. By the end, I couldn't decide who was the most dangerous: Sheriff Ross, meth-addled Duane, or Mel.
For my money, the hallmark of a good mystery is making me feel like a rube at some point. Scott did a great job with misdirection. He was also adept at building the tension. You know the ending is going to be a bloody train wreck but it was still a hell of a road getting there.
The remote Texas setting was another thing I enjoyed, a far cry from thrillers happening in crowded metropolises. Scott did a great job at capturing what small town life is like, warts and all.
The Far Empty was a fantastic first novel and I'll be ready for the second book in the series once it drops. Five out of five stars.
May 18, 2023
Fast-paced, action-packed, ultra-violent grit-noir Texas style.
This novel begins as a missing persons story but unfolds via multiple narratives into an epic tale of murder and mayhem and more.
Very impressive debut novel. Beautiful writing for such a violent story.
It reminded me at times of Donald Ray Pollock and I mean that as a compliment to the author.
If you can find a copy of this on-line or in a real, 20th century-style bookstore, buy it and treat yourself.
You will not be disappointed.
Highest possible recommendation.
This novel begins as a missing persons story but unfolds via multiple narratives into an epic tale of murder and mayhem and more.
Very impressive debut novel. Beautiful writing for such a violent story.
It reminded me at times of Donald Ray Pollock and I mean that as a compliment to the author.
If you can find a copy of this on-line or in a real, 20th century-style bookstore, buy it and treat yourself.
You will not be disappointed.
Highest possible recommendation.
May 16, 2018
Nothing much interesting happens in Murfee. Nothing much anyone knows about, anyway. Time here is like a bug trapped in amber…Come back a year from now, ten years from now, and Murfee would seem exactly the same. You would be wrong. Our town does a pretty good job of holding her secrets close.
I picked this book up at the bookstore completely on a whim. I didn’t know anything about it, had never heard of it. Being from Texas though, I was intrigued by the Texas border town setting. Though fictitious, I have to say that it rang more true than false to this native Texan. It portrayed a deeply atmospheric tale of murder, corruption, racism, and drugs. Now, there are plenty of nice little towns in Texas but it’d be wrong to say that circumstances like the ones portrayed in this story are totally out of the realm of possibility. Given that the author worked 20 plus years as a DEA agent, he probably has a pretty good idea of the dark underbelly that can, and does, sometimes exist in those dusty, geographically isolated border towns where the wrong man can set up his own little dark kingdom. Which is exactly what has happened in the fictitious town of Murfee, Texas – said to be located out in far west Texas -where Sheriff Stanford “Judge” Ross has lorded over the town for a couple of decades.
The story is told through the POVs of several characters as readers are given a glimpse into the troubled and troubling lives of these people. There’s Caleb, the Sheriff’s son, who struggles to live in his father’s dangerous shadow , and his friend America, who lives with her own source of torment. There’s also Chris Cherry, the former high school quarterback hero who played well in college until a knee injury forever sidelined his professional sports potential and sent him back to Murfee to don a Deputy Sheriff's badge. We also have Melissa, Chris’ unhappy girlfriend who has followed him into a life she hadn’t planned on, and Anne an Austin teacher who has moved to town under mysterious circumstances. Last, but not least, readers are also able to get into the heads of Sheriff Ross, himself, and his equally odious Deputy, Duane.
When a body is found on one of the remote ranches outside of Murfee, it kicks off a chain of events that may finally expose long held secrets. While there are some dark and sinister things going on in this book, it almost feels like they’re happening in the background…or at least it seemed that way to me…while the lives of the characters form the main focus. Their individual stories are complex and layered in burdens too heavy to carry much of the time. I found myself deeply embedded in the outcomes of the choices made by these fictional people. This would have been a five star read for me if not for a few things that went sideways for me at the end. I wasn’t wholly satisfied with the resolution on a couple of matters and that unavoidably colored my perception of the whole but even taking that into account, this melancholic tale had me at the first line: ”My father has killed three people.”
In the end, you could never outrun all the things you’d done.
I picked this book up at the bookstore completely on a whim. I didn’t know anything about it, had never heard of it. Being from Texas though, I was intrigued by the Texas border town setting. Though fictitious, I have to say that it rang more true than false to this native Texan. It portrayed a deeply atmospheric tale of murder, corruption, racism, and drugs. Now, there are plenty of nice little towns in Texas but it’d be wrong to say that circumstances like the ones portrayed in this story are totally out of the realm of possibility. Given that the author worked 20 plus years as a DEA agent, he probably has a pretty good idea of the dark underbelly that can, and does, sometimes exist in those dusty, geographically isolated border towns where the wrong man can set up his own little dark kingdom. Which is exactly what has happened in the fictitious town of Murfee, Texas – said to be located out in far west Texas -where Sheriff Stanford “Judge” Ross has lorded over the town for a couple of decades.
The story is told through the POVs of several characters as readers are given a glimpse into the troubled and troubling lives of these people. There’s Caleb, the Sheriff’s son, who struggles to live in his father’s dangerous shadow , and his friend America, who lives with her own source of torment. There’s also Chris Cherry, the former high school quarterback hero who played well in college until a knee injury forever sidelined his professional sports potential and sent him back to Murfee to don a Deputy Sheriff's badge. We also have Melissa, Chris’ unhappy girlfriend who has followed him into a life she hadn’t planned on, and Anne an Austin teacher who has moved to town under mysterious circumstances. Last, but not least, readers are also able to get into the heads of Sheriff Ross, himself, and his equally odious Deputy, Duane.
When a body is found on one of the remote ranches outside of Murfee, it kicks off a chain of events that may finally expose long held secrets. While there are some dark and sinister things going on in this book, it almost feels like they’re happening in the background…or at least it seemed that way to me…while the lives of the characters form the main focus. Their individual stories are complex and layered in burdens too heavy to carry much of the time. I found myself deeply embedded in the outcomes of the choices made by these fictional people. This would have been a five star read for me if not for a few things that went sideways for me at the end. I wasn’t wholly satisfied with the resolution on a couple of matters and that unavoidably colored my perception of the whole but even taking that into account, this melancholic tale had me at the first line: ”My father has killed three people.”
In the end, you could never outrun all the things you’d done.
December 4, 2015
Balancing both the brutal and beautiful, J. Todd Scott has delivered a story that hangs around the neck long after the final page. Fearless, searing prose that reeks of honesty, THE FAR EMPTY is as gritty and raw as sun-scorched earth.
August 23, 2016
To be honest, I was bored with this one. Once again we have a problem with pacing and all the characters were just two dimensional and all just blend together after awhile. Skip it.
July 6, 2016
First time author and DEA federal agent J. Todd Scott has truly captured the wide out far empty of Big Bend and the borderlands of Mexico--the endless sky, the Rio Grande, and mountains “painted purple and charcoal in the background.” The fictional town is Murfee, Texas. His trenchant descriptions are vivid, alive, and gothic, and I understand why comparisons to Cormac McCarty are bandied about. It’s his use of physical landscape to evoke dark, biblical, and pagan imagery. However, Scott is a mainstream, plot-centered storyteller, with a slant toward screenshot characters and moral comeuppance. Although predictable and meandering at times, his debut novel engaged me, kept me turning the pages. Despite formulaic aspects, I saw a spark in Scott and his curiosity about human nature.
The book is divided into four sections--Bone, Blood, Ashes, and Ghosts. The omniscient voice is used in the brief, alternating chapters, titled by the various characters in the ensemble cast, with one exception. The sheriff’s son, Caleb, is narrated in the first person, keeping the reader on an intimate level with the story. The Sheriff, “Judge” Ross, is an inscrutable but dark character with a string of dead or departed wives and a chilly, aggressive demeanor. His main deputy and friend for decades, Duane Dupree, is a haunted meth addict losing his soul. There’s Deputy Chris Cherry, a good guy and ex Murfee high school football hero, who blew his knee out and lost the chance for the big leagues, and his girlfriend, Melissa, who feels trapped in these borderlands. Anne, a new teacher in Murfee, has a dark past reaching back to Austin. Caleb loathes his father, has suspicions about the Judge’s kind of law. He has one friend, America, a spunky Mexican-American girl, who worships the stars in the sky.
The plot begins briskly, with Cherry finding the skeletal remains of a body in Indian Bluffs, “twenty thousand acres of crooked spine running along the Rio Grande river gorge.” He is determined to investigate until he finds an ID, but local authorities presume that it is a dead Mexican drug runner. Townspeople speculate; Caleb is convinced it’s his mother, who supposedly ran off a year ago. The boy wants to prove that his father killed her. Soon, the central plot develops, taking on more weight and implications.
I was never bored, because I liked the author’s pacing and rhythm. His violence is brutal and graphic, but not gratuitous. Scott provided background on everyone, but only some of them were satisfying or relevant. A villain with zero empathy becomes a caricature. Cherry and Melissa are the most organic and least contrived of the cast. A few jagged plot holes disappointed me, and a patently incredulous last few pages galled me. The climax was predictable due to heavy foreshadowing, and verged on melodramatic. He could have trimmed some of the padding while yielding a bit more nuance. There are hints in the text that this could turn into a series, but I’d rather see Scott move on to something new, even in the same locale that he paints so well. I’d revisit his west Texas badlands.
The book is divided into four sections--Bone, Blood, Ashes, and Ghosts. The omniscient voice is used in the brief, alternating chapters, titled by the various characters in the ensemble cast, with one exception. The sheriff’s son, Caleb, is narrated in the first person, keeping the reader on an intimate level with the story. The Sheriff, “Judge” Ross, is an inscrutable but dark character with a string of dead or departed wives and a chilly, aggressive demeanor. His main deputy and friend for decades, Duane Dupree, is a haunted meth addict losing his soul. There’s Deputy Chris Cherry, a good guy and ex Murfee high school football hero, who blew his knee out and lost the chance for the big leagues, and his girlfriend, Melissa, who feels trapped in these borderlands. Anne, a new teacher in Murfee, has a dark past reaching back to Austin. Caleb loathes his father, has suspicions about the Judge’s kind of law. He has one friend, America, a spunky Mexican-American girl, who worships the stars in the sky.
The plot begins briskly, with Cherry finding the skeletal remains of a body in Indian Bluffs, “twenty thousand acres of crooked spine running along the Rio Grande river gorge.” He is determined to investigate until he finds an ID, but local authorities presume that it is a dead Mexican drug runner. Townspeople speculate; Caleb is convinced it’s his mother, who supposedly ran off a year ago. The boy wants to prove that his father killed her. Soon, the central plot develops, taking on more weight and implications.
I was never bored, because I liked the author’s pacing and rhythm. His violence is brutal and graphic, but not gratuitous. Scott provided background on everyone, but only some of them were satisfying or relevant. A villain with zero empathy becomes a caricature. Cherry and Melissa are the most organic and least contrived of the cast. A few jagged plot holes disappointed me, and a patently incredulous last few pages galled me. The climax was predictable due to heavy foreshadowing, and verged on melodramatic. He could have trimmed some of the padding while yielding a bit more nuance. There are hints in the text that this could turn into a series, but I’d rather see Scott move on to something new, even in the same locale that he paints so well. I’d revisit his west Texas badlands.
April 21, 2018
Strong start on what I thought would be explosive crime fiction on the West Texas border. Unfortunately, the last two thirds of the book degenerated into an endless prelude to a weak endgame. Seems to me a modern day Western about a homicidal sheriff and his psychotic deputy should pivot on the action. I do think however, this 400 page book would have benefited greatly from sharper editing by constructing lean and mean prose in a fast moving thriller - but that's just me!
July 9, 2019
The Western genre made me love reading good verse evil themed yarns, the lawman themed stories are one of my favorites and it's so cool to see those elements happening in a modern day lawman novel like 'The Far Empty'.
My first read from author J. Todd Scott, he grabs you the reader hook, line and sinker. With the Far Empty, he brings West Texas vividly too life, it reads like a movie, has a multiple interetwinning storyline, that takes you on a roller coaster read, strap yourself into your favorite reading spot and your in for a masterfully paced thrill read.
For once I like the way he controls the flow, switching gears from fast to slow, depends on the character and got to say for once I was eagerly a waiting to see the demise of the Judge. You can't help but like Dep. Chris Cherry, Melissa, Anne, Caleb and America just bring it too life and without them 'The Far Empty' doesn't work.
While I do think that the author wrote a masterpiece with this one. I would have made three minor changes that would have lead to an even more intense read and be a way cooler ending.
1.) With how badly Duane tormented Ame. It would have been cool too have her kill him verse how he
actually wrote it.
2) Since Chris knew something was up when he and Duane went out to where the plane was or later
on in the story when he was talking to the Judge, it seemed like he knew. So rather than make it
unrealistic with him getting shot 3 times, yet kills three people and especially since it's meters
away from an aorta to his heart. Keep the part about his leg giving out, his bum knee saves his life,
he gets behind cover, that enables him to take out the three cartel people and survives to confront
the Judge.
3) Since everything about the Sheriff Standford "Judge" Ross about the old West. Just seems way
cooler to have his son Caleb to discover the scalps of his three wives in the attic, along with
evidence of his corruption and have him end up standing trial verse dying a hero.
This was an awesome debut read from author J. Todd Scott, 'The Far Empty' is a must read, it's one of those books that will influence your reading and definitely can't wait to read more from this series.
My first read from author J. Todd Scott, he grabs you the reader hook, line and sinker. With the Far Empty, he brings West Texas vividly too life, it reads like a movie, has a multiple interetwinning storyline, that takes you on a roller coaster read, strap yourself into your favorite reading spot and your in for a masterfully paced thrill read.
For once I like the way he controls the flow, switching gears from fast to slow, depends on the character and got to say for once I was eagerly a waiting to see the demise of the Judge. You can't help but like Dep. Chris Cherry, Melissa, Anne, Caleb and America just bring it too life and without them 'The Far Empty' doesn't work.
While I do think that the author wrote a masterpiece with this one. I would have made three minor changes that would have lead to an even more intense read and be a way cooler ending.
1.) With how badly Duane tormented Ame. It would have been cool too have her kill him verse how he
actually wrote it.
2) Since Chris knew something was up when he and Duane went out to where the plane was or later
on in the story when he was talking to the Judge, it seemed like he knew. So rather than make it
unrealistic with him getting shot 3 times, yet kills three people and especially since it's meters
away from an aorta to his heart. Keep the part about his leg giving out, his bum knee saves his life,
he gets behind cover, that enables him to take out the three cartel people and survives to confront
the Judge.
3) Since everything about the Sheriff Standford "Judge" Ross about the old West. Just seems way
cooler to have his son Caleb to discover the scalps of his three wives in the attic, along with
evidence of his corruption and have him end up standing trial verse dying a hero.
This was an awesome debut read from author J. Todd Scott, 'The Far Empty' is a must read, it's one of those books that will influence your reading and definitely can't wait to read more from this series.
February 9, 2017
So much time and effort goes into getting a book cover right so when one catches my eye I think it deserves a mention. The cover has to convey something about the book, as well as making sure it appeals to a potential reader, because if it's not right it can be the death of a book. I always tell customers (especially if they're looking at a book with a spectacular cover) that, you can tell a publisher believes in the author from the quality of the cover... So to The Far Empty... I love the cover artwork for this gritty, crime debut. It certainly gives a clue as to what the book is about...Mexican border gun culture, drug cartels with a murder or two.
If you find scenes of graphic violence abhorrent then move away from this one and if the cover is right I think you'll have done that anyway.
The Far Empty is a fictional piece based on actual violent drug related incidents and on a corrupt local sheriff from a drugs task force in Texas.
J Todd Scott, a federal agent with the DEA for many years has drawn on his experience to pen this gritty, brutal debut and with twenty years experience in the force investigating smuggling, domestic meth lads and Mexican cartels, he knows what he's writing about.
Ok so Caleb Ross, he's 17 and his father is the charismatic, influential Sheriff Stanford 'Judge' Ross and in Celeb's own voice he says this of him, 'My father has killed three men. My father . . . that f*****g monster . . . also killed my mother'.
So Caleb doesn't like his father...He even feels uneasy turning his back on him. Why would he feel such hatred for, and fear of his own father, unless of course he has reason. Caleb 'knows', that his mother wouldn't have run out on him with no word for the last thirteen months, and that his father killed her. He just cannot prove it.
Chris Cherry, after a knee injury ends his promising football career, returns to Murfee taking on the role of sheriff's deputy. His girlfriend Melissa is not so sure that its such a good move when they arrive.
When skeletal remains are unearthed out in the 'badlands' Cherry wants to do everything he can to put a name to this poor soul. However it's not going to be easy with the apathetic, unwillingness to investigate on the part of Sheriff Ross and his psychotic chief deputy Duane Dupree. After all it's probably just another dead Mexican in the desert so who cares. Well, Cherry does and so too does Caleb who's convinced it's his mum that's been lying out there all this time.
Into the mix we have, another missing person Rudy Ray a border patrol officer; the arrival of Anne the mysterious new teacher at Caleb's school; América Reynosa Caleb's Mexican friend whose brother Rudy Ray has gone missing, and Maximo a young teen 'hired Killer' for one of the drug cartels.
Each character gets their own chapter to tell us about their history and their thought process throughout the story, but its only Caleb's narrative which is in the first person, lending his voice focus and impact.
The Far Empty is dark, brutal, menacing and exceedingly violent with all of the unsavoury characters you'd expect to find involved in Mexican border gun culture, and some ignorant or down trodden towns folk living within an environment where the law is just as feared as the drug run cartels. There are some shocking and unexpected surprises along the way with one big shocker I didn't see coming.
If you read to escape reality and whats really going on in the world then steer very clear, this one really is not for you. However, I really enjoyed The Far Empty and fully believed in the depraved characters and the world within which they resided. I'm so looking forward to reading his next offering.
Perfect for fans of James Ellroy, Donald Ray Pollock, Frank Bill and Don Winslow.
Most memorable character: Maximo, frighteningly all too real, desperately unsettling as it is an all too real scenario and inescapable reality for many kids like him.
Characters disliked: The callous cruel remorseless and calculating Sheriff 'Judge' Ross; his sidekick Deputy Dupree and most of the seedy darn right despicable townsfolk.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from the publisher for an honest review.
If you find scenes of graphic violence abhorrent then move away from this one and if the cover is right I think you'll have done that anyway.
The Far Empty is a fictional piece based on actual violent drug related incidents and on a corrupt local sheriff from a drugs task force in Texas.
J Todd Scott, a federal agent with the DEA for many years has drawn on his experience to pen this gritty, brutal debut and with twenty years experience in the force investigating smuggling, domestic meth lads and Mexican cartels, he knows what he's writing about.
Ok so Caleb Ross, he's 17 and his father is the charismatic, influential Sheriff Stanford 'Judge' Ross and in Celeb's own voice he says this of him, 'My father has killed three men. My father . . . that f*****g monster . . . also killed my mother'.
So Caleb doesn't like his father...He even feels uneasy turning his back on him. Why would he feel such hatred for, and fear of his own father, unless of course he has reason. Caleb 'knows', that his mother wouldn't have run out on him with no word for the last thirteen months, and that his father killed her. He just cannot prove it.
Chris Cherry, after a knee injury ends his promising football career, returns to Murfee taking on the role of sheriff's deputy. His girlfriend Melissa is not so sure that its such a good move when they arrive.
When skeletal remains are unearthed out in the 'badlands' Cherry wants to do everything he can to put a name to this poor soul. However it's not going to be easy with the apathetic, unwillingness to investigate on the part of Sheriff Ross and his psychotic chief deputy Duane Dupree. After all it's probably just another dead Mexican in the desert so who cares. Well, Cherry does and so too does Caleb who's convinced it's his mum that's been lying out there all this time.
Into the mix we have, another missing person Rudy Ray a border patrol officer; the arrival of Anne the mysterious new teacher at Caleb's school; América Reynosa Caleb's Mexican friend whose brother Rudy Ray has gone missing, and Maximo a young teen 'hired Killer' for one of the drug cartels.
Each character gets their own chapter to tell us about their history and their thought process throughout the story, but its only Caleb's narrative which is in the first person, lending his voice focus and impact.
The Far Empty is dark, brutal, menacing and exceedingly violent with all of the unsavoury characters you'd expect to find involved in Mexican border gun culture, and some ignorant or down trodden towns folk living within an environment where the law is just as feared as the drug run cartels. There are some shocking and unexpected surprises along the way with one big shocker I didn't see coming.
If you read to escape reality and whats really going on in the world then steer very clear, this one really is not for you. However, I really enjoyed The Far Empty and fully believed in the depraved characters and the world within which they resided. I'm so looking forward to reading his next offering.
Perfect for fans of James Ellroy, Donald Ray Pollock, Frank Bill and Don Winslow.
Most memorable character: Maximo, frighteningly all too real, desperately unsettling as it is an all too real scenario and inescapable reality for many kids like him.
Characters disliked: The callous cruel remorseless and calculating Sheriff 'Judge' Ross; his sidekick Deputy Dupree and most of the seedy darn right despicable townsfolk.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy from the publisher for an honest review.
May 17, 2016
Wow - what a rip roaring ride this was!
This is quite a debut doorstopper bit of craziness from DEA agent/author J. Todd Scott.
It takes place near the Texas/Mexico border in southwestern Texas near Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park. Even though the area is fictionalized in THE FAR EMPTY, it is still possible to get a very intimate feeling of what this stark, beautiful area of Texas is like.
The book is told in differing viewpoints, switching narrators for each chapter. I liked this - it gave me a better understanding of the backstory of this noirish combination of a new style Western and the ultimate dysfunctional family tale. A crooked Sheriff's department with murders, drugs, craziness - probably 99% crooked but with that one deputy who loves/hates his hometown and wants answers to some hard questions.
There were parts that brought glimmers of WALKING TALL to mind.
There were still questions left at the end but that was okay with me. Life doesn't always provide all the answers.
This was a book that kept my interest all the way through and that I would recommend to anyone looking for mystery, violence, and a dark look at the modern West.
I received this book from Putnam Books in exchange for my unbiased review.
This is quite a debut doorstopper bit of craziness from DEA agent/author J. Todd Scott.
It takes place near the Texas/Mexico border in southwestern Texas near Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park. Even though the area is fictionalized in THE FAR EMPTY, it is still possible to get a very intimate feeling of what this stark, beautiful area of Texas is like.
The book is told in differing viewpoints, switching narrators for each chapter. I liked this - it gave me a better understanding of the backstory of this noirish combination of a new style Western and the ultimate dysfunctional family tale. A crooked Sheriff's department with murders, drugs, craziness - probably 99% crooked but with that one deputy who loves/hates his hometown and wants answers to some hard questions.
There were parts that brought glimmers of WALKING TALL to mind.
There were still questions left at the end but that was okay with me. Life doesn't always provide all the answers.
This was a book that kept my interest all the way through and that I would recommend to anyone looking for mystery, violence, and a dark look at the modern West.
I received this book from Putnam Books in exchange for my unbiased review.
August 1, 2022
If you like crime thrillers, then I highly recommend this one. It is tightly plotted with a wide array of points of view that are all compelling. The story focuses on corruption in a small Texas town very close to the border, and the egomaniacal sheriff who considers the town his fiefdom. The book could have been a lot bloodier, but the author chose resolve conflicts in some surprising ways, which I greatly appreciated. The author is a former DEA agent, and his experience gives the book a gritty reality that avoids sentimentality or sensationalism.
February 22, 2017
UPDATE (my 1 third progress is reviewed below)
Depending on how well young debut writers, especially the Grit-Lit kind do with adversity, J. Todd. Scott must be a nightmare for their self confidence. This debut novel is not only, in my opinion, the best debut novel published thus far in 2016, it is the best debut novel i've read in my entire life since A Time To Kill. Either you compare yourself to someone who might rank in the best of its kind already and you feel sorry for your writing, or you look at what hard work and dedication can do and you write the sh*t out of you and end up publishing something as amazing as The Far Empty.
Fast paced but detailed, Gritty and violent but romantic and beautiful in its own way, The Far Empty is a complex and pure work of art that I'll definitely read a second, if not a third time in the next couple of years.
I stand corrected when i said, even though I wasn't even halfway through, that this novel felt like the love child of Ace Atkins, Cormac McCarthy and Elmore Leonard. I have to say that the villain part of The Far Empty has some Stephen King's roots.
To use an old cliché, it is impossible to put down. Loved every page and every word.
In all fairness, I haven't even finish the book and after one third I can say that this is a hell of a debut novel. J Todd Scott is a born writer who will take you on a sun-scorched Texas Noir ride that will leave you wanting more the second you read the first paragraph.
This novel feels like the love-child of Ace Atkins, Elmore Leonard and Cormac McCarthy, although Scott has his very own and unique writing style. He quickly establishes characters you will love, hate and hate to love. He mixes-and-matches the narration between PoW of Caleb Ross and 3rd person narrative of a bunch of others cast members, giving the reader both a global and overview of the story but also a closer, intimate relationship with the protagonists.
A powerful story that will leave millions of readers waiting for High White Sun for way too long.
Depending on how well young debut writers, especially the Grit-Lit kind do with adversity, J. Todd. Scott must be a nightmare for their self confidence. This debut novel is not only, in my opinion, the best debut novel published thus far in 2016, it is the best debut novel i've read in my entire life since A Time To Kill. Either you compare yourself to someone who might rank in the best of its kind already and you feel sorry for your writing, or you look at what hard work and dedication can do and you write the sh*t out of you and end up publishing something as amazing as The Far Empty.
Fast paced but detailed, Gritty and violent but romantic and beautiful in its own way, The Far Empty is a complex and pure work of art that I'll definitely read a second, if not a third time in the next couple of years.
I stand corrected when i said, even though I wasn't even halfway through, that this novel felt like the love child of Ace Atkins, Cormac McCarthy and Elmore Leonard. I have to say that the villain part of The Far Empty has some Stephen King's roots.
To use an old cliché, it is impossible to put down. Loved every page and every word.
In all fairness, I haven't even finish the book and after one third I can say that this is a hell of a debut novel. J Todd Scott is a born writer who will take you on a sun-scorched Texas Noir ride that will leave you wanting more the second you read the first paragraph.
This novel feels like the love-child of Ace Atkins, Elmore Leonard and Cormac McCarthy, although Scott has his very own and unique writing style. He quickly establishes characters you will love, hate and hate to love. He mixes-and-matches the narration between PoW of Caleb Ross and 3rd person narrative of a bunch of others cast members, giving the reader both a global and overview of the story but also a closer, intimate relationship with the protagonists.
A powerful story that will leave millions of readers waiting for High White Sun for way too long.
January 12, 2017
The Far Empty is the first published novel of J. Todd Scott and one of those novels that is so good, you have a hard time believing it is the author's first novel.
What a treat to delve into.
If you have seen John Sayles' movie Lonestar or No Country For Old Men by the Cohen's brothers, then you will certainly enjoy this book.
The far reaching story is a tale of the modern, hard land in Texas, where those that try to do what is right seem to have roadblocks thrown up in front of them at every point by those that make their way by evil.
J. Todd Scott has created some truly nasty characters and his writing causes you to taste the dust and grit of Texas right in your mouth.
In the novel, Scott flips back and fourth between each character as the story unfolds and heads toward the climax. One thing he does well when it comes to the mayhem in the book is make it believable.
The story opens with the discovery of a buried body that most believe is the body that no one should really care about, except those that buried it in the first place and how for them, it's best that it stays that way. Along the journey is a legendary, despicable, seemingly untouchable sheriff standing in the way of discovery of the secrets that should be uncovered, but ones some wish to keep them that way.
It is a real compelling story with well developed characters and a great story that leads to anticipation of Scott's next novel.
Very highly recommended.......
What a treat to delve into.
If you have seen John Sayles' movie Lonestar or No Country For Old Men by the Cohen's brothers, then you will certainly enjoy this book.
The far reaching story is a tale of the modern, hard land in Texas, where those that try to do what is right seem to have roadblocks thrown up in front of them at every point by those that make their way by evil.
J. Todd Scott has created some truly nasty characters and his writing causes you to taste the dust and grit of Texas right in your mouth.
In the novel, Scott flips back and fourth between each character as the story unfolds and heads toward the climax. One thing he does well when it comes to the mayhem in the book is make it believable.
The story opens with the discovery of a buried body that most believe is the body that no one should really care about, except those that buried it in the first place and how for them, it's best that it stays that way. Along the journey is a legendary, despicable, seemingly untouchable sheriff standing in the way of discovery of the secrets that should be uncovered, but ones some wish to keep them that way.
It is a real compelling story with well developed characters and a great story that leads to anticipation of Scott's next novel.
Very highly recommended.......
October 10, 2019
Set in a Texas border town, this is a great read for modern day Western fans. The stars of the show are a charismatic but perfectly evil sheriff who manipulates the town citizens and a deputy who reluctantly upsets the established order. The good versus evil theme is conventional but the plot goes in many unexpected and interesting directions.
March 13, 2025
Als für Chris Cherry eine Verletzung den Traum vom Profi-Sport beendet, bietet ihm Sheriff Ross in seinem fiktiven Heimatort Murfee den Posten des stellvertretenden Gesetzeshüters an. Für Chris ist die Rückkehr in sein heruntergekommenes Elternhaus im ebenfalls fiktiven Big Bend County eine Verlegenheitslösung, für seine Partnerin Melanie bedeutet es allein die Wahl zwischen Hilfsjobs in der Kneipe oder im Einzelhandel. Als auf der Sierra Escalera Ranch der Bulgers eine vergrabene Leiche gefunden wird, leuchten bei Sheriff Ross und seinen Deputys die Warnlichter auf. In dieser Region begräbt man seine Toten auf dem eigenen Land, fremde Tote lässt man liegen und überlässt sie der mörderischen Hitze und den Aasfressern. Wer ist also dieser Fremde und was hatte er im Grenzgebiet zu Mexico vor, wo mit Drogen und Menschen gehandelt wird, wo man zweisprachig ist – und selten weiß, auf wessen Seite der Sheriff und seine Männer stehen.
Neu in Murfee ist ebenfalls die junge Lehrerin Anne, die zwar hofft, ihren alten Namen und die Vergangenheit in Austin hinter sich gelassen zu haben, aber bei jeder Gelegenheit darauf gestoßen wird, dass sie Sheriff Stanford Ross etwas schuldet, der ihre Bewerbung für eine äußerst bescheidene Vertretungs-Stelle unterstützte. Ross arbeitet nach dem Prinzip „Alle ständig oberservieren und gegen Jeden etwas in der Hand haben“, für das er eine Gegenleistung einfordern kann. Ann ist die Lehrerein von Ross‘ Sohn Caleb, der sich für Literatur interessiert und so gar nicht dem Männerbild seines Vaters entspricht. Caleb und der alte Stanford Ross belauern sich täglich; denn alle drei Frauen des Sheriffs verschwanden auf verdächtige Weise. Selbstmord, Unfall und zuletzt verschwand angeblich Calebs Mutter ohne Abschied an einem völlig normalen Alltag. Solange der alte Stanford lebt, wird es im Haus Ross keinen Frieden geben – und Caleb ist bereit, für diesen Frieden zu töten.
Ein Schwachpunkt in Standford Ross‘ fein austariertem Machtgefüge ist allerding sein Deputy Duane Dupree, der sich damit herausreden kann, wegen seines Comanche- und Mescalero-Bluts weder Drogen noch Alkohol widerstehen zu können und in welchem Rausch auch immer schnell aus der Rolle zu fallen. Ross entgeht jedoch, dass ihn und Dupree längst Drogenfahnder des DEA im Visier haben. Cherry, dem an sich die Rolle des guten Bullen zugedacht war, gerät mit vertraulichen Informationen zum merkwürdigen Toten auf der Farm zwischen alle Stühle – und verfügt zudem über das Video einer Dashcam, das Ross nicht gefallen kann. Ein etwas pathetischer Showdown lässt um das Leben aller Beteiligten fürchten, doch in einem Serienauftakt mit sehr jugendlichen Figuren (Cherry ist Anfang 20, Chaleb und das Mädchen America 17 Jahre alt) verlaufen hier zum Glück am Ende die Lebenswege in unterschiedliche Richtungen.
Fazit
J. Todd Scott, der in der Region lebt, über die er schreibt, und selbst als Drogenfahnder arbeitet, hat mich mit dem Schauplatz am Rio Grande sofort eingefangen, aber auch seine kindlich wirkenden jugendlichen Figuren und Stanford Ross‘ komplexes Geflecht aus Abhängigkeiten konnten mich fesseln. Als Einstiegsband in eine bisher 3-bändige Serie ist meine Neugier auf die Fortsetzung geweckt.
Neu in Murfee ist ebenfalls die junge Lehrerin Anne, die zwar hofft, ihren alten Namen und die Vergangenheit in Austin hinter sich gelassen zu haben, aber bei jeder Gelegenheit darauf gestoßen wird, dass sie Sheriff Stanford Ross etwas schuldet, der ihre Bewerbung für eine äußerst bescheidene Vertretungs-Stelle unterstützte. Ross arbeitet nach dem Prinzip „Alle ständig oberservieren und gegen Jeden etwas in der Hand haben“, für das er eine Gegenleistung einfordern kann. Ann ist die Lehrerein von Ross‘ Sohn Caleb, der sich für Literatur interessiert und so gar nicht dem Männerbild seines Vaters entspricht. Caleb und der alte Stanford Ross belauern sich täglich; denn alle drei Frauen des Sheriffs verschwanden auf verdächtige Weise. Selbstmord, Unfall und zuletzt verschwand angeblich Calebs Mutter ohne Abschied an einem völlig normalen Alltag. Solange der alte Stanford lebt, wird es im Haus Ross keinen Frieden geben – und Caleb ist bereit, für diesen Frieden zu töten.
Ein Schwachpunkt in Standford Ross‘ fein austariertem Machtgefüge ist allerding sein Deputy Duane Dupree, der sich damit herausreden kann, wegen seines Comanche- und Mescalero-Bluts weder Drogen noch Alkohol widerstehen zu können und in welchem Rausch auch immer schnell aus der Rolle zu fallen. Ross entgeht jedoch, dass ihn und Dupree längst Drogenfahnder des DEA im Visier haben. Cherry, dem an sich die Rolle des guten Bullen zugedacht war, gerät mit vertraulichen Informationen zum merkwürdigen Toten auf der Farm zwischen alle Stühle – und verfügt zudem über das Video einer Dashcam, das Ross nicht gefallen kann. Ein etwas pathetischer Showdown lässt um das Leben aller Beteiligten fürchten, doch in einem Serienauftakt mit sehr jugendlichen Figuren (Cherry ist Anfang 20, Chaleb und das Mädchen America 17 Jahre alt) verlaufen hier zum Glück am Ende die Lebenswege in unterschiedliche Richtungen.
Fazit
J. Todd Scott, der in der Region lebt, über die er schreibt, und selbst als Drogenfahnder arbeitet, hat mich mit dem Schauplatz am Rio Grande sofort eingefangen, aber auch seine kindlich wirkenden jugendlichen Figuren und Stanford Ross‘ komplexes Geflecht aus Abhängigkeiten konnten mich fesseln. Als Einstiegsband in eine bisher 3-bändige Serie ist meine Neugier auf die Fortsetzung geweckt.
November 18, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Far Empty was my second good surprise this year. Choosing books based on challenge prompts can be tricky. I originally bought this kindle deal because I thought my hubby would like it. Sort of a modern day western. Ends up, the hubby hasn’t read it (yet). In the meantime, I needed to find two books with opposites in the title. Scanning all the possibilities, I decided upon “full” and “empty”: surely I could find amongst all the books I own, those two words in different titles. The book with “fulI” I didn’t like at all but the Far Empty made up for it in spades.
The setting is southwest Texas, very near the Mexican border. There’s a bad sheriff and an even worse deputy. There’s the local football hero who’s come back to town after a serious football injury and now he’s a deputy as well. There’s Mexicans and drug deals. There is a new school teacher with a history. Add some high school kids to the mix, one being the bad sheriff’s son. It all added up to a mystery thriller that kept me reading late into the night. This was the first of a trilogy (unbeknownst to me.) I’ll be getting to the second book soon.
The ATY Goodreads Challenge - 2025
Prompt #29 - two books with a pair of opposites in their titles: Book 2
The Far Empty was my second good surprise this year. Choosing books based on challenge prompts can be tricky. I originally bought this kindle deal because I thought my hubby would like it. Sort of a modern day western. Ends up, the hubby hasn’t read it (yet). In the meantime, I needed to find two books with opposites in the title. Scanning all the possibilities, I decided upon “full” and “empty”: surely I could find amongst all the books I own, those two words in different titles. The book with “fulI” I didn’t like at all but the Far Empty made up for it in spades.
The setting is southwest Texas, very near the Mexican border. There’s a bad sheriff and an even worse deputy. There’s the local football hero who’s come back to town after a serious football injury and now he’s a deputy as well. There’s Mexicans and drug deals. There is a new school teacher with a history. Add some high school kids to the mix, one being the bad sheriff’s son. It all added up to a mystery thriller that kept me reading late into the night. This was the first of a trilogy (unbeknownst to me.) I’ll be getting to the second book soon.
The ATY Goodreads Challenge - 2025
Prompt #29 - two books with a pair of opposites in their titles: Book 2
April 23, 2018
About the best prologue I’ve read kick-starts you into a present-day, dusty, crime-ridden Texas border town. Alternate narrators—including four woman—weave a complex story where the question is not so much “who” as “why”? The pace speeds up throughout, so the final question is “how many will have to die to get there?”
The author was a cop, then a DEA agent. But I’ll bet he detoured through the Iowa Writer’s Conference before this, his excellent first book.
The author was a cop, then a DEA agent. But I’ll bet he detoured through the Iowa Writer’s Conference before this, his excellent first book.
November 13, 2020
Never have I read a book where the setting and the characters are so well described and developed. You feel like you are there and you know the characters, though you probably would not want to. This book was great. I can not wait to pick up the next installment!!
October 13, 2020
The Far Empty is a grounded, visceral, bold, and taut mystery thriller with a keen focus on driving the story forward through character arcs that are superbly written in every manner.
The story takes place in West Texas in a place called Murfee. It’s small town, and it’s the perfect setting for the author to brilliantly explore different characters, all of whose arcs end up culminating together at the end for an excellent payoff. One of the characters is Deputy Chris Cherry, a native of the town who has come back and taken up the job as a deputy. He may be the only honest cop there. In comes Sheriff Ross of Murfee. In so many words, Murfee is his town. However, that means he also has some skeletons in his closet. As an unidentified body is found hogtied, Chris is one of the only people adamant on following up with the report. The other person? The son of the Sheriff, who believes the sheriff killed his mom.
The pacing of the book is well-handled. Even as the author takes some time to introduce the characters, it works out superbly because I felt intimately connected with the characters in the book. Their dilemmas, their secrets, each aspect of the characters is explored in a way that drives the story forward in a way that seems plausible and realistic. The characters are flawed human beings, some trying to do the right thing, others twisted into the dark side. There’s a constant vibe of tension and anxiety throughout the pages, which is exactly how the characters feel in the book.
Murfee’s environment is described so vividly, it feels like a real living breathing locale. The feeling of being in the middle of nowhere is described so well, it’s hard to snap out of the book and realize your actual location. The real life vibe of the town only added in keeping me sunk in the nitty gritty details of the narrative, and I forgot to surface for hours at a time.
As a fan of murder mysteries and thrillers, The Far Empty strikes out from others in the genre. Not only is the narrative captivating with exciting plot twists, and tension in the air as readers just like characters don’t know who to trust, and dark secrets resulting from some of the best kept mysteries of the town. I was at the edge of my seat, nervous about how things would unfold. As a fan of Don Winslow’s work, I found The Far Empty to have the same aesthetic somewhat, but unique in its own ways. I will absolutely be checking out this series. I highly recommend the same to readers regardless of the preferences of genres. It’s a book about the too-real dilemmas about human beings and it transcends genres.
The story takes place in West Texas in a place called Murfee. It’s small town, and it’s the perfect setting for the author to brilliantly explore different characters, all of whose arcs end up culminating together at the end for an excellent payoff. One of the characters is Deputy Chris Cherry, a native of the town who has come back and taken up the job as a deputy. He may be the only honest cop there. In comes Sheriff Ross of Murfee. In so many words, Murfee is his town. However, that means he also has some skeletons in his closet. As an unidentified body is found hogtied, Chris is one of the only people adamant on following up with the report. The other person? The son of the Sheriff, who believes the sheriff killed his mom.
The pacing of the book is well-handled. Even as the author takes some time to introduce the characters, it works out superbly because I felt intimately connected with the characters in the book. Their dilemmas, their secrets, each aspect of the characters is explored in a way that drives the story forward in a way that seems plausible and realistic. The characters are flawed human beings, some trying to do the right thing, others twisted into the dark side. There’s a constant vibe of tension and anxiety throughout the pages, which is exactly how the characters feel in the book.
Murfee’s environment is described so vividly, it feels like a real living breathing locale. The feeling of being in the middle of nowhere is described so well, it’s hard to snap out of the book and realize your actual location. The real life vibe of the town only added in keeping me sunk in the nitty gritty details of the narrative, and I forgot to surface for hours at a time.
As a fan of murder mysteries and thrillers, The Far Empty strikes out from others in the genre. Not only is the narrative captivating with exciting plot twists, and tension in the air as readers just like characters don’t know who to trust, and dark secrets resulting from some of the best kept mysteries of the town. I was at the edge of my seat, nervous about how things would unfold. As a fan of Don Winslow’s work, I found The Far Empty to have the same aesthetic somewhat, but unique in its own ways. I will absolutely be checking out this series. I highly recommend the same to readers regardless of the preferences of genres. It’s a book about the too-real dilemmas about human beings and it transcends genres.
August 23, 2021
[Rezension bezieht sich auf die Hardcover-Ausgabe]
DIE WEITE LEERE (THE FAR EMPTY; Original erschienen 2016; Dt. 2021), das sind jene Prärien und Steppen im Westen Texas´, in denen der Mensch verloren gehen kann – sich und anderen. Und manchmal findet jemand die Überreste eines solchen Verlorenen und fragt sich: Wer war dieser Mensch?
So geschieht es Chris Cherry, einst umschwärmter Football-Held an seiner Highschool in Murfee, einem Kaff irgendwo in dieser weiten Leere. Chris ist seit seiner Rückkehr in den Ort Deputy unter dem „Judge“, dem Sheriff von Big Bend County. Der wiederum ist ein extrem gewalttätiger Despot, der einige Männer getötet hat, drei Frauen heiratete und verlor und dessen Sohn sich sicher ist, daß sein Vater seine Mutter – die letzte dieser Frauen – umgebracht hat. In einem weit verzweigten Gefüge aus Beziehungen, mal mehr, mal weniger gewollten Bekanntschaften und Verwandtschaften, entwickelt Autor J. Todd Scott ein Panorama und Portrait dieser Kleinstadt und einiger seiner Bewohner, die teils schicksalhaft miteinander verbunden sind.
Da gibt es den zweiten Deputy Duane, der ein Meth-Freak ist und langsam aber sicher den Verstand verliert, viel Unheil und Leid über viele Menschen bringt und vielleicht doch im allerletzten Moment begreift, wer seine wirklichen Feinde sind. Es gibt die Lehrerin Anne, die nach Murfee gekommen ist, um der eigenen Vergangenheit zu entkommen, und lernen muß, das wenig im Leben aus Zufall geschieht. Es gibt Melissa, die ihren Freund Chris in dessen Heimatstadt gefolgt ist und nun feststellt, daß sie in der Falle sitzt. Es gibt América, die, hispanischer Herkunft und deshalb für einige Freiwild, von Duane bedroht wird und deren Bruder, einst bei der Border Police, verschwunden ist – nachdem er sich mit den falschen Leuten auf der falschen Seite der nahegelegenen Grenze zu Mexiko eingelassen hat. Und schließlich gibt es Caleb, den Sohn des “Judge“, der seine Gedanken und Gefühle in sein Tagebuch überträgt, der sich mit Anne und Chris zu verbünden sucht und hofft, auf Umwegen das Verschwinden seiner Mutter aufklären und seinen Vater dessen gerechter Strafe zuführen zu können.
Sie alle und einige mehr beschreibt Todd in manchmal sehr kurzen Kapiteln, in denen er die Sichtweise der Figur wiedergibt, die dem jeweiligen Abschnitt seinen Namen gibt. Lediglich Caleb spricht zum Leser aus der ersten Person Singular und es dauert, bis man begreift, daß dies alles bereits die Aufzeichnungen eines tief verstörten Jungen sind, der seine Empörung, seine Wut, seine Angst und seine Hoffnungen nicht anders zu kanalisieren vermag, als auf diesen Seiten. Es entsteht ein dichtes Geflecht aus Perspektiven und immer mehr Mosaiksteinchen, die schließlich viele – wenn auch nicht alle – Geheimnisse in Murfee zusammensetzen und schließlich auflösen.
Todd arbeitet selbst seit nahezu zwanzig Jahren bei der DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), der amerikanischen Drogenbehörde, und bekämpft den Drogenhandel an der Grenze, aber auch in den USA selbst. Er weiß also, wovon er erzählt, wenn er sich eines Stoffes wie dieses annimmt. Sollte man zumindest meinen. Leider aber beschränkt er sich nicht darauf, entweder authentisch und lebensnah die Arbeit der DEA zu beschreiben oder einen Spannungsroman über das Leben derer Agenten zu erzählen – was er sicher besser könnte als Don Winslow, dessen Drogen-Trilogie mittlerweile gern als Garant für authentische Berichte aus dem amerikanischen War on Drugs der vergangenen vierzig Jahre und mehr gehalten wird – , stattdessen will Todd den großen Roman, das Drama, ein Epos. Und dazu ist er, um es direkt und brutal ehrlich zu sagen, der falsche Mann. Denn er mag ein guter Cop sein, vielleicht sogar ein recht guter Autor, ein großer Schriftsteller ist er nicht.
Die Figuren, die er präsentiert, allen voran die des „Judges“, wirken allesamt wie dem herkömmlichen Personal vergleichbarer Romane und Filme entnommen. Auch die Ausgangslage – eine Leiche wird in der Wüste gefunden und führt zu Nachforschungen, die nicht jedem gefallen – ist so schon Hundertfach da gewesen und erinnert konkret an die Ausgangssituation in John Sayles´ Film LONE STAR (1996), der es allerdings versteht, in 135 Minuten mehr Wahrheit zu verpacken, als es Todd auf 432 Seiten gelingt. So begegnen dem Leser in DIE WEITE LEERE vor allem Klischeefiguren mit Klischeeproblemen und Klischeevorstellungen davon, wie man diese Probleme löst. Helden sind Helden, die Schurken recht eindimensional und wenn denn mal eine Figure – Duane bspw. – ein wenig ambivalent angelegt ist und das eigene Verhalten zumindest irgendwann nicht mehr vor sich selbst rechtfertigen kann, muß sie dies natürlich bezahlen. Erlösung ist nicht ohne einen hohen Preis zu haben.
Dabei ist gerade diese Figure, Duane, eine der schillerndsten und in seinem Verhalten wahrscheinlich am nächsten an der Wirklichkeit entlang beschrieben. Ein Meth-Junkie, der jedwedes Gefühl für sich selbst oder die Verhältnismäßigkeit des eigenen Tuns verliert, der zusehends sein Körpergefühl und sein Gedächtnis verliert und den erst ein Schock noch einmal in das eigene Bewußtsein zurückbefördern kann. Typen wie diesen wird Todd etliche in seiner Laufbahn erlebt haben. Hingegen ist die heimliche Hauptfigur, der „Judge“, dem Leser aus etlichen Vorläufern bekannt: Ein despotischer Patriarch, der – offenbar aus reinem Sadismus, der nie näher erklärt oder erläutert wird – Menschen quält, alle voran die Mitglieder der eigenen Familie, der korrupt ist und natürlich auf beiden Seiten des Gesetzes agiert und zudem wie mit dem Auge Gottes ausgestattet nahezu alles über alle in seiner Stadt weiß. Ein Monster. Aber weil wir alle die Monstergeschichten kennen, wissen wir natürlich, daß sie auch ihre Schwachstellen haben und müssen uns deshalb nicht fürchten. Nur abwarten, bis die Helden der Geschichte selbst daraufkommen, wie das Ungeheuer zu besiegen ist.
Was Todd allerdings gelingt – dies sei zu seiner Ehrenrettung gesagt – ist Atmosphäre. Er kann die bedrückende Angst vermitteln, die über Murfee liegt, das Gefühl des Ausgeliefertseins. Mehr aber noch kann er ein Gefühl für die titelgebende weite Leere spürbar machen, in der sich dies alles abspielt. Die Wüste, die Prärie, die Bergketten der Sierra am Horizont, die Hitze, die hier brütend über der Fläche liegt und die Kälte bei Nacht, das Gefühl in der absoluten Weite eingesperrt zu sein, hoffnungslos verloren unter einem nie endenden Himmel – all das kann der Leser hier gut nachvollziehen. Auch, was ein Leben in dieser Einöde ausmacht, wie es beeinflusst wird, ist sehr verständlich. Vielleicht wäre dies alles viel, viel besser geworden, wenn der Autor den Krimiplot einfach wegelassen und dafür mehr Wert auf ein authentisches Personal gelegt hätte.
DIE WEITE LEERE funktioniert hervorragend als Zweitlektüre, wenn die Hauptlektüre anstrengend ist und immer nur in kleinen Happen genossen werden kann; es funktioniert auch recht gut als Bettlektüre, weil man, auch wenn man die letzten fünf Seiten bereits im Halbdämmer gelesen hat, immer wieder in die Handlung hineinfindet. Es ist leidlich spannend und nie fordernd, weil man ja Personal und den groben Handlungsablauf eh schon kennt. Ein authentischer Bericht vom Kampf gegen die Drogen an der Grenze zu Mexiko ist es aber eher nicht.
DIE WEITE LEERE (THE FAR EMPTY; Original erschienen 2016; Dt. 2021), das sind jene Prärien und Steppen im Westen Texas´, in denen der Mensch verloren gehen kann – sich und anderen. Und manchmal findet jemand die Überreste eines solchen Verlorenen und fragt sich: Wer war dieser Mensch?
So geschieht es Chris Cherry, einst umschwärmter Football-Held an seiner Highschool in Murfee, einem Kaff irgendwo in dieser weiten Leere. Chris ist seit seiner Rückkehr in den Ort Deputy unter dem „Judge“, dem Sheriff von Big Bend County. Der wiederum ist ein extrem gewalttätiger Despot, der einige Männer getötet hat, drei Frauen heiratete und verlor und dessen Sohn sich sicher ist, daß sein Vater seine Mutter – die letzte dieser Frauen – umgebracht hat. In einem weit verzweigten Gefüge aus Beziehungen, mal mehr, mal weniger gewollten Bekanntschaften und Verwandtschaften, entwickelt Autor J. Todd Scott ein Panorama und Portrait dieser Kleinstadt und einiger seiner Bewohner, die teils schicksalhaft miteinander verbunden sind.
Da gibt es den zweiten Deputy Duane, der ein Meth-Freak ist und langsam aber sicher den Verstand verliert, viel Unheil und Leid über viele Menschen bringt und vielleicht doch im allerletzten Moment begreift, wer seine wirklichen Feinde sind. Es gibt die Lehrerin Anne, die nach Murfee gekommen ist, um der eigenen Vergangenheit zu entkommen, und lernen muß, das wenig im Leben aus Zufall geschieht. Es gibt Melissa, die ihren Freund Chris in dessen Heimatstadt gefolgt ist und nun feststellt, daß sie in der Falle sitzt. Es gibt América, die, hispanischer Herkunft und deshalb für einige Freiwild, von Duane bedroht wird und deren Bruder, einst bei der Border Police, verschwunden ist – nachdem er sich mit den falschen Leuten auf der falschen Seite der nahegelegenen Grenze zu Mexiko eingelassen hat. Und schließlich gibt es Caleb, den Sohn des “Judge“, der seine Gedanken und Gefühle in sein Tagebuch überträgt, der sich mit Anne und Chris zu verbünden sucht und hofft, auf Umwegen das Verschwinden seiner Mutter aufklären und seinen Vater dessen gerechter Strafe zuführen zu können.
Sie alle und einige mehr beschreibt Todd in manchmal sehr kurzen Kapiteln, in denen er die Sichtweise der Figur wiedergibt, die dem jeweiligen Abschnitt seinen Namen gibt. Lediglich Caleb spricht zum Leser aus der ersten Person Singular und es dauert, bis man begreift, daß dies alles bereits die Aufzeichnungen eines tief verstörten Jungen sind, der seine Empörung, seine Wut, seine Angst und seine Hoffnungen nicht anders zu kanalisieren vermag, als auf diesen Seiten. Es entsteht ein dichtes Geflecht aus Perspektiven und immer mehr Mosaiksteinchen, die schließlich viele – wenn auch nicht alle – Geheimnisse in Murfee zusammensetzen und schließlich auflösen.
Todd arbeitet selbst seit nahezu zwanzig Jahren bei der DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), der amerikanischen Drogenbehörde, und bekämpft den Drogenhandel an der Grenze, aber auch in den USA selbst. Er weiß also, wovon er erzählt, wenn er sich eines Stoffes wie dieses annimmt. Sollte man zumindest meinen. Leider aber beschränkt er sich nicht darauf, entweder authentisch und lebensnah die Arbeit der DEA zu beschreiben oder einen Spannungsroman über das Leben derer Agenten zu erzählen – was er sicher besser könnte als Don Winslow, dessen Drogen-Trilogie mittlerweile gern als Garant für authentische Berichte aus dem amerikanischen War on Drugs der vergangenen vierzig Jahre und mehr gehalten wird – , stattdessen will Todd den großen Roman, das Drama, ein Epos. Und dazu ist er, um es direkt und brutal ehrlich zu sagen, der falsche Mann. Denn er mag ein guter Cop sein, vielleicht sogar ein recht guter Autor, ein großer Schriftsteller ist er nicht.
Die Figuren, die er präsentiert, allen voran die des „Judges“, wirken allesamt wie dem herkömmlichen Personal vergleichbarer Romane und Filme entnommen. Auch die Ausgangslage – eine Leiche wird in der Wüste gefunden und führt zu Nachforschungen, die nicht jedem gefallen – ist so schon Hundertfach da gewesen und erinnert konkret an die Ausgangssituation in John Sayles´ Film LONE STAR (1996), der es allerdings versteht, in 135 Minuten mehr Wahrheit zu verpacken, als es Todd auf 432 Seiten gelingt. So begegnen dem Leser in DIE WEITE LEERE vor allem Klischeefiguren mit Klischeeproblemen und Klischeevorstellungen davon, wie man diese Probleme löst. Helden sind Helden, die Schurken recht eindimensional und wenn denn mal eine Figure – Duane bspw. – ein wenig ambivalent angelegt ist und das eigene Verhalten zumindest irgendwann nicht mehr vor sich selbst rechtfertigen kann, muß sie dies natürlich bezahlen. Erlösung ist nicht ohne einen hohen Preis zu haben.
Dabei ist gerade diese Figure, Duane, eine der schillerndsten und in seinem Verhalten wahrscheinlich am nächsten an der Wirklichkeit entlang beschrieben. Ein Meth-Junkie, der jedwedes Gefühl für sich selbst oder die Verhältnismäßigkeit des eigenen Tuns verliert, der zusehends sein Körpergefühl und sein Gedächtnis verliert und den erst ein Schock noch einmal in das eigene Bewußtsein zurückbefördern kann. Typen wie diesen wird Todd etliche in seiner Laufbahn erlebt haben. Hingegen ist die heimliche Hauptfigur, der „Judge“, dem Leser aus etlichen Vorläufern bekannt: Ein despotischer Patriarch, der – offenbar aus reinem Sadismus, der nie näher erklärt oder erläutert wird – Menschen quält, alle voran die Mitglieder der eigenen Familie, der korrupt ist und natürlich auf beiden Seiten des Gesetzes agiert und zudem wie mit dem Auge Gottes ausgestattet nahezu alles über alle in seiner Stadt weiß. Ein Monster. Aber weil wir alle die Monstergeschichten kennen, wissen wir natürlich, daß sie auch ihre Schwachstellen haben und müssen uns deshalb nicht fürchten. Nur abwarten, bis die Helden der Geschichte selbst daraufkommen, wie das Ungeheuer zu besiegen ist.
Was Todd allerdings gelingt – dies sei zu seiner Ehrenrettung gesagt – ist Atmosphäre. Er kann die bedrückende Angst vermitteln, die über Murfee liegt, das Gefühl des Ausgeliefertseins. Mehr aber noch kann er ein Gefühl für die titelgebende weite Leere spürbar machen, in der sich dies alles abspielt. Die Wüste, die Prärie, die Bergketten der Sierra am Horizont, die Hitze, die hier brütend über der Fläche liegt und die Kälte bei Nacht, das Gefühl in der absoluten Weite eingesperrt zu sein, hoffnungslos verloren unter einem nie endenden Himmel – all das kann der Leser hier gut nachvollziehen. Auch, was ein Leben in dieser Einöde ausmacht, wie es beeinflusst wird, ist sehr verständlich. Vielleicht wäre dies alles viel, viel besser geworden, wenn der Autor den Krimiplot einfach wegelassen und dafür mehr Wert auf ein authentisches Personal gelegt hätte.
DIE WEITE LEERE funktioniert hervorragend als Zweitlektüre, wenn die Hauptlektüre anstrengend ist und immer nur in kleinen Happen genossen werden kann; es funktioniert auch recht gut als Bettlektüre, weil man, auch wenn man die letzten fünf Seiten bereits im Halbdämmer gelesen hat, immer wieder in die Handlung hineinfindet. Es ist leidlich spannend und nie fordernd, weil man ja Personal und den groben Handlungsablauf eh schon kennt. Ein authentischer Bericht vom Kampf gegen die Drogen an der Grenze zu Mexiko ist es aber eher nicht.
June 23, 2020
This book was a slog to get through. The plot is so thin, but there are just enough little details to keep you reading. It should have been 200 pages shorter as most of the book was flowery language trying to be high literature. By the end I simply didn’t care anymore and was relieved when it was over. The characters were awful, not a single one was likeable.
October 6, 2018
I'm not sure I've read a better debut than 'The Far Empty'. J. Todd Scott's novel is set in today's far West Texas, which may be closer to its previous self than any other place in the country. Cowboys, the Law, Mexicans, Mexican-Americans, good guys, bad guys.... not too far removed from the days of 'High Noon'.
The Far Empty is wide in its scope, but it starts small. Skeletal remains are found in a remote area, identification is almost impossible, so it's treated by the local sheriff as something that requires little effort to just catalog and move along. His young deputy, a newbie, sees a couple anomalies and becomes interested in investigating and thereby kicks off a series of disturbing discoveries. Turns out the sheriff, a respected Texas legend, and one of his deputies are involved in some, let's say. extracurricular work. The young deputy moves closer and closer to discovering the truth, while at the same time battling issues at home. The onion is peeled back and, as they say, it ain't pretty. There's a violent ending confrontation that resolves some of the issues, but it's by no means a clean ending.
Great writing, a fine story, lots of action, realistic dialogue, and a real sense of place all combine to make The Far Empty a great beginning for J. Todd Scott.
The Far Empty is wide in its scope, but it starts small. Skeletal remains are found in a remote area, identification is almost impossible, so it's treated by the local sheriff as something that requires little effort to just catalog and move along. His young deputy, a newbie, sees a couple anomalies and becomes interested in investigating and thereby kicks off a series of disturbing discoveries. Turns out the sheriff, a respected Texas legend, and one of his deputies are involved in some, let's say. extracurricular work. The young deputy moves closer and closer to discovering the truth, while at the same time battling issues at home. The onion is peeled back and, as they say, it ain't pretty. There's a violent ending confrontation that resolves some of the issues, but it's by no means a clean ending.
Great writing, a fine story, lots of action, realistic dialogue, and a real sense of place all combine to make The Far Empty a great beginning for J. Todd Scott.
June 8, 2019
This is a solid 3.5, what keeps me from giving it 4 stars is the language. Yes, I know the dialog fit the characters, but just reading so much derogatory name-calling was jarring to me. And there are bullies. I almost put it down after reading the first page.
This is a book discussion pick so not something I would have read, but I did like it. I think it's well written and a realistic story.
This is a book discussion pick so not something I would have read, but I did like it. I think it's well written and a realistic story.
July 19, 2018
Gripping. I really could not put it down. Bad men...... and of course at least one good deputy made the story.
May 11, 2018
I’ve had this book in my ‘to read’ lost for some time and the reason I hadn’t read it was because I didn’t really like the cover but how wrong could I be and I see why you should never judge a book by its cover !
‘Judge’ Ross is the Sheriff of the Texas border town of Murfee and outwardly he’s a ‘good old boy’ and knows everybody’s business in his town. However his son Caleb knows there is a different side to his father and is still grieving following the disappearance of his mother, just over a year ago, who walked out of her son’s and husband’s lives, never to be heard from again. When a body is found partially buried out in the scrublands, Caleb is convinced it’s his mother and Deputy Chris Cherry is also determined to identify the body believing it not to be just another dead Mexican trying to cross the border.
This is a slow burner of a novel but one that really got me hooked very early on. The main thrust of the novel is secrets. The secrets that some of the characters have in their past and don’t want to reveal and the power that ‘Judge’ Ross wields over his deputies and townspeople by making sure he knows their secrets and how to use these as a lever to get his own way. The backstories of the main protagonists are revealed slowly and are intertwined with the investigation. The action is sparing and brutal but it is the relationships that are forged and betrayed that are the strength of the story. J. Todd Scott also beautifully describes the harshness, emptiness and the occasional beauty of the vast borderlands. A brilliant borderland noir which I wish I hadn’t waited so long to read and I also see that Scott has written a second novel set in Murfee which I’ll be sure to read sooner rather than later.
‘Judge’ Ross is the Sheriff of the Texas border town of Murfee and outwardly he’s a ‘good old boy’ and knows everybody’s business in his town. However his son Caleb knows there is a different side to his father and is still grieving following the disappearance of his mother, just over a year ago, who walked out of her son’s and husband’s lives, never to be heard from again. When a body is found partially buried out in the scrublands, Caleb is convinced it’s his mother and Deputy Chris Cherry is also determined to identify the body believing it not to be just another dead Mexican trying to cross the border.
This is a slow burner of a novel but one that really got me hooked very early on. The main thrust of the novel is secrets. The secrets that some of the characters have in their past and don’t want to reveal and the power that ‘Judge’ Ross wields over his deputies and townspeople by making sure he knows their secrets and how to use these as a lever to get his own way. The backstories of the main protagonists are revealed slowly and are intertwined with the investigation. The action is sparing and brutal but it is the relationships that are forged and betrayed that are the strength of the story. J. Todd Scott also beautifully describes the harshness, emptiness and the occasional beauty of the vast borderlands. A brilliant borderland noir which I wish I hadn’t waited so long to read and I also see that Scott has written a second novel set in Murfee which I’ll be sure to read sooner rather than later.
May 27, 2020
Modern Texas Noir
Review of the G.P. Putnam's Sons paperback edition (2018) of the original hardcover (2016)
J. Todd Scott was one of the authors in the recent anthology Both Sides: Stories From the Border whose short story impressed me enough to start seeking out his other books. A short story isn't the same as a novel of course and the constant movement of the cartel spotter chasers in Waw Kiwuluk contrasts with the much slower paced character focussed noir-lit of The Far Empty.
The villains are pretty much known from the get-go in the novel and the multiple POVs seem to drag this along more to establish background (it is the 1st book of a trilogy) and create atmosphere. The writing itself is excellent though, you just may start getting impatient while waiting for the inevitable resolution.
Trivia and Link
I had never heard of Valentine, Texas (which is a nearby location to The Far Empty's fictional town of Murfee) before this book and my recently read Valentine (2020). Now I've read about it in two books almost back to back. Wetmore's was also dark in parts and used a multiple POV (not my favourite style generally) but was more uplifting in the end.
Review of the G.P. Putnam's Sons paperback edition (2018) of the original hardcover (2016)
J. Todd Scott was one of the authors in the recent anthology Both Sides: Stories From the Border whose short story impressed me enough to start seeking out his other books. A short story isn't the same as a novel of course and the constant movement of the cartel spotter chasers in Waw Kiwuluk contrasts with the much slower paced character focussed noir-lit of The Far Empty.
The villains are pretty much known from the get-go in the novel and the multiple POVs seem to drag this along more to establish background (it is the 1st book of a trilogy) and create atmosphere. The writing itself is excellent though, you just may start getting impatient while waiting for the inevitable resolution.
Trivia and Link
I had never heard of Valentine, Texas (which is a nearby location to The Far Empty's fictional town of Murfee) before this book and my recently read Valentine (2020). Now I've read about it in two books almost back to back. Wetmore's was also dark in parts and used a multiple POV (not my favourite style generally) but was more uplifting in the end.
September 17, 2016
I didn't like this book, but I will thank Scott for helping me realized that the psychotic small-town Texas sheriff has become an American cliche (see Jim Thompson's "Pop 1280" and "The Killer Inside Me," as well as the middling 90's indie "Lone Star"). In fact, Scott dredges up every cliche in Texas fiction like a coyote digging up Indian bones in a desert - the bloody history, the co-dependency with Mexico, football, oil fields, the big sky, the million stars, yadda yadda yadda. A writer with Cormac McCarthy's gift for language can transform these tropes into myth. To put it mildly, Scott does not write as well as McCarthy. In fact, Scott's generous use of profanity is the reader's only hint that (s)he hasn't downloaded Nicholas Sparks' first attempt at crime fiction. He tries to juice his narrative by resorting to gimmicks like fragments. Sentence fragments.
And one-sentence paragraphs.
At least Scott tells a decent, if familiar, story of public corruption, and he was gutsy enough to give his monstrous sheriff a Drew Peterson-like series of vanishing wives. He'd do well to hone such shameless opportunism if he wants to continue writing.
And one-sentence paragraphs.
At least Scott tells a decent, if familiar, story of public corruption, and he was gutsy enough to give his monstrous sheriff a Drew Peterson-like series of vanishing wives. He'd do well to hone such shameless opportunism if he wants to continue writing.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 287 reviews