The Pineville Heist

I first heard that a local author, Lee Chambers, had written a book that hit the Amazon bestseller list a few years ago.  I bought the book and intended to read it, but never really got around to it.  But a few weeks ago, a friend from work asked me to read it.  So I grudgingly did; The Pineville Heist was by no means high on my list and I really wanted to read something else.

So I started the book on Wednesday.  I went to Grand Marais with my brother for the day, and started reading it while we were hanging out on the beach.  When I started it, I thought it was going to be an absolutely terrible read.  The writing seemed awkward (for example, one character "waltzed" into the room, then got snippy, turned around and stomped out.  It was a very jarring scene).

But then something happened. I started getting sucked more and more into the story.  Things that I thought were predictable weren't (although I admit, I thought the main character was someone else, so it helped that I kept waiting for a character that never arrived).  And even if the writing remained a bit awkward at times, I stopped noticing it as I got drawn into the story that is The Pineville Heist.

The Pineville Heist is about Aaron.  Aaron is the rich kid in town, unpopular because everyone thinks his father is just getting richer from everyone else's money.  His father is a single parent, too busy to give Aaron much attention.  They get into a fight and Aaron is forced to walk to school.  He cuts through the woods, inadvertently spying the bank robbers who stole his father's money.  After overhearing the local cops talking about the robbery, he brings his two best friends to go recover the money.  Unfortunately they're around when the robbers are murdered in cold blood.  Grabbing one of the bags of money, Aaron makes it back to the school.  Unsure if his friends are alive or not, he ends up running for his life from the cold-blooded killer is after him and the money.

The Pineville Heist ended up a really enjoyable read.  I'm also now really excited for the movie to come out (it was filmed locally back in June).