A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, A LOT OF DEATH: ERIC BEETNER'S THE LAST FEW MILES

Eric Beetner starts his new book The Last Few Miles with his senior protagonist, Carter McCoy, getting a fatal diagnosis from his doctor. Since he has nothing to lose, he decides to take out the man who killed his daughter in a D.U.I. accident. However, there is a witness to his murder..

That witness is Breana, a young woman struggling to escape the cycle of her family's poverty in their small town. with her friend, Katy. Because Brianna's brother Chris has Katy hooked on drugs, she is in no shape to leave. Breanna blackmails Carter to kill Chris . The murders not only get the attention of the police, but Chris' meth dealing pals and he could be dying sooner than he thinks, possibly with Breanna as well.

Beetner carries a gift for engaging characters. Even at their most heinous, you are with his protagonists. He creates his most likable and sympathetic. with Chester and Brianna, deeply flawed as they are. He even subtly increase references to Carters senses as he becomes more aware of life. The two are both folks broken by circumstances. This particular circumstance creates a relationship between them where they can heal a piece of one another.

The Last Few Miles Of Road starts with death, depicts several killings, yet ends up life affirming. Admittingly it's done with that dark touch Eric Beetner can't resist, nor would we want him to. By confronting his mortality, Carter McCoy finds purpose in life. It just happens to be about causing death.