FICTION

Godspeed

Putnam. Jul. 2021. 352p. ISBN 9780593190418. $27. F
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Childhood friends Bart, Cole, and Teddy eke out a living with their hometown construction company near Jackson, WY. They yearn for something beyond boring roofing jobs and ski rental rehabs, but when Gretchen Connors, a mysterious San Francisco millionaire, asks them to build her dream house on family property in nearby mountains, they are suspicious. Why call them? She’s desperate, having been shut out by the local network of builders for firing her last contractor. Plus, she needs the job done by Christmas, just four months away. Even with the outrageous bonuses she offers, it seems an impossible project under difficult conditions, miles from anywhere. But Bart, Cole, and Teddy need this job in the worst way, so they take the project on her terms. Teddy wants to buy a home for his family; drained by a divorce, Cole wants to retire to Panama; Bart, with two injured knees, has no future as a laborer, so he takes drugs, the only path he sees to the finish line and Gretchen’s bonus. Plagued by hallucinations from meth use, Bart has a horrific accident with a table saw. Cole’s stunned reaction plunges them into a nightmare they never envisioned.
VERDICT Butler’s award-winning talent as a storyteller (Little Faith) propels his characters on a heart-stopping, daring race with unexpected outcomes. Godspeed indeed.
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