Dirtbags Paperback – April 3, 2014

Dirtbags is not exactly a cozy little story about princesses and unicorns and rainbows and sponges and starfish. In fact, it is not even close. Instead, it is a story about serial killers. It is a story about a small town in Virginia where the factories have all closed and there is little left to do but hate. Indeed, “if a fella ain’t content with working at a tire shop or bagging groceries or sweeping the street, then forever he’ll nurse an itch that cannot be scratched.”In this tale, the author gives us a glimpse into a world where disenfranchised folk find fascination with serial killers and their brief brushes with fame. It’s a world of young men who have never gotten over their bitter high school experiences and who wonder if most of those folks would have better off not having gone through their post-high school lives which were mostly filled with disappointment and crap. If there are any life lessons to be gleaned here, it is perhaps that the guy who hires a killer to off his ex-wife had best not stiff the guy.What makes this book fantastic is not the subject matter and there are others who have surely plumbed the subject before. But, here, the tone is easy-to-read, sardonic, and captivating. What could have ended up as a story told in poor taste or over-the-top comic-book-style violence actually works.This is not the bitter grittiness of Natural Born Killers, not just some path blazed across the plains. Rather, it begins and ends in trailer parks and clubs at the outskirts of towns and you realize how many bitter, disconnected people are out there who might try anything – just to do something.

I've known Eryk Pruitt on and off for several years. He is a polite, soft-spoken, intelligent gentleman. It's interesting to see this kind of book come from within that wrapping. Note: even though I know Eryk, this was NOT a free-for-review book. I purchased it and chose to review it for myself.I haven't been pulled emotionally like this by a book in a long time. While there were parts where I was a little bored, overall, it was riveting. It is well crafted and well written and the characters are distinct and believable.This book was broken into three parts and each part followed a different character, although all the parts were intertwined with a central plot.In part one it was interesting to witness the start of a serial killer.Part two was my favorite section of the book. It took me a while to get into part two after leaving part one - it went from fast pace to slow, plus switched characters, and it had to pick up speed again. Once I was into it though, hoo-boy!Part three wasn't as exciting to me as the other two but it was still good and it built up another great character.This book's characters reminded me, very loosely, of The Gap Into Conflict - The Real Story by Stephen R. Donaldson. These two books are nothing alike and they aren't even in the same genre. Why then? The Gap book was the only book I've ever read where I disliked every single character and still loved the book. Dirtbags is similar and While it does have some likable characters, I disliked a lot of them and still liked the book.One suggestion I would make to anyone reading this book is to really think about the last sentence of the book. Don't just skim it and say, yep, the book's over. Read it again and think about all the implications.Overall, a great book. I think I'll see if I can get my copy signed.Note for author: Eryk, you should record this as an audio book with you reading it. Your voice would be great for this.

Some people are just not intended to think for themselves. Oh, the mischief that ensues when they try.Eryk Pruitt's novel Dirtbags is both an experiment in terror and hilarity, made all the more so by the plausibility of the story. The characters seem more that believable - you've met these f!@#$%s at work, in a bar room, s%#t - you may be related to some of them.Do yourself a favor. Drop everything else and read this book. You'll only want to read everything else this guy's written. I know I do.

Such a rich cast of seemingly random characters in this game of chess, but they all have a part to play and boy, how they all tie together like tight little sutures. What looks simple on the outside actually harbors a hot, gooey complex center as the given facts start to wear through to show the actual truths, as these random pieces start to fit together perfectly in a twisted Ed Gein style puzzle.Thrills, chills, gore, sex, depravity, and a little bit of heartbreak, this is exactly what you need in your life. Eryk Pruitt is a fresh voice in literature, yeah I said it literature, and I hope he sticks around for a while. "Dirtbags" is a donkey punch to the head and one hell of a read. Check it out."Sometimes the stories were true, but often enough they weren't. But some of them were."

An interesting tale devoted in part to an oddball's efforts to secure his legacy as one of America's most famous serial killers. All he has to do is keep the body count rising and keep himself moving up the league table. His unlikely ambition of securing a role as a paid hitman, the go-to guy when you want someone wiped out, will surely follow. Calvin while possessing balls and a fondness for the wet work, may not be the sharpest tool in the box.We spend a fair bit of time with Calvin our killer as well as his first client, Tom London. London loves his son, but that aside is a full-on sleazebag. Brains in his pants and a hate directed toward his ex-wife who wants to share access to their young son. London hires Calvin to remove his ex-wife. That his latest conquest Rhonda, his restaurant manger is also Calvin's wife, further complicates matters.Rhonda herself has her issues and a less than idyllic upbringing as we explore her past and her role in Calvin's plan.There's plenty of death on display, but Pruitt injects enough humour within the tale to elevate it above more than just a gore-fest. There's a small town setting which I liked and an eccentric cast of characters, not especially likeable but interesting enough to command your attention and have an investment in where Pruitt wants to take them.Never a dull moment. Not everyone's cup of tea, but definitely mine.4.5 from 5I've read Eryk Pruitt's Hashtag before, another highly recommended read.Read in August, 2017Published - 2014Page count - 201Source - purchased copyFormat - Kindle

In recent months I’ve developed a real soft spot for what might be described as Southern Noir. The hillbillies and their meth habits, the illicit cooks in some trailer in the back of beyond, the small town sheriffs who if it weren’t for 4x4’s and mobile phones could just as easily step out of the Wild West. Perhaps it’s a product of watching too much Breaking Bad, or maybe it’s just the safe knowledge that as a resident of a nice English town I’m unlikely to ever meet any of the characters’ real life equivalents. Whatever it is I can’t get enough.If you share my fascination in all things redneck, then Dirtbags is for you. This is a serial killer novel with a difference. Basically, hillbilly wannabe murderer agrees to off somebody’s wife. To help him do it, he partners up with his neighbour a couple of trailers down, a wannabe spree killer. Off they go to kill the wife deciding that this will be the beginning of a new career, which will make them more famous than Bundy, Dahmer, and all the others put together. Cue much darkly comic (emphasis on the word dark) and very violent antics.This is a well-written novel which doesn’t shy away from some pretty grotesque themes. The characters are well rounded and I couldn’t help but wonder how well the author knows this world. He seems to know it a lot. Whether that’s down to research or because he’s lived it, I can’t say. But what I can conclude is that he takes the reader on a wild rollercoaster and left me looking forward to the sequel.

good story

brill book

Unusual plot with interesting twists and good characters