She Rides Shotgun

The book opens with Crazy Craig Hollington, the leader of Aryan Steel, calling out a hit on a man, his wife and their child - all from his Supermax cell at Pelican Bay State Prison. The language is all prison patois and rumbles along with a syncopated menace. This is going to be fun.

The dead man walking is Nate McClusky, out after a five year prison term but marked for death when he kills Craig's brother in prison. He doesn't get to his wife in time but manages to grab his 11 year old daughter Polly. They're on the run but they're not laying low and instead are hitting Aryan Steel hard in an attempt to get their hit lifted.

The whole book feels like the non-mutant version of Logan. Hugh Jackman as Nate McClusky, Dafne Keen as Polly, the girl with the gunfighter eyes and the stuffed teddy bear she expertly pantomimes. And it works so well.

Crooked cops, drug mules, prison hits, the story is lean and ripped, moves fast and hits hard. How this doesn't get made into a movie I don't even know.