Wire to Wire
by Scott Sparling

   Are you ready for an unexpected, unorthodox thrill ride? “Wire to Wire” by Scott Sparling is a beautifully crafted thrill ride of a novel, populated by uniquely flawed characters. While you may not expect to care about them, this skillful writer pulls you into the story with insightful writing that reveals unorthodox stories and settings.
   While hopping a ride on a freight train with his good buddy, Harp, Michael Slater is almost electrocuted when a live overhead power line hits him in the head, sending an enormous jolt of electricity through his body. After a brief stint of rehabilitation in Arizona, Michael runs back to meet up with Harp in northern Michigan after leaving a disreputable rival for dead in the remote desert.
   After driving the dead man’s broken-down vehicle back to reunite with Harp, Michael finds himself falling in love with Harp’s girlfriend, Lane, who - while lovely and incredibly sensual - has a significant addiction to sniffing glue. It also turns out that Lane’s brother, Charlie, is the area’s drug dealer who also runs a house of ill repute. Charlie is also involved in many other behind-the-scenes illicit schemes – some involving violence and destruction. One of his major problems is a dead girl in the freezer he must find a way to dispose of! And Michael is unaware that the beat-up car he drove from Arizona is padded with cash that others have not forgotten about. Nor is the creep he left dying in the desert likely to “forgive and forget”.
   Years later, Michael is still haunted by the events that play out when all of these incendiary ingredients collide. As he works as a film editor, his flickering video screens often seem to call up significant images and events that he is still trying to sort out. Michael also vividly recalls the romance and thrill of catching rides on box cars and roaming where the rails might take him, exploring an oddly poetic but gritty and wildly dangerous world.
   Not afraid of a expertly written thrill ride of a novel even if there is plenty of sex, drugs, and violence? - A novel filled with characters unlike any you have ever met who will make you care about them in spite of their deep flaws and addictions? Then “Wire to Wire” is for you! This novel is surprisingly wonderful and Sparling’s writing skill absolutely dazzles!
   Scott Sparling lives somewhere near the railroad tracks not far from Portland, Oregon with his wife and son.  “Wire to Wire” is his first novel.