Red
by Jack Ketchum

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Book Reviews of Red

Book Review: Ketchum Does It Again
Summary: 5 Stars

"Red" tells the story of Avery Ludlow, an elderly country gent who runs a little store out in the sticks while living with his trusty dog Red. Avery's wife has long passed away and his daughter lives far away, allowing Avery to do whatever he feels like doing in his spare time. One of his favorite pastimes is fishing, which is where we encounter Avery as the story begins. Unfortunately for Avery, even an activity as mundane as fishing has its own dangers. When three young toughs pay a visit to Avery's fishing hole, an attempted robbery leads to the shotgun killing of Red. What the three kids do not know is that Avery is a Korean War vet with an unpleasant family tragedy that has made him as tough as nails. He is not about to roll over for three snot-nosed punks, and the consequences of his stand slowly escalate tensions between Avery and the family of two of the boys. What starts with veiled threats quickly moves into the realm of broken windows, broken ribs, and armed confrontation with a predictable elegiac outcome.

"Red" is a sad story. Anyone who owns a pet will cringe when Red dies a violent, needless death. In fact, Ketchum is probably counting on this event to instill a killing rage in the reader. Are there any pet owners who would not feel Avery warranted in his quest for justice, any type of justice, for his dead dog? Ketchum wants us to sympathize with Avery right from the start, something that is easy to do when we meet the father of the boys who killed Red. Ketchum garners further sympathy from the reader when Avery's attempt to get redress through legal channels comes to nothing. Even a story about Red on the local news fails to remedy the situation. Ketchum fishes for our empathy at every turn of the story as Avery seeks restitution for the death of Red.

About the only unbelievable element of the story is Avery's relationship with a loud-mouthed New Yorker serving time as a reporter at the local television station. This relationship seems to come out of nowhere, apparently as a means for Avery to tell the reader about the family tragedy that claimed his wife and two sons.

The McCormack family, Avery's nemesis throughout the story (two of the boys are members of the family), suffers from a lack of detailed development. Ketchum continually hints at evil doings within the family but we never see anything concrete until the final showdown between the McCormack clan and Avery. For example, the McCormack's maid has a maimed hand, implying that the McCormack's had something to do with her injury. Regrettably, this chance for an excellent flashback story never appears. Perhaps a longer version of "Red" (it is currently 211 pages in mass market form) would shed light on this aspect of the McCormack family.
Purchasing this copy of "Red" treats you to a bonus short story, entitled "The Passenger." This grim tale of a murderous crime spree and bloody revenge should remind most readers of the Ketchum they know and love.

Janet is a young lawyer defending a scumbag in a murder case. Janet is a little angry that her sometime boyfriend Alan fools around on her every chance he gets. Her personal life quickly becomes insignificant when her car breaks down on the way home, where she gets a lift from Marion, an old high school acquaintance who turns out to be a complete wacko after suffering years of abuse from bad boyfriends. When the two hook up with a trio of vicious thugs on the run from the law the story descends into murder, madness, and mayhem.

Ketchum weaves several independent story threads into a seamless voyage into the dark underbelly of American life. This story should remind Ketchumites of his novel "Joyride," another tale of murder on the highway. The big difference here is the coldly calculated revenge Janet wreaks on her tormentors at the end of the story. The inclusion of this story here is much appreciated, as Ketchum's writings in any form are sometimes difficult to find.

What we find in this mass-market paperback is both the old and the new Jack Ketchum. Prepare yourself for suspense and bloody horror with the purchase of this book. Pick up this edition of "Red" before it goes out of print with the concomitant rise in price that will entail.

Summary of Red

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