Book ~ "Pawnbroker" (2013) Jerry Hatchett

From Goodreads ~ Gray Bolton has a secret worth killing for. He just doesn't know what it is. His life as a pawnbroker in a Mississippi town is good. He has a beautiful family and the future looks bright. Then an armed robber walks in and changes everything. Bolton kills the man, then discovers that he was anything but a common criminal. 

Trouble cascades upon Bolton from the police, from home and from unknown parties who may be the most vicious of all. They all appear to be after the same thing and they will all do anything to get it. Unfortunately, Bolton has no idea what that thing is. His battle to find out will test him in ways he couldn't have imagined, and the stakes are simple: Everything.

Gray is a pawnbroker.  He is married to his high school sweetheart, Abby, and they have two young daughters.  They live in a town where everybody knows everyone else.  He is bored by the daily routine of people bringing their junk in with sad stories and expecting a lot of money in return.

One day that all changes.  An armed robber comes into the shop and Gray has to kill him in self-defense.  It turns out that the robber is actually a cop and Gray gets arrested for murder.  Knowing his small-town lawyer can't handle this cause, he hires a big shot lawyer from Memphis named Lucas. As things quickly start spinning out of control, it's up to Gray and Penny (Lucas' investigator) to figure out what's going and what everyone is looking for.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I liked it.

I liked the writing style.  It was fast-paced and the chapters were short and snappy which moved the action along quickly.  The story is told in first person in Gray's voice, though things happen in the third person when he's not in the scene.  As a head's up, the language and activity are for mature readers.

The story was an interesting one.  There's a lot going on from different angles and you'll wonder what's the point of this or that (like the young Mexican maid).  I'm not going to spoil it by revealing what everyone was looking for but once it's found, it all makes sense and ties everything in.  I figured out who the big boss was way before the end and it was fun to go along for the ride until Gray figures it out.

I liked the characters, Gray and Penny.  They worked well together and had a tight friendship despite having just met.  Gray also has a solid support system in best friend, Teddy, and the elderly couple, Doc and Angie.  Jerry "the Geek" was a fun geeky character.  Sheriff Ballard is sadistic bully and I was hoping he would get what he had coming.

I'd recommend this book.