From the Publisher
"It's been awhile since I've read a novel so packed with vivid, energetic, pulsating characters. Their creator—Brad Smith—is a writer with lots of skill, lots of heart, lots of brains, and, yes, lots of hat." —Richard Russo
"For such a furiously funny writer, Smith has great reserves of tenderness." —The New York Times Book Review
"All Hat is an incendiary example of pedal-to-the-floor country noir. Brad Smith has got the goods—he's funny, poignant, evocative, and he tells a blistering tale. A writer to watch, a comet on the horizon." —Dennis Lehane
"Brad Smith could give clinics on how to write a mystery novel." —The Charlotte Observer
The New York Times
For such a furiously funny writer, Smith has great reserves of tenderness, and before he delivers the big racetrack showdown between Ray and Sonny, he bides his time with heartfelt views of a country life that is slowly slipping away. — Marilyn Stasio
Publishers Weekly
Smith (One-Eyed Jacks) serves up a fast-paced, wickedly funny tale of revenge in his second novel (and U.S. debut), set in a close-knit farming community in Ontario. Ray Dokes, nearing 40, has just spent several years in prison for assaulting Sonny Stanton, the thuggish young heir to a billion-dollar fortune who raped Dokes's sister. Dokes returns to his hometown and manages to steer clear of Stanton, who has several underhanded financial schemes going, the nastiest being an attempt to buy up local farms, then use the land to develop a race track as a showcase for the thoroughbreds of Stanton Stables. Dokes quietly settles into his new life as a roofer and helps his friend Pete Culpepper to breed horses in his spare time. Romance returns to Dokes's life when Culpepper hires a sexy young jockey named Chrissie to race his low-end thoroughbreds, but even as their liaison plays out, it's clear that Dokes pines for a local woman called Etta, whose farm is one of Stanton's prime targets. As Stanton's development plan gets underway, the townsfolk increasingly turn against him and, in spite of his admirable attempts to turn the other cheek, Dokes once again finds himself at the center of a showdown with the spoiled scion. Smith's neatly executed climax takes place at a horse race involving Sonny's steeds and a ringer Dokes introduces to get back at his arch rival. The novel offers a well-drawn ensemble cast and wry, memorable observations. Smith is a top-notch storyteller, and though some of the plot points are familiar and the ending too tidy, readers will be charmed. (Apr. 2) Forecast: If booksellers tap horsey types as well as general fiction readers, Smith's novel could make a strong showing. A striking cowboy-styled jacket should help sales, too. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Publishers Weekly
Smith (One-Eyed Jacks) serves up a fast-paced, wickedly funny tale of revenge in his second novel (and U.S. debut), set in a close-knit farming community in Ontario. Ray Dokes, nearing 40, has just spent several years in prison for assaulting Sonny Stanton, the thuggish young heir to a billion dollar fortune who raped Dokes's sister. Dokes returns to his hometown and manages to steer clear of Stanton, who has several underhanded financial schemes going, the nastiest being an attempt to buy up local farms, then use the land to develop a race track as a showcase for the thoroughbreds of Stanton Stables. Dokes quietly settles into his new life as a roofer and helps his friend Pete Culpepper to breed horses in his spare time. Romance returns to Dokes's life when Culpepper hires a sexy young jockey named Chrissie to race his low-rent thoroughbreds, but even as their liaison plays out, it's clear that Dokes pines for a local woman called Etta, whose farm is one of Stanton's prime targets. As Stanton's development plan gets underway, the townsfolk increasingly turn against him and, in spite of his admirable attempts to turn the other cheek, Dokes once again finds himself at the center of a showdown with the spoiled scion. Smith's neatly executed climax takes place at a horse race involving Sonny's steeds and a ringer Dokes introduces to get back at his arch rival. The novel offers a well drawn ensemble cast and wry, memorable observations. Smith is a topnotch storyteller, and though some of the plot points are familiar and the ending too tidy, readers will be charmed.
Booklist
Canadian author Smith has marvelous control of his material, effortlessly mixing laugh-out-loud comedy with streaks of country noir that call to mind Daniel Woodrell. This is Smith's first novel to be published in the U.S., and it's the best American crime-fiction debut since C. W. Box's OPEN SEASON.
Kirkus Reviews
An ex-convict, his former girlfriend, a rich horse-dealer's spoiled son, a preacher, a hooker, some gamblers, two low-wattage hired hands-these and others are scattered through this diffuse American debut. What now for Ray Dokes, released from prison and returning to the farmland on the northern shore of Lake Erie? The possibilities meander on. Will he rekindle his relationship with one-time girlfriend Etta Parr, who fights to save a failing farm and to care for her father, whose mind is increasingly errant? Or will Ray violate parole and face off with Sonny Stanton, the nemesis behind Ray's prison term? (The reasons for the sentence become apparent long before the narrative spells them out.) Will Pete Culpepper's farm also go bankrupt? Will Ray somehow connect with Stanton's dim farmhands, Dean and Paulie, clarifying at last why they, their barroom cohorts, and Misty, the exotic dancer they lust after, are part of the strung-together story? With Pete's character sketched in (his father was never there for him), and his objectives vague (he may go to Texas with Pete), only a jerrybuilt ending provides some answers as it ties up the splintered plot. To save the farms, Ray has a horse trainer dye a kidnapped racehorse's coat with drugstore hair dye so the championship stallion can pass for Pete's injured horse and run a race. The imposter wins, of course, and the take saves the farms. Some may find amusement in Dean and Paulie's attempt to force the championship horse to ejaculate so they can get rich marketing its semen. Many will tire of Smith's too frequent, folksy similes: "The blond departed the stage . . . like a man caught cheating at cards." The Ontario-based Smith sets all of thisagainst a finely detailed rural Canadian background. A hodgepodge. Agent: Ann Rittenberg
