Diamond Dogs

From Barnes & Noble

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When the galleys for this first novel arrived at our offices, several of us volunteered to read it-all with few expectations. Little did we know that we'd signed up for one hell of a ride. Diamond Dogs is that coveted work of fiction that you can't put down from the moment you read the first page. Alan Watt has written an enthralling story surrounding a hit-and-run accident and its subsequent cover-up. But what resonates even more than the unfolding of this suspenseful tale is the relationship between a father and son, and writing that is powerfully evocative of the best of Pat Conroy and Tobias Wolff. High school senior Neil Garvin, a cocky, seemingly self-assured and much-worshipped quarterback of his high school football team, could actually be a pretty unlikable protagonist -if we weren't seeing the story through his eyes. But with a full understanding of his daily life, his family history, and his own frailty, he becomes not only real, but deeply sympathetic. When Neil arrogantly insists on getting behind the wheel one fateful night after having too much to drink, the horror that follows will change not only the course of his life, but that of his father as well. And the ripple effect of that one action will ultimately set both of them free from the bondage of their shared past.

Whether it takes you a few hours, half a day, or a couple of days to read, Diamond Dogs is a thoroughly satisfying, unpredictable, and promising page-turner from a writer to watch.

The New York Times Book Review

Dark, sparklingly written...subtle deadpan humor and slyly evoked telling details...a moving, multifaceted story.

Seattle Times

An exciting debut...a tight drama that quickly flies by.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Highly readable, if finally unconvincing, Watt's debut novel is the story of a bitter family legacy and a traumatic reckoning, as Watt explores the reasons an abusive father might risk everything to cover up a crime committed by his damaged, equally cruel teenage son. Inebriated after a party with his high school football team, Neil Garvin, 17, first-string quarterback and "the best arm in Nevada," accidentally kills a classmate, Ian Curtis. Neil's father, the sheriff of their small town near Las Vegas, covers up for his son. Ian's parents report the boy missing, and more than 300 students join in a search led by Neil's father. Mrs. Curtis asks her brother, an FBI agent, to help, and as the FBI tightens the net, Neil and his father must face some truths about their family. Watt, who is also a stand-up comic, has a knack for deploying well-timed plot points to reveal crucial information. The book starts off with faithful characterizations of the sad, angry father and son, and the dialogue between them is appropriately savage, but there are key moments in the story that don't ring true. The most unconvincing scene occurs at the narrative's dramatic apex, when Neil finally, and improbably, discovers the dark secret of why his mother left home when he was three. At the same time, the reasons for Neil's hellish childhood become melodramatically clear. Still, there are certain pleasures in this novel, including incisive scenes that capture the petty cruelties and poignant betrayals of adolescents. The author also gives vivid voice to a character type that has become a staple in modern American fiction: a man unmoored by divorce and filled with festering anger and alienation. Watt takes the archetype a step further, delineating how the father's desperate behavior affects his son, and how this pair find an uneasy peace in breaking the chain of lies and violence. 5-city author tour. (Sept.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Megan Harlan

[A] dark, sparklingly written first novel...Watt delivers a moving, multifaceted story that sharply explores the legacy of violence, distorted forms of love and the high cost of genuine freedom.
—New York Times Book Review