Caught

Caught, Lisa Moore's newest novel, opens with a man escaping from prison and destined to repeat all the mistakes that put him there in the first place. David Slaney, a young Newfoundlander, has spent four years in the slammer for smuggling two tons of pot into Canada but has learned nothing from his experience. He's not a bad man, just a dreamer who likes to smoke a bit of weed and down a few beers, but he is naive and doesn't seem to recognize that he is once again in great peril. His best friend, Hearn, who eluded prison after the previous bust has set up this caper which should have set off alarm bells in Slaney's mind but he seems oblivious as he crosses the country to do it all again. As Slaney embarks on his doomed journey to Colombia the reader knows that it is hopeless. The would be smugglers are a sorry trio; his shipmates are a middle aged alcoholic and his teenaged girlfriend. They face numerous obstacles, including a hurricane, and I found myself rooting for the bad guys who also happen to be good guys.  Caught is a low-key adventure story, beautifully crafted as I knew it would be.