[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”Full Width Line” line_thickness=”1″ divider_color=”default” custom_height=”30″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” bottom_padding=”5%” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]
Chanticleer Review praises The Blind Pool’s characters, witty dialog, and action.
[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner column_margin=”default” text_align=”left”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]Chanticleer Book Reviews[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][image_with_animation image_url=”2124″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ width=”2/3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]”A hold-your-breath thrill-ride that does not disappoint.”
Read the review[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]The action takes place in the present tense, giving an immediacy and added suspense to already alarming situations. Much of the plot is moved forward by dialogue, and what dialogue it is! Witty, snappy, satiric, funny, anything but dull. Each of the four main characters has a distinctive conversational style, but the women especially shine. From Linda’s broken English to Melanie’s fluid charm, each can deliver a verbal punch when the situation calls for it. It’s a pleasure to read a novel that so celebrates the intricacies and art of the verbal take-down.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” bottom_padding=”5%” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]
The Midwest Review of Books issues a rave rating for The Blind Pool
[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner column_margin=”default” text_align=”left”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]Midwest Book Review[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][image_with_animation image_url=”2125″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ width=”2/3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]”The stuff from which blockbuster movies are made.”
Read the review[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]“In a deftly crafted and riveting novel that is based on an all too believable ((in these times) premise, “The Blind Pool” showcases author Paul McHugh’s genuine flair for narrative driven storytelling of the first order. The stuff from which blockbuster movies are made, “The Blind Pool” is an extraordinary read, and unreservedly recommended for community library collections.” – The Midwest Review of Books[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” bottom_padding=”5%” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]
The Blind Pool is highlighted in The San Francisco Chronicle
[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner column_margin=”default” text_align=”left”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][image_with_animation image_url=”2061″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ width=”2/3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]Columnist Leah Garchik highlights The Blind Pool’s notable review from venerated journalist Dan Rather.
Read the full column[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]Former Chronicle colleague/outdoor writer/novelist Paid McHugh’s new book is “The Blind Pool,” a thriller about a Russian crime ring that makes its way into the United States and conducts business out of a Texas prison. (This is not an account of Vladimir Plain’s vacation.)
Dan Rather calls it “a tight, taut thriller by a terrific storyteller. The political headlines of today make it timely as hell.” A blurb from anyone as well-known as Dan Rather is sought-after, to say the least. So I asked McHugh how he got it.
When McHugh published a journalism murder mystery, “Deadlines,” in 2010, he asked a friend on Rather’s staff if she could show it to him. He was just heading to Africa for a story and needed something to read on the plane. Which led to a very positive blurb that began with, “Every reporter worth his or her notepad is a sleuth at heart.”
A few months later, McHugh learned that Rather was appearing in South San Francisco, he bought tickets and a box of See’s dark chocolate marzipan to give to Rather as a thank-you. The gift begat a sporadic correspondence. But as Dorothy Parker once said, candy is dandy, the climax of the book happens to be set in rural West Texas, Rather country.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” bottom_padding=”5%” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]
Editor of the San Mateo Daily Journal weighs in on The Blind Pool
[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner column_margin=”default” text_align=”left”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]Jon Mays
Editor[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][image_with_animation image_url=”2063″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ width=”2/3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]Editor Jon Mays says author Paul McHugh is “on the move”…
Read the full column[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]It deals primarily with Russian oligarchs and connections deep into the U.S. government and even private prison system, out of which an organized crime ring operates. While the book is not political, there are shades of “ripped from the headlines” in that much of our nation’s attention is on possible Russian interference into our political system.
McHugh said he finished a draft of the book in 2015 and also wrote what could be considered now as a prequel. Though his themes were speculative back then, reality took over.
“As though a chrome ball on the roulette wheel bounced straight into the slot that I happened to bet on,” he said.
…
While thrillers typically don’t land on my nightstand, the book keeps the reader going back and forth between scenes and characters diving further into the underbelly of the international crime organization. While there is humor in the book, it is completely natural and compelling and serves to break up the rising and falling tension and, quite frankly, horrible circumstances and the protagonists’ struggle to survive and “beat the bad guys.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” bottom_padding=”5%” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]
Mendocino Beacon runs the story of McHugh’s local writing history
[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner column_margin=”default” text_align=”left”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]Paul McHugh
Author[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][image_with_animation image_url=”2065″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ width=”2/3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]McHugh’s story-telling at first focused on wildlife and ecological issues.
Read the full column[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]My pro writing began in Albion, was matured in Mendocino, and fed on local issues emanating from Fort Bragg. I was initially trained as a poet. But when I came here, I felt stunned by how many amazing environmental and outdoor adventure stories went whisking on by with zero mention in the regional media — particularly the dominant outlet, the San Francisco Chronicle. So I gave myself an assignment: What if I tried to write about such things, and do so as if I actually knew how to be a journalist?
Worked like a charm. First story I wrote was about unpaid environmental activists who labored by hand to clear old logging debris from the Albion River, so that salmon could again ascend to traditional spawning gravels I contrasted that with a gyppo logger’s flagrant abuse of a “diseased” diagnosis from a forester buddy to cut down healthy redwoods in a residential area of Redway, on a bend of the Briceland Road. I sold that tale for $50o bucks to “California Living” magazine.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” bottom_padding=”5%” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]
Coastal paper praises “prescience” of The Blind Pool
[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner column_margin=”default” text_align=”left”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]Clay Lambert
Editor[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][image_with_animation image_url=”2067″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ width=”2/3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]
“What if the criminal’s talents were seen as an asset?” McHugh asked. That question is answered in “The Blind Pool.”
Read the full column[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]If elements of his book make him look prescient, McHugh can thank the Panama Papers, which uncovered a vast conspiracy of behind-the-scenes criminal behavior undertaken by powerful people on a global scale. The narrative thread of his thriller, which features flawed heroes battling international criminal forces, could have been pulled directly from news reports of the Panama Papers. His Russian villain even receives citizenship from Malta — the same island nation in real-world turmoil after the death of a journalist who worked to unearth the Panama Papers.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” bottom_padding=”5%” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]
Kirkus is thrilled by The Blind Pool
[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner column_margin=”default” text_align=”left”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]Kirkus Review[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][image_with_animation image_url=”2069″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ width=”2/3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]
Tight action sequences and a high-energy plot that readers should relish.
Read the full column[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]A military veteran’s unpleasant encounter with a biker gang prompts an investigation into criminals using a Texas prison for their own gain in this thriller.
Dan Cowell and his common-law wife, Linda Parker, are enjoying a relaxing life in Key West, Florida. At least until Dan tries stopping bikers from tormenting an elderly couple on the highway, ending with both him and Linda beaten and humiliated. Dan’s friend and fellow Navy vet, Carl Blackadar, who does °discreet” government work, suggests tracking down the gang. This would benefit Carl as well Dan can ID the main assailant, Tank, whose gang Carl has linked to international theft and murder. Dan agrees; later, his eyewitness status is the likely motive for an assassination attempt against the common-law couple. The two men begin in Ecuador while Linda and her ex-journalist pal (and Carl’s girlfriend), Melanie Olson, investigate the matter separately. Mel believes she’s found Tank in a Texas jail, where the women travel under the pretense of writing a magazine article. Something is dearly wrong with the prison: How can Tank be in other countries if he’s locked up, and why doesn’t Linda recognize him? Things escalate when Dan and Carl get word that the two women have disappeared. McHugh’s (Deadlines, 2010, etc.) novel is brimming with action. Scuffles are quick and startling, while realistically varying in outcomes: some of the fights the good guys win; some they lose; and some involve frying pans. Characters have just as much impact, especially the women; Linda, a Moskita from Honduras, proves a formidable opponent against any attacker. The story initially bounces the perspective between the paired-off characters, but as they gradually split apart (for different reasons), the scenes shorten and the pace increases. Nevertheless, the author adeptly depicts the environment; at the prison, the women trek through “corridors that cradle” a dank musk “of male sweat as well as hints of feral vapor, stale urine and vomit, all laced by a turpentine reek of Pine-Sol.”
Tight action sequences and a high-energy plot that readers should relish.
From Kirkus Review[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” bottom_padding=”5%” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]
Los Angeles Times (Spanish Edition) champions Latin dimensions of The Blind Pool
[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner column_margin=”default” text_align=”left”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]Claudia Núñez
Editor[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][image_with_animation image_url=”2071″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ width=”2/3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]
The thriller fits McHugh like a glove, because a thriller author must have an ability to create credible characters, and “The Blind Pool” is filled to capacity with them.
Read the full column in Spanish
Read the full column in English[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]Throughout his career as an author, McHugh has focused on a rejection of stereotypes. So he endows his characters with complex characteristics, such as internal conflicts, wrong decisions and difficult confrontations. Such particularities brilliantly stand out in the female figures who inhabit the author’s stories.
“I’ve always believed that if you want to have a funny Latin male figure, do not make him Cantinflas. If you want to present a sexy Latina woman, do not make her a Carmen Miranda. Instead, what you should do is understand the culture of the characters, their background, and then proceed to flesh out a recognizable human being and make that character breathe. What I wanted to do with the women (in The Blind Poor) was to make them totally human and real, give them their own set of strengths and vulnerabilities. Not make them impeccable, but rather allow them to make mistakes, “says the writer.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” bottom_padding=”5%” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]
El Comercio is captivated by steady beat of surprises in The Blind Pool
[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner column_margin=”default” text_align=”left”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]Jorge R. Imbaquingo
Columnist[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][image_with_animation image_url=”2073″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ width=”2/3″ column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][vc_column_text]
Paul McHugh is a writer who can link vivid scenes with the thread of suspense.
Read the full column in Spanish[/vc_column_text][divider line_type=”No Line” custom_height=”20″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]The construction of McHugh’s narrative is as complex as the weaving of a Manabi hat. “The Blind Pool” is like a mosaic, with the big picture composed of the chips of smaller stories. They are united by a common theme, though: the hunt for a villain who controls a vast network of corruption. This is a very Latin way to tell a tale. Latin literature often employs a fragmented, even baroque narrative style to reveal parallel or circular realities.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
