Book Review: Hound Dogged

In the vibrant year of 1958, a time when Rock & Roll pulsated through teenage hearts, five friends found harmony in chaos, forming The Hound Dogs. As societal forces clash and cultural upheaval takes center stage, John, Stu, Jerry, Patrick, and Danny embark on a musical journey in the throes of a changing world.

Beneath the surface of their carefree strumming sessions in Stu’s mom’s basement, ambitions stir within the band. Tensions escalate, propelling The Hound Dogs toward an unexpected gig before a sizable audience, a challenge they are ill-prepared to face. Faced with the looming prospect of failure on stage, a talented newcomer, Danny Bruer, joins in and helps to save the day. However, Danny is preparing to audition for The Dice, a major band with a colossal ego, and they're determined to acquire something The Hound Dogs possess, whatever the cost.

Hound Dogged, the debut novel and the first book in a series by Rebecca Hendricks, was independently published June 2, 2023. BookBuzz.net provided a galley for review.

I'm always in for stories involving music, especially if they are period pieces that draw elements from a particular era. Here, we are talking 1958 in the early days of rock 'n' roll. It sounded like it could be a fun read.

The story here is a bit long (over 400 pages) and unfolds slowly at the start. The laid-back pacing does reflect the times when life was simpler; however, I do think it could have benefitted from some editing to make it tighter and snappier. I also would have avoided having so many of the lead characters all having names that start with the letter "J" (I found myself working very hard to keep them straight). The same thing happened with a lot of the female characters all having names that started with "M". There really was a large cast to juggle overall. Despite all of this, I did find that the story progressed logical, and Hendricks has an ear for dialogue that sounds natural and period appropriate.

The tricky thing with period pieces is making sure you get all the details right. From the book's blurb above, this is set in 1958. In one of the earliest chapters, the guys are playing in front of a crowd at the park on a spring day (says so in the text). But then the guys play Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues", a song which did not have its release as a B-side to the single "Love Again" until late summer of 1958. While most readers might not catch that detail, ones that know music (or know how to do a quick Internet search) will. It's the little details that can slip a writer up if they are not careful. Luckily, many of the other references Hendricks sprinkled in did pan out (I found myself checking every one of them after catching this first one), so this error might have been one that fell through the cracks. Again, a good editor would have caught this.

For readers looking for a clean, wholesome story about twenty-somethings set in a simpler time, Hound Dogged has you covered. But, as noted earlier, this is just book one of a series. There are several definite cliffhangers at the end of this one.