GODSPEED

A trophy house, a struggling construction company, and an impossible deadline frame this tense story of greed and friendship.

Bart, Cole, and Teddy, blue-collar buddies since Utah childhoods, are now pushing 40 and business partners just getting by on small jobs in Wyoming’s Jackson Hole valley. Their prospects brighten when a wealthy West Coast lawyer named Gretchen offers them the contract to finish her eight-figure house in progress in the mountains outside town. It’s a lot of money for the job itself and comes with a hefty bonus if the men meet her deadline. That’s one problem, because she wants to move in within four months, a near impossibility given the work involved. There’s also the question of why the previous contractors didn’t stick with such a lucrative gig, not to mention the man who died in an accident on the site. But a six-figure bonus crushes a lot of misgivings. For almost half the book, Butler dwells on the beauty of the house and site, the builder’s dreams, the deadline’s pressure, the haves and have-nots as “more and more out-of-state money poured into their quaint little ski town.” The pace drags with repetition and lack of surprise. Fortunately the second half shifts into another gear, characters evolve amid the stress and several neat twists, and the action moves almost like a thriller to a stunning climax. As in his previous three novels, Butler brings sympathy and insight to the familiar rituals and dynamics of male friendship. He might have done more with Gretchen. She has an intriguing backstory that doesn’t develop, and while she’s an impressive force when onstage, the plot mostly keeps her in the wings.

An exceptional tale, once it gets going, of what money can do to those who need it.