High Side is a fast-paced, snappy novella about two formerly estranged brothers – Billy and Cole – who team up to take on an ambitious series of bank heists. Billy’s incredible skills on his motorcycle make him the perfect person for the job, and the rush of the high-speed getaways have him feeling alive in a way he hasn’t in years.
In short, this book tries very hard to feel like a Hollywood action movie, and has very little depth to it. The sharp, short sentences keep the pace going, which is good – it’s a quick read but feels as though it could somehow have been made even shorter. The cuts to the FBI agent’s perspective felt unnecessary and added little to the story.
The style of Oliveira’s writing lacks character and warmth – the blunt, staccato sentences grow old fairly quickly. There’s little to anchor you in the scene. The characters feel shallow and like stock characters, particularly the women. The main character’s love interest comes across a lot like the ‘Cool Girl’ from the monologue in Gone Girl – taking part of heists, zipping around on her bike, a tough girl. A cool girl! She wears (of all things) a sheer bra and thong under her motorcycle gear. This didn’t help with the overall feeling that this story is more wish fulfilment than a realistic heist drama.
Overall, I’m left with the impression this story was not written for me; it’s a male fantasy reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto V fanfiction. I do think High Side would translate pretty well to film (which is the intention) – just not the kind of film I’d be interested in seeing.
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