A Face Full of Ugly is one of a couple of novellas in support of Brian Knight's first novel in the new series The Misadventures of Butch Quick, there's also Big Trouble in Little Boots and the novel Sex, Death & Honey.

It doesn't matter where you start in the series, each works well as a stand-alone piece.

This one starts with our hero, Butch Quick, tied to a chair, cuffed with his own hand-cuffs and being beaten silly by Brick Houser. Once again the dialogue is crisp, witty and a lot of fun. Says Brick, "Maybe I just want to see if I can make that ugly mug of yours a little uglier...you've already got a face full of ugly, but I bet we can fit a bit more on there for you."

The characters are rich and well developed for a story of this length. There's the damsel in distress, Sharon Fitch, who jumped bail for possession and is the reason for Butch's being in his present situation. You see, Butch works as a bounty hunter for his Uncle Higheagle's Bail Bond company, did I mention Butch is Native American, seven feet tall and 300 pounds? Seems Butch isn't the only one looking for Sharon.

There's also the man who posted Sharon's bail, Professor Gary Charles who is one helluva fun character. The man Butch refers to as "Professor Pull My Finger" after their encounter.

As suggested by the name of the series, things rarely go as planed for Butch, of course, if they did these stories would not be nearly as much fun. ( )