Given that most thrillers are comfortably predictable, Borrowed Time is refreshingly not. Nolte writes in a style akin to Tony Hillerman, James Lee Burke and Elmore Leonard with the out-of-nowhere twists of Haruki Murakami. Even though the author on multiple occasions tells you what’s coming, the spoilers are still compelling enough to read on and find out how the story gets from one place to another. But unlike those previously mentioned authors, the overwhelming nihilism of many of the book’s characters ultimately does not hold and hope wins out.