When Allen writes a letter to his deranged, murderous father pleading for protection from bullies and the town's evil Sheriff, it prompts the Inmate (The Inmate) to break out of a maximum security prison and come home to "help." Allen cannot know the fury he has unleashed nor predict the inevitable confrontation that will finally set his family free. Shanked is the dark, yet heartwarming story of true fatherly love delivered at the end of a crudely sharpened metal spoon.
—M. J. Johnson