It’s easy to make comparisons to Elmore Leonard with Lou Berney’s debut novel, since GUTSHOT STRAIGHT is filled with characters and situations that you would expect from the king of crime. An ex-con just getting out of jail will remind readers of OUT OF SIGHT. But once it leaves the prison setting behind, Berney’s story comes into its own.
Although clever, Charles “Shake” Bouchon falls right back into his old life as a getaway driver when an old boss of his shows up with a simple job offer: driving a car and a briefcase to Las Vegas to deliver to a 400-pound thug nicknamed The Whale. Things go exactly as planned … in the sense that the package in the trunk is a housewife named Gina, who is about to play Shake like a toy piano.
Not to ruin things, but Gina is no ordinary housewife, and there is a good reason why she’s in the trunk, as Shake soon finds out in this comic caper that shines. Once the plot kicks in, readers will not want to stop, since Berney has created well-crafted characters who could easily populate the real world.
This is one of those novels where the plot sounds like one we’ve all read before — i.e. everyone is after a certain item — but Berney sure knows how to fill it with surprises. You have double-crosses, a Bernie Madoff type living in Panama, plenty of laughs, and what seems like a perfect set-up for a sequel.
I have to single out Berney’s decision of having The Flaming Lips’ “Turn It On” playing in a strip club. As cool as that would be to hear, you’re most likely going to get Foghat or some awful Poison song at such a joint. Berney reveals his influences ever so slightly throughout the story, throwing in pop-culture nods to things such as the current BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.
GUTSHOT STRAIGHT is a pleasant surprise that hopefully will give Berney the large audience he deserves. —Bruce Grossman
Related posts:
- WTF Q&A with GUTSHOT STRAIGHT’s Lou Berney
- TRAILER PARK >> Gutshot Straight
- The Last Straight Face
- Straight Cut
- The Wicked West II: Abomination & Other Tales
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m reading GUNSHOT STRAIGHT now and loving every page!
Never heard of it until this review, but sounds like something I should check out.
Started this last night and finished it this afternoon. This one is exceedingly well-paced and fun.