The fish-out-of-water tale has been done to death. And judging from SLEEP WITH THE FISHES, Brian M. Wiprud seems to have watched a few too many films.

Sid “Sleep” Bifulco is a mobster who ratted out his former cohorts. But instead of taking the federal witness protection option, Sid serves his time, having made adeal with a rival family. While in prison, Sid just wants to keep to himself and read FIELD & STREAM-type magazines. So Sid grows a passion for fishing. Yes, he learns to fish while in prison. After Sid is released, all he wants to do is spend his days fishing, so he moves to a little podunk town filled with more “wacky” characters than are necessary.

We get a cop whose wife is pregnant and films porn. Two guys called Little Bob and Big Bob. A guy who thinks all music stopped after those first two Boston albums. Then there is Sid’s neighbor, who has a tie to him that neither realize until much later. Of course, Sid can’t live his life in peace since there is an escaped former mob cohort on his tail, seeking revenge. Well, that is, until the killer gets killed by accident.

From there, the book switches to comedy-of-errors mode. You know, the kind of story where identities are mistaken and, of course, there is a precious object everyone in town needs to get their hands on – in this case, a videotape of the would-be killer’s accident and then the planning of how to get rid of him. Look, SLEEP WITH THE FISHES is fun and breezy, but this material has been pursued so many times before. If you’re not familar with this type of story, you’ll have pure fun. But everyone else just might want to pass. He did better last time out. –Bruce Grossman

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OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• CROOKED by Brian M. Wiprud