Gutshot Straight: A Novel

Lou Berney's debut novel was one of the best reads I've had in a long time. The dialogue was believable, the plot kept me awake, and Shake was one of the best charactors I have ever "met". If you are looking for a book with action, suspense, humor, and double cross, this is the book to get. Lou Berney has a way of making this charactor out to be the coolest person in the world, and even though Shake is an ex-con, I started to think of him as someone I would want as a friend. I was actually a little jealous of Gina. If Lou Berney continues in this genre (which I sorely hope he does) he will become one of the best Crime-Fiction Writers ever.

Absolutely adored this debut novel. I love crime capers in general so this was a great addition. Think Elmore Leonard, with the mixture of humor and twists and turns. The plot is pretty basic - guy gets in over his head (thanks to a beautiful woman) and has to evade two very brutal mobsters. Set in Las Vegas and Panama, the book isn't going to win awards for reinventing a new plot but it takes the tried and true and makes it feel fresh and clever. The double crosses are fantastic, and characters stay true to themselves. The plot twists come fast and furious. All of the characters, from the smallest players like an assistant's assistant, to the main characters of Shake and Gina are memorable. You root for the good guys because they are really good. You root against the bad guys because they are really bad. And Gina, well, she's something else altogether. A very interesting character who again, stays true to herself. She is who she is, love her or hate her, take it or leave it. And like Shake, the readers can't help but want to take it and love her. I read this book in two nights and I don't know how anyone else can put it down. The action picks up from page 1 and doesn't ever let go. The dialogue is bouncy and refreshing, the characters are interesting, the action is exciting, the writing is wonderful. If you like crime capers and are looking for a new writer to believe in, here is Lou Berney.

The pacing of the plot is smart and full of energy. Towards novel's end when we realize the entire book has taken place over 6 days, it makes sense. It has the necessary compact energy. The writing is crisp, often hilarious, and the finale (which I won't give away) almost doesn't need to be filmed because the author does a great job of creating a scene that I want to remember just that way. Previous reviews have mentioned the Tarantino influence they hope will be in the film version (there has to be one soon, I'm sure). But I for one hope there is no Tarantino influence. Berney's characters speak their own thoughts and are funny in their own ways, not the forced-ironic, hyper intelligent (but being too dumb to know better) WAY overrated Tarantino hipster garbage. On a side note, I find it curious that in this author's previous book, a collection of short stories, he has a story called "A Hundred Foreskins." To paraphrase Susan Sontag regarding Phillip Roth: "I'd love to meet him, but I'm not sure I'd want to shake his hand."

"Shake" Bouchon is a small-time felon, basically just a getaway car driver. The simple fact is that Shake is just too amiable and aimless to get involved in serious criminal acts. But he has been around the block a few times and knows how to keep his wits about him. In this roller-coaster of a caper story, Shake is supposed to deliver a package from one crime boss to another, but when he finds out what the package is, his amiable nature causes him to do something that puts him at cross-purposes with the two crime lords, their muscular and bad-tempered henchmen, and an assortment of other characters looking to make an easy score off of Shake's predicament. Shake needs all of his skills to figure out who's conning whom and how a small fish like him can survive among the sharks. There are plenty of interesting characters, the writing is very good, and the plot is both entertaining and usually very believable. I look forward to Berney's next book.

This was a nice engaging read. Sexy tension, good guy with bad luck and a checkered past, and a plot that takes you to interesting locations and has two nice twists. It's also pretty funny at times. It's a book about a man trying to do the right thing, and repeatedly missing that mark on the way to ultimately getting something approximating honor. He's fresh out of the slammer and quickly runs into trouble... that's all I'll tell you specifically, but this is a book that takes you on long range journeys. The quality of the writing is certainly good. What I like is a book whose author doesn't get out of the story's way, and paces plot and ideas and descriptions well. I don't want a 2 page explanation of a phone call, but I don't mind knowing what that hero's love interest smells like. You know enough to make reasonable guesses as to what's going on, but the mystery is with you for most of the ride. It's worth a read, I think. It's not going to change your life. Thrilling, good suspense, tense interactions, and satisfying episodes of our hero dealing with his situations, make this a book I greatly enjoyed.