The Money Belt

Alan Robertson's Money Belt is irreverent, bawdy, action-packed fun. Set in Northern Michigan, it captures the quirkiness of its "Youper" characters while taking the reader through a really good story. The Money Belt won't win a Pulitzer, but it will definitely show you a good time. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Ralph Wahlstrom, author of The Tao Of Writing: Imagine. Create. Flow.

I have recently finished reading The Money Belt, an excellent first novel, by Alan Robertson and I anxiously await the sequel. The Money Belt is set in Marquette, a small town in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The story is more about the type of person/people you may find living in the U.P. than the place itself. It is a fun read. The Money Belt is not your typical bank heist, crime novel, but it does have that element essential to all good novels, a plot that keeps you tied to the pages. The use of humor, colorful characters and interesting subplots brings to mind the writing of Carl Hiaasen. Buy the book, it will be money well spent.

I loved this book. I was hooked since the first page. It is very well written with smart humor and a thought provoking plot. You can't help but to absolutely love Willie with his priceless imagination. My sympathies poured out to Eric Kramer for having car trouble, causing him to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. All the characters are colorful, well written and developed. The imagination, humor, and suspense kept me on the edge of my seat. It grabs your emotions and gets you involved. Money Belt leaves the reader wanting more and has made me a true Robertson fan. I look forward to more books by Alan Robertson. He is an excellent and talented writer.

Reviewed by Tyler R. Tichelaar for Reader Views (12/08) I was very excited to read "The Money Belt" because it is set in my hometown of Marquette, Michigan even though the description of the story sounded far-fetched when I first read it. However, not only did the author do an excellent job of making it clear where all the action was set--for anyone familiar with Marquette, Michigan--but he built an entertaining plot full of colorful characters that made it difficult to put the book down. The story begins when Willie Salo, a drinking, pot-smoking, partying, womanizing fellow finds a money belt at the local dump. He soon gets the idea to use the belt to create a bomb he can attach to a wealthy man so he can make that person do whatever he wants, primarily get him millions of dollars. He tells his ex-girlfriend, Carmen, about his plan, hoping it will make her come back to him. Carmen is married to a wealthy man but she only married him for his money and would rather be with Willie. Once Willie has the money, she plans to spend her days with the man she loves. Together the two of them quickly scheme and take their opportunity when it presents itself. Through a series of mishaps for several people in the Marquette area, Willie has the chance he has been awaiting when a wealthy man ends up in a dumpster at the Flat Squirrel Bar. From that point, the plot thickens with many twists and turns along the twisting turning road to Big Bay that involves a logging truck losing its load on the highway, a bank president being framed, and an airplane pilot finding love. I won't summarize the plot more because it will give away too much of the suspense regarding what happens to all the characters. While the plot of "The Money Belt" may be a bit far-fetched, readers will enjoy this escapist story and even come to feel a bit of fondness for the main characters, despite their less than moral or likeable personalities. Robertson is a master at keeping the plot moving and the reader interested. With a couple exceptions, he writes short fast-paced chapters, and without giving too much detail, he provides believable character portraits that make the characters' motivations always clear. Anyone who loves a good story, especially one with many twists and turns will love this book. My only complaint is that the ending was left a bit open--a sign I hope that Alan Robertson will write a sequel to "The Money Belt" because I want to know what happened next for the characters. I hope for more entertaining books from Robertson's pen. His first book, "The Money Belt" is definitely first notch in its genre.

If you are looking for an off beat hilarious excursion into thriller land, then pick up a copy of Alan Robertson's debut novel, The Money Belt. You won't be disappointed. This one is a pretty good romp into the world of crime with its playful turns of plot and where characters accidentally become entwined into a mind-boggling plot in Marquette, Michigan, a tourist town on the shores of Lake Superior. The narrative is jump-started when the novel's central character, Willy Salo is dumped by his girlfriend Carmen in favor of an older financially well off gentleman. Quite peeved at what has happened, Willy drowns himself in liquor while rationalizing why he was chucked aside. Willy is a chap who takes pleasure in dreaming up all kinds of lame brain moneymaking schemes. One day, while scrimmaging through the county dump, he discovers an old black money belt lying amid the mounds of rubbish. Willy brings his prized treasure home and applying his little knowledge of electronics comes up with a plan to turn the money-belt into a time bomb where he would place a radio-controlled bomb in the belt, strap it on someone who had a load of cash, and then tell him if he doesn't fork over the cash, he will be blown to bits. Our protagonist is not quite sure how all of this is going to pan out; however, things begin to take shape when he visits his favorite bar, the Flat Squirrel. It is here where Willy accidentally bumps into Carmen and tries to persuade her to leave her husband and shack up with him. However, Carmen is quite content with her comfortable life style, that is until Willy says he has something up his sleeve that will make him rich, and Carmen's ears perk up. Not knowing what Willy has in mind, Carmen blurts out: "you are not going to rob a bank," wherein Willy replies: "No hun, I'm not going to do it...Someone else is going to do it for me." Carmen is quite sceptical after hearing Willy's plan and throws at him all kinds of questions, however, after thinking it over, she agrees to go along with him and promises to escape with him to a far off island after he becomes rich. While all of this is transpiring, a banker, Eric Kramer is just about to enter his car on his way to a banquet held by his boss's daughter, when he is stopped in his tracks as he helplessly watches his beautiful car being ruined by a fire. While waiting on the roadside, one of his employees, Doreen, who incidentally is also a former girlfriend of Willy, drives by. Kramer asks her where he can find a pay phone and she tells him she will gladly drive him to the Flat Squirrel where he can make all of his necessary calls. It is at the Flat Squirrel where Kramer's meets an attractive blond, Sheila, and where his catastrophic problems begin. Sheila happens to be the girlfriend of a jealous boyfriend, Moose McCullough, who is built like a truck. Sheila comes onto Kramer and unfortunately this leads to a series of unforeseen mishaps where, as Kramer further on in the story recounts,