Lou was the visiting fiction professor during my MFA program. He led a great class, and man was he blunt and critical (without being harshly so), so I was really excited to read his work and tear it a new one so he could see what it was like, eh Lou? How you like me now?!? But this book was too much fun. Great characters, funny dialogue, excellent pacing. Okay, I guess the guy knew what he was talking about, huh? A crime caper in the tradition of Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen, this fast and funny debut is the story of "Shake" Bouchon, fresh out of prison and ready for life on the straight and narrow—well, maybe after *one* last job. . . .When Charles "Shake" Bouchon, professional wheel man, walks out of prison after a three-year stretch for grand theft auto, he's got only two problems: he's too nice a guy for the life he's led and not nice enough for any other.So he says yes when he's asked to run a simple errand for his former boss and lover, Alexandra Ilandryan, the formidable pakhan of the Armenian mob in Los Angeles. All Shake has to do is deliver a package to Las Vegas and pick up a briefcase.Only the package turns out to be a wholesome young housewife named Gina whose husband has run afoul of Dick Moby, aka "The Whale," an unpleasant four-hundred-pound Vegas strip-club owner. Shake hates to think what's going to happen to Gina when he delivers her to The Whale, so in a move that's as noble as it is boneheaded, he decides to set her free.
What do You think about Gunshot Straight (2000)?
Great mystery with many plot twists. Looking forward to the next one.
—gera11
This was a freebie from Barnes and Noble for the Nook and I loved it.
—bob
Absolutely love this book. A mystery with a great sense of humor!!
—pchat
Fun and predictable. Still worth my time. :)
—jenniferpeace38
