Customer Reviews

Bank Job

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Another top-notch book from Steve Brewer, the working man's Elmore Leonard. He may only get a fraction of the attention that Dutch does, but his work is just as entertaining. Bank Job is the witty and suspenseful story of three hayseed stick-up men on the lam who take an old bank robber and his wife hostage. When they force the retired crook to perform one last heist, things go more wrong than they ever could have imagined. Combining big laughs with some serious tension and a terrific plot, Bank Job is a real winner.

I have read every one of Steve Brewer's novels and have been impressed with each one. He is a master at creating quirky characters--a la Elmore Leonard--and at creating story lines that move with pace and excitement.

Brewer, as usual, brings in all the elements that keep me turning pages - an unexpected hero, action that starts from page one and unpredictable turns. The underrated novel by the criminally underrated Brewer is a real treat. Highly recommended.

"Bank Job" is the story of three small time crooks, brothers Leon and Junior Daggett and psycho-friend Roy Wade off on a self declared "crime spree" in northern California. Memorable for their bumbling stupidity, this inept trio is proof that the Darwin Awards will never run out of rich material. After a routine liquor store robbery leaves junior bleeding and picking glass out of his scalp, the boys seek refuge in a nearby cabin, whose resident happens to be retired bank robber Vince Carson and his elderly wife, Maria. Taking Maria hostage, the three geniuses enlist Vince to rob a bank for them, leading to a wacky and mostly gripping tale of suspense and chicanery.

Steve Brewer writes with a lively wit, tempered with enough of a flinty edge to keep the humor decidedly black. No pretense in Brewer's prose - this is simple entertainment cleanly told. For the most part, the story zipped along, with decent action and some interesting twists on a familiar plot. Not a novel you'll be thinking about two months from now or telling all your friends about, but a solid little tale you'll not regret.