Gutshot Straight: A Novel [Hardcover]

Lou Berney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 2010

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.

Now Shake and Gina are on the run to Panama, hoping to unload the very valuable—and highly unusual—contents of The Whale's briefcase. Shake could end up a rich man, but first he'll have to outmaneuver two angry crime bosses, a murderous Armenian thug plagued by erectile superfunction, a former pro football player who blames Shake for his romantic woes, and a billionaire swindler with a flair for the theatrical. Not to mention, and not the least, Shake will need to survive his own heart, since he's going to discover that wholesome housewife Gina is even more intriguing, and a lot more complicated, than he ever imagined.

Full of blindsided double-crosses and hard shots to the head, Gutshot Straight is a tale of love, luck, and larceny against the odds.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Berney, author of the collection The Road to Bobby Joe and Other Stories, proves just as adept at longer fiction in this fast-moving caper novel, which smoothly blends humor, action and romantic frisson. Charles Shake Bouchon steps out of a California prison resolved to stay free and clear; 48 hours later he's effectively double-crossed powerful Armenian L.A. mob boss Alexandra Ilandryan, ripped off dangerous Las Vegas powerhouse Dick the Whale Moby and impulsively rescued exotic con woman Gina Clement, who may be the most dangerous of the three. Extremely rare, highly unusual religious artifacts play a key role as the 42-year-old Shake attempts to extricate himself from a situation that gets more complex and deadly by the hour. Shake is a quick-thinking fellow with dreams of owning a restaurant, but if fate is kind, he'll return for the same kinds of adventures as those Berney recounts in this engaging debut. (Jan.)
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* Charles “Shake” Bouchon leaves prison intending to go straight. But, within hours, lovely, lethal Lexy Ilandryan, head of LA’s Armenian mob and Shake’s one-time lover, has him running an “errand” for her. The task seems simple: drive a car to Las Vegas and turn it over to Dick Moby, a 400-pound sadist who runs a strip club. Moby will give him a briefcase that he is to return to Lexy. Shake needs the three large Lexy hands him, but he quickly learns that nothing is as it seems; in short order, he’s ditched by a gorgeous young stripper who had been stuffed in the car’s trunk and is on the run from the Armenians and Moby’s able henchman. She’s also searching for the briefcase, which contains a priceless religious relic. Virtually every character is memorable, and the chemistry between Shake and Gina, the gorgeous and devious stripper, is brilliant. The plot turns are constant, and the dialogue is sharp. The bad guys are wonderfully scary, and the locales—Las Vegas and Panama—are vividly drawn. The estimable Elmore Leonard might be very pleased to call Gutshot Straight his own. --Thomas Gaughan

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (January 5, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061766046
• ISBN-13: 978-0061766046
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #406,346 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy, breezy, incredibly fun, January 22, 2010

By 

BookLover "Cinephile" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gutshot Straight: A Novel (Hardcover)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Roller-Coaster "Ride", July 12, 2010

By 

Karen B. "KB" (Santa Monica, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Gutshot Straight: A Novel (Hardcover)

Gutshot Straight is, without a doubt, the best crime story that I have read. On a scale of 1 to 10, when compared to all other books I have read, I would give this book an "11." The book is not only action-packed, with a plot full of twists and turns, as well as being humorous, but the book also provides detailed character development (which is often lacking in most action-packed books that I have read). I loved the characters and hope that a sequel, or at least another book by Lou Berney will be written and published in the not too distant future. I choose not to provide any details about the plot since that is what makes this book full of surprises and twists and turns until the very end of the book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Plot Twists are Skillfully Navigated, June 8, 2010

By 

Bookreporter (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gutshot Straight: A Novel (Hardcover)

GUTSHOT STRAIGHT, we are told, was written in the throes of the 2007-2008 film and television writers' strike. Indeed, this debut novel by Lou Berney has a cinematic feel to it; as with the best of books, you can see each and every scene unreeling in your head as sentence after sentence flies by. In fact, there are parts of the first few chapters that will put you in the mind of the film Transporter (though it does not stay in that groove for long), and its overall tone --- lightheartedly serious --- is reminiscent of Midnight Run. By the time you have reached the last few pages, however, odds are that you won't have a clue as to how it's going to end.

The focal point of GUTSHOT STRAIGHT is a likable con named Charles "Shake" Bouchon (the origin of his nickname is worth the price of admission itself), a short-timer whose release from prison on a grand theft auto beef finds him almost immediately picking up where he left off. Bouchon is offered big money for a simple job: drive from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, deliver an automobile, pick up a briefcase, and fly back. Things become complicated, though, when Shake hears a persistent thumping in the trunk and discovers a very frightened woman inside. She introduces herself as Gina, a Mormon housewife whose husband has a gambling problem and who finds herself involuntarily transformed into rough collateral for his creditors.

As we and Shake soon discover, however, Gina is lying about everything, and Shake, by virtue of having opened the trunk, is in even more trouble than Gina is in. Shake's employer is unhappy with him; even worse, a homicidal character named Dick Moby, otherwise known as "The Whale," is extremely angry with him, given that he wants to take possession of Gina in the worst way. What makes Shake's life even more interesting is that the briefcase contains mysterious contents, which turn out to be a strange sort of historical artifacts.

Shake and Gina become reluctant, on-again/off-again partners, neither of whom can completely trust the other and yet cannot entirely screw each other over either. Before it's all over, Shake, Gina and a very dangerous supporting cast are involved in a face-off on the island of Panama, where it is anyone's guess as to who is going to walk away with what --- or with whom.

Comparisons between Berney and Elmore Leonard are perhaps inevitable, with Berney more than adequately holding his own. There are plot twists that are wondrously and skillfully navigated, one of the most unique MacGuffins I have encountered recently, and, perhaps most importantly, Gina, a strong, smart, attractive and dangerous woman who you won't soon forget. Nor will you forget GUTSHOT STRAIGHT.