Customer Reviews

Gutshot Straight: A Novel

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Seems like a bizarre combination, but it is a very enjoyable read -- the two protagonists are well worth the price of admission. Somewhat reminiscent of Elmore Leonard .... hope Mr. Berney decides to write some more novels.

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.

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."

Love capers, love smart dialog, love action. Lou Berney satisfies on all accounts. He (or his protagonist) has got a sense of humor similar to mine, I suppose. If I had the talent I would write a book very similar to this. I was thoroughly entertained the entire night, while the power was off. I hope Berney enjoyed writing a novel sufficiently to do many encore performances.

Gutshot Straight is an action-driven, masterfully written maze of backstabbing and betrayal--don't blink or you'll miss some serious duping, drugging, stealing, and/or seducing. Berney is a master at propelling the story forward, with one devious character trumping another at every turn. Despite their obvious moral shortfalls (we're talking criminals, strippers, mafia, murderers here), Berney's cast of characters is likable. You'll even find yourself rooting for the bad guys (and girls), who are alluring even if it's just for their smarts and sexiness. The violence is never graphically over-the-top, so even when these bad guys are at their worst, it doesn't become a distraction or downfall. Berney's film and TV writing experience show--in the best of ways--throughout this novel. It's efficient, visual, and there are enough references to music that you can practically hear the soundtrack. A great read.

Shake is fresh out of prison when he is asked by his old boss to deliver a car to Las Vegas as a once off job to give him some quick money. He's horrified, half way there to find a lady gagged and bound in the boot of the car. He takes pity on her in Vegas when she tells him she's a kidnapped housewife named Gina and he decides he'd rather cross the Vegas and LA mob than send her to a certain death...only Shake is about to find out that he's mistaken in what he thinks he knows..

This is a clever mob novel full of shady characters. It's also a pretty unlikely story that tangles all over itself as everyone tries to recover from the initial mistake that shake made in giving Gina the benefit of the doubt. This is a clever read, but having said that I didn't really like any these characters enough to want to read this again. It's a quick way to pass a few hours, but this is not ultimately one of those books you go gushing to your friends to read.

Finally! A new voice in crime fiction worth reading! Berney has already been compared to both Hiaasen and Leonard, but for once the comparisons seem fair. I haven't been able to get this excited about a new writer in a long time.

Shake Bouchon isn't a bad guy; he just always manages to find himself in the wrong circumstances. He's just been released from prison, doing time for his part as the wheelman in a robbery, and not 48 hours later finds himself in hot water again. Armenian mob boss Alexandra Ilandryan wants him to make a delivery to a strip club owner, Dick Moby, in Las Vegas. It should be a simple hand-off, but of course it's not. Soon, Shake finds himself in the middle of a caper involving religious artifacts and strippers, after crossing two mob bosses and going on the run with one very dangerous lady.

This book is sheer fun from start to finish, and Lou Berney is definitely an author to watch. I'll be first in line to get his next book.