Shooting Elvis [Paperback]

Robert M. Eversz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 16, 1997

Shooting Elvis is a highly charged, action packed thriller about a California good girl gone bad. Cute, blond Mary Alice Baker takes pictures of toddlers for a living, loves her mother, and is willing to inure the wrath of her violent father by photographing him in all his drunken, abusive glory. But on one life-altering day, Mary delivers a briefcase to a stranger at LAX for her Harley-driving boyfriend. When it explodes and levels a terminal, Mary becomes an accidental terrorist and transforms herself into Nina Zero - punk fugitive, thief, and private eye. Her quest to discover who set her up and why drives this fiercely intense narrative to its explosive ending.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sometimes too much uncommon adventure can only be described as common. Bored with her job as a kiddie photographer and lured by the promise of extra cash, Mary Alice Baker delivers a briefcase for her biker boyfriend, Wrex, to a man in the L.A. Airport. The exchange leaves her with a large locked case-contents unknown but certainly illegal-and the shocking blame of accidentally blowing up LAX with a bomb cached in the briefcase. Mary escapes the wreckage and holes up in a motel where she pierces her nose, dyes her hair jet-black and reinvents herself as Nina Zero. Nina's run-from the law, notoriety and the scam ring intent upon retrieving the locked case and eliminating her-brings her into contact with several classic L.A. types. Billy b, her roommate-turned-boyfriend who paints huge canvases of American kitsch symbols, and neurotic screenwriter Cass scheme to turn Nina into their ticket to fame. Ben and Jerry, hard-nosed, small-time PIs who employ Nina, help her dodge the law as she contrives to remain free and nab her stalkers. Throughout, Nina longs for home-despite her abusive father to whom she credits her violent "talents"-and laments the loss of trust in a world where turning a buck and getting the right press are key. This story aspires to be sharp, wry and brilliant and at times attains a legitimate glimmer. For the most part, however, like the smog and crime of L.A. itself, it rolls on predictably if somewhat distressingly. Film rights to Wild Wolf Productions
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Scientific American

An often funny, often violent, ripping roller-coaster ride laced with black humor, acid wit, and dead-on observations about life, fame and fortune in the late 1990s. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 217 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press; 1st Pbk. Ed edition (April 16, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802135013
• ISBN-13: 978-0802135018
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,930,275 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "I knew the gun was evil, an extension of the male desire to kill something just by willing it to happen.", May 2, 2006

By 

Snowbrocade (Santa Barbara, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Shooting Elvis (Paperback)

Shooting Elvis is wild out-of-control thriller about a woman who is set up by her sexy no-good boyfriend. At first glance Mary was a good girl working as a photographers assistance. Her taste for rough trade in boyfriends ends up making her a fugitive from the law. As a result, her good-girl veneer cracks to release the angry violent law-breaker within.

Mary turns into Nina Zero, an edgy photographer whose photos hang at a local museum while she is out shooting bad guys and getting tortured. This is an enthralling and sexy tale of a falsely accused fugitive trying to solve the mystery before she is taken to jail.

Eversz is a competent writer with a taste for Hollywood gothic and an ability to build interesting if twisted characters.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "What I wanted most was a new life. I got it.", March 13, 2006

By 

Jana L. Perskie "ceruleana" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shooting Elvis (Paperback)

Robert M. Eversz's protagonist, Mary Alice Baker, a.k.a. Nina Zero, introduces herself to the reader even before this suspense/thriller/mystery begins. The subtitle of the novel, supposedly her memoir which she wrote from prison, is "Confession of An Accidental Terrorist;" Copyright 1995; and then she penned her given name as the author. The confession is, of course, "Shooting Elvis," the explanation so desired by her very concerned mother who anxiously awaits the details of her offspring's short but impressive criminal career.

Mary Alice was once a law abiding, blonde, blue-eyed, talented twenty-plus year-old who photographed children for a living at Hansel and Gretel's Baby Photo Studio. She and her family - Mom, Pop and oldest brother Ray - lived in a blue collar community, a small town that never "amounted to much," just over the hills from L.A. The town's motto, "Small Towns Are Smile Towns."

Mary Alice did not smile much. Her father is an abusive alcoholic, prone to violence, and her mother, passive, loving, has taken everything he dished out over the years. Her daughter cannot understand why. I wrote above that Mary Alice is talented and this talent lies in her artistic sensibility which she expresses through the eye of the camera - obviously not the kind of work she turns out for Hansel and Gretel! Her photographic vocation is a bone of contention with Mr. Baker. "The idea I took photos to understand the world and myself made him suspicious, like maybe I was too stupid to understand that the world is a straightforward place where you have to work hard and support yourself and your family and then relax a little after, and art is for people who don't have to work for a living and unnecessary to guys like him, unless you consider television or action pictures art."

Wrex, Mary Alice's biker boyfriend, a real loser, persuades her to do a favor for him. After much effort on his part, she finally agrees to take his package, (contents unknown), to the airport and exchange it with a total stranger for another package, (contents unknown) - for the sum of $200. Mary Alice probably would have done it for free, eventually, with enough nagging. However, she spontaneously stated her fee, initially, to get Wrex off her back. She was shocked when he accepted and paid her upfront, especially since he was always broke. Obviously, her decision to help Wrex is a disastrous mistake. One could ask why Mary Alice, an intelligent young woman, does the favor, but then there would be no plot...right? This lack of believability is a major weakness in the storyline.

So, our girl drives to the airport, recognizes her contact, makes the exchange and barely escapes the subsequent violent explosion with her life. Now she is wanted by the LAPD and FBI for blowing up Los Angeles International. Some pretty scary underworld characters are looking for her also, as well as for the package she received and still has in her possession .

What's a girl to do? Mary Alice reinvents herself as ebony-haired Goth, Nina Zero, and winds up hanging out with LA's pseudo alienated, anti-intellectual, anti-art, artistic subculture, which views her as a photographer doing "explosive new work." There's her new roommate Billy b, a manic, driven, narcissistic artist whose giant paintings of famous folks, especially Elvis, represent the ultimate in American kitsch. And roomy number two - Cass, is an out of work screenwriter and all around retro punk.

Determined to discover what is behind the crimes she has become involved in, feisty Nina hooks up with the least reputable PIs in the city to learn the ropes of sleuthdom. These guys are the only ones who will hire her. Soon on the run from just about everyone, including her new "friends," Nina begins to discover the answers she seeks - most of them ludicrous. Warning! There is lots of mindless violence here - none of it particularly pertinent. Lots of action, little substance.

I would have put "Shooting Elvis" down at about page 100 except for the character of Mary Alice/Nina, who is fantastic. When Robert Eversz writes about her and her dysfunctional family he turns out some excellent prose. The story is told through a first person narrative, Nina's. Her take on most events is fascinating - she can't help some of the ridiculous scenarios the author involves her in. Some of the other minor characters, like the artists, are also quite good. Eversz really needs to work on his plot and subplots, however. These are weak. An intelligent lady like Nina needs an equally intelligent storyline to move around in...and readers enjoy meaningful plots with purpose too.

Worth reading as the introductory piece in the Nina Zero series, which I hope improves.

JANA

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting new protagonist, April 6, 2005

By 

L. J. Roberts (Oakland, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shooting Elvis (Paperback)

Mary/Nina is a product of her environment and the company she keeps. But she's also a tough survivor with a wry outlook on life. You can't help but like her. The action is fast-paced and certainly depicts the unglamorous side of Los Angeles. I shall keep following the trials and tribulations of Nina.