Customer Reviews

Shooting Elvis

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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

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.

SHOOTING ELVIS is an action thriller, but it has an unusual twist at the start that separates it from many other thrillers. This unusual feature is that the very first thing we are told is that Mary Baker is telling us the story from her prison cell. Given that the bulk of the book is about her attempts to hide from the FBI and the police, we know from the start that she is ultimately unsuccessful. But as we are to learn, success or failure can be a very subjective thing.

Mary Baker should have known better than to trust Wrex. Her unshaven, tattooed, Harley-riding boyfriend with his ripped jeans and red bandanna was hardly convincing when he pleaded with her to deliver a package to someone waiting at L.A. International Airport. The package turns out to be a briefcase and moments after she has delivered it to a man with a foreign accent, the briefcase explodes killing the man and ensuring that pandemonium breaks out. In return for the briefcase, she has been given a heavy case which she manages to get to her car amid the confusion and then makes herself scarce.

After taking a little time to recover from the excitement at the airport, Mary soon realises that it won't be long before the police or the FBI come looking for her, so she decides to change her appearance and go into hiding. Before she gets a chance to leave though, she is visited by a couple of look-alike foreign agent-types who want to get their hands on the case she picked up from the airport. It's a visit from which she barely escapes and understands that her need to hide will be important to her health as well as to her freedom.

So Mary reinvents herself as Nina Zero, a retro punk drop-out, used to surviving the harsh street life. She finds herself a couple of room-mates who are suitably off-beat while providing adequate cover. Billy b is a driven artist intent on producing the ultimate American kitsch symbol and Cass is an out of work screenwriter waiting for her big break to come along. They each discover that the answer to what they are looking for may have walked into their laps in the form of the fugitive Mary and prepare themselves for fame or fortune on the back of her notoriety.

Meanwhile, Mary (as Nina) divides her time between trying to break into the artistic photography scene and joining a detective agency. The first has always been a far off, unattainable dream while the second is her way of solving some of the mysteries brought about by her new role as criminal-in-hiding.

First and foremost, this is an entertaining thriller dealing primarily with a cat and mouse chase story, but it's told with a humorously droll delivery. But it's also an examination of the way the experience has affected Mary. She starts out as an ordinary young woman leading a reasonably normal uneventful life. She allowed herself to be pushed around by her father and boyfriend, lacking the courage to stick up for herself. By the end of the book, although she's in a lot more trouble, she's a changed woman and has come out of the ordeal a mentally stronger person. It's this character development that I thought gave the story tremendous depth, unexpectedly so.

Robert Eversz has managed to keep the tone of the novel light even though the action becomes quite tense, sometimes downright desperate. The story moves ahead at all times without any flat spots, occasionally taking time out from the main chase storyline to explore a minor life experience that adds to the transformation from Mary to Nina. I found the book to be very entertaining, culminating in a poignant, satisfying ending.

Underneath the veneer of wanna-be hipness designed to draw in the 20-something set, this is a pretty basic piece of airplane/beach reading. An unassuming good young woman gets caught up in some sort of underworld deal gone bad when she delivers a package for her rocker boyfriend. What follows is a pretty typical girl on the lam story in which she must transform herself (both in look and attitude, clever eh?) in order to survive. Unfortunately her transformation isn't particularly interesting and seems to falter depending on the requirements of the plot. One reviewer calls this "punk noir" which is laughable, it's barely noir and has nothing to do with punk whatsoever. The best parts are when the hero describes her photography, descriptions which really sparkle and convince the reader of her love for shooting. Her family background is also nicely done, with a good portrayal of a domineering nasty father. Altogether its not a bad way to pass the time, just don't believe the hype about how "hip" the book is. If you like this, you might also want to check out Jen Banbury's "Like A Hold in the Head."

I read this a couple years ago and was thinking about it recently and wanted to read another like it. Thankfully Robert has written a sequel, I hope its as good as the last. Adventure, intrigue and a bit of excitement in Shooting Elvis. I enjoyed it and look forward to reading the next one.

I found this book to be entertaining.It's fast and has a sense of humor. Nina Zero makes a great lead character and I want to read more. Her transition from an hourly wage slave to fugitive on the run is fun to watch. Plus the author's take on LA is well done.

This book is worth the time to sit and read.

Mary Alice Baker is just an ordinary girl from a small Southern California town who's trying hard to be normal. She works in a baby photo studio at the mall and sees the world through her own much darker photography. She has an abusive father and a biker boyfriend. Then she quite unintentionally explodes a bomb at LAX, decides it's time to completely change her life, and becomes Nina Zero. Then things get complicated. As you get farther into this book, the story and Nina's personality both get darker, too, just like her photography. She hooks up with a kitsch artist and a paranoid documentary film-maker, goes to work for a grossly overweight detective, and learns how to handle a revolver. Mary Alice was basically a nice girl in fuzzy sweaters, but Nina is definitely dangerous. It's a fast read, only a little over 200 pages, but the protagonist becomes a very real person, deftly drawn and developed, and you'll care about what happens to her. Also, properly cast, this book would make a terrific movie!

Shooting Elvis is a page turner, okay, and it's funny as hell at times, but the real star of the book is Nina Zero, the heroine, or I should say anti-heroine. Her voice is unique in crime fiction; funny, tough and always yearning for answers that seem to just barely elude her. Her take on things L.A. is priceless.

Never heard of Eversz - picked the book up off a sale table. Best buy of the month. The name on the cover said "R M Everz" and I (female) read it thinking it had been written by a woman. Good going! I loved Nina's funky, gutsy character. The only trouble I had with her was that she was too clever to be that dumb about some things. Guess that was Mary Alice coming through. The story was well paced and action packed, with right-on-target humor and irony, but still held a poignant reminder of what abuse can do to a person. I'll be looking for MR Eversz next book.