Thanks For Killing Me [Paperback]

Bill Barol (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 29, 2011

THANKS FOR KILLING ME is the first novel from veteran journalist Bill Barol.

Meet Ray Finney, a charming but dim con man, and Shelly Muzzo, the ex-LAPD detective who looks after him. The partners have a good thing going with a fake murder-for-hire scam, and the future looks bright... until they try to con Robin Tandy. Robin isn't about to be conned. She has other plans, like finding an escape from her deadening marriage to a wealthy investor. That's when the tables turn. Then they turn again. Before the three know what's happening they find themselves fleeing for their lives in a 40-foot, $500,000 motor coach, accompanied by the con men's previous victims and a yellow Lab named Laz, and pursued toward the bright lights of Las Vegas by a remorseless ex-Marine who works as a fixer for Robin's husband.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Thanks for Killing Me is a rollicking comic yarn of hustlers, grifters, and plain old idiots on the make.  With this sparkling debut novel, Bill Barol bids fair to become the Carl Hiaasen of SoCal." -- Kevin Baker, New York Times bestselling author of Dreamland, Paradise Alley and Strivers Row

About the Author

Bill Barol is a former Senior Writer at Newsweek, where he authored cover stories on David Letterman, Bruce Springsteen, Andrew Wyeth, and The End of the Eighties, as well as dozens of inside stories on pop culture, entertainment and the arts. His freelance journalism has appeared in The New Yorker, Time, Slate, The Boston Globe, Fast Company, Washington Journalism Review, American Journalism Review, American Heritage and TV Guide, and on PBS. He's also been a writer/producer on television comedies including "Anything But Love," "Cafe Americain" and "Townies." He lives in Santa Monica, CA.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Minty Goodness Press (September 29, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0615533825
• ISBN-13: 978-0615533827
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,950,061 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bill Barol is a former Senior Writer at Newsweek, where he authored cover stories on David Letterman, Bruce Springsteen, Andrew Wyeth, and The End of the Eighties, as well as dozens of inside stories on pop culture, entertainment and the arts. His freelance journalism has appeared in The New Yorker, Time, Slate, The Boston Globe, Fast Company, Washington Journalism Review, American Journalism Review, American Heritage and TV Guide, and on PBS. He's also been a writer/producer on television comedies including "Anything But Love," "Cafe Americain" and "Townies." THANKS FOR KILLING ME is his first novel. He lives in Santa Monica, CA.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars a wild caper October 4, 2011

By jswatz

Format:Kindle Edition

This is a funny and disarmingly sweet caper story that Carl Hiaasen would probably wish he'd written. A great road trip in a fancy motor coach, mayhem and Vegas.

I just hope they make a movie out of the thing.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun, Fast, Light Read October 22, 2011

By Judith

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I should say upfront that I'm a tough grader, so I only gave 3 stars. But, I hasten to say I did enjoy the book. The colorful characters and the humor, much of it in the dry narration, are the strong points. It reminded me a bit of Elmore Leonard, but a bit lighter in tone. I thought it sagged in the middle and, in general, didn't really have quite enough action/events to keep up the kind of pace that I expect from a thriller. In fact, a lot of the book is spent on the "back stories," as they say in the movies, of the characters. While these are interesting, eventually, it gets old. The bus stops, some other colorful character boards, and we learn about their life history. There's just not enough danger or tension in the chase. There's just not enough happening, period.

At the end, two characters become allies and I thought these two got to trusting each other awfully quickly and easily - given their backgrounds, didn't seem like that would be likely. As it happens, the book doesn't actually show us *how* these two decide to get past the barriers and become partners - they just do. That was a bit of a cheat, imo.

Still, amusing and entertaining. I will keep an eye out for more from Mr. Barol and will consider buying another.

4.0 out of 5 stars Where have you been all my life, Bill Barol? February 3, 2013

By Digital Content Explorer

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is funny, fast-paced, and fun to read - the style is reminiscent of Elmore Leonard or Donald E. Westlake (think Dortmunder, not Parker) - a crime/caper story with lots of humor. I'm giving it 4 stars because of excellent dialogue, descriptive narration, and a clever concept. It falls short of 5 stars because there are a few plot holes big enough to drive a Monaco Signature Class A motor coach through. This was a minor distraction from the overall enjoyable experience of reading the book, so I only deducted one star.

This book is a waypoint on my recently-launched cyber-stalking of Bill Barol's work. I read a piece of his in The New Yorker, then I got this book, then I started working my way through his blog and online postings. He has a large body of work (although this is his first novel) - so I was surprised that I hadn't heard of him or read his work before. He's a very sharp observer and funny writer, and I look forward to more of his work.

4.0 out of 5 stars I hope a publisher picks up Mr. Barol... October 22, 2012

By C. W. Dingboom

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

...because this was an honest, enjoyable book and I'm not so sure why it was passed on so many times.

It's worth reading this article [...] where Mr. Barol details the decision making process he went through in deciding to make his book available for nearly free after being rejected by multiple publishers.

The novel itself is about a duo of con artists that take on jobs as assassins for wealthy customers who have a certain person they want to get rid of, usually a spouse. The con artists charge hundreds of thousands of dollars for their services and promise that they'll be extremely thorough. Once they go to make the hit, they confront the target and explain the situation. They've been hired to kill the target, usually by someone the target knows/loves, but they don't really want to kill anyone, so if the target can come up with their fee (usually another couple hundred thousand dollars) they will essentially pull a "witness protection"; new identity, new location, new life. However, their latest target manages to slip away before they can seal the deal and ends up causing some major problems for them.

I'll admit that the ending came a bit obviously, but not in a horribly disappointing way. I found that the development and dynamics of the characters carried the story and really proved that there was more to this author than his slightly interesting story premise.

I'll avoid talking too much about this one, because I do believe that it's actually worth reading yourself. Especially at the value price.

5.0 out of 5 stars Capering April 1, 2012

By Yoyodyne

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

As a kid I enjoyed the Wild Mouse, a roller coaster that toodled around a cube structure at modest heights and modest speeds. The gimmick that provided a few "wild" thrills was how the front of the car would extend over the edges of the cube for a second at 90-degree turns -- making riders feel as if they were going to run off the rails and fall -- before it snapped back into alignment.

I felt some of the same excitement while reading "Thanks for Not Killing Me," thinking I knew where the plot of this comic caper novel was headed, only to have it snap into an unexpected direction. Very cool. And the sensation gets boosted by the way the author rounds off each chapter beautifully, with a surprise or a punch line or well-turned phrase. I had trouble putting the book down, because the momentum of the prose made me want to keep having a good time.

I won't say much about the basic set-up of the novel, so as not to give anything away, but two con men have cooked up an ingenious scheme that allows them to reap big bucks from nasty rich people. One of the duo, compared to Owen Wilson, has charm and persuasiveness as his talents. The other, not compared to anybody, but I thought of Dennis Franz of "NYPD Blue," provides savvy and muscle and scariness. When their cash cow goes dry, the maneuvering of this duo is very entertaining and, at times, very funny.

The writing has a cinematic vividness, which makes me think it could be turned into a very good movie.

A couple of months after reading this book, I picked it up again and I enjoyed it even more, despite knowing where the story was headed. Kind of like the Wild Mouse, which excited me although I knew that I wasn't going to ride the car off the rails.... I like the lighter crime fiction of Donald Westlake, Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiassen, and I think Bill Barol is right up there with them. I can't wait for his next book. Read more ›