Customer Reviews

Two Bits

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Just released from prison, Archibald Green notices the parallels between freedom and jail, but the former sting artist vows to be a new man although he observes appalling lies or at least illusions of truth. Then again working as a bored telemarketer for a nasty employer at Earthly Goods Incorporated in Darwin, Maryland will make a cynic out of a saint.

A lifetime of either fence (jail or picket) seems too torturous to Archie so he decides that there will be no more TWO BITS scams, but to go for one big dollar con. His target is superego millionaire mob boss Pat Shannon not just because of the money but also because of a family revenge matter. Since Pat wants to star in pictures, Archie pretends to be a movie producer, setting the game afoot.

As this reviewer read TWO BITS, the movie The Sting came to mind, but not just the mob and the con connection. Like that superb movie, this wonderful novel is amusing, at times gritty and definitely darker than the film, and stars a delightful assortment of Runyonesque characters. Still in the end Clint Gaige's strong tale peels down to Archie and Pat, opponents who make for a fine gambol for readers.

Harriet Klausner

It doesn't take Archie Green, ex-con, more than a couple of days of freedom in the real world of a boring job and a jerk of a boss to
succumb to the old, familiar lure of the con. Archie's philosophy? "The real drug of the con...taking somebody's money makes
you better than they are." Only this time, Archie decides to leave the two bit con behind and go for the big money.

Pat Shannon, ruthless mob boss, whose ego is surpassed only by his millions in mob cash, is Archie's mark. Assembling a
motley cast of cohorts that give the book a feel for the seedy side of life, Archie (under the guise of a movie producer) makes his
move. You'll find yourself dodging dead bodies, a hit man with a heart, an obsessed cop with murderous intent and a couple of
lovelorn ladies, torn between Archie's charm and their love of mob money. A thoroughly enjoyable read with a surprise ending.

A face-paced story, filled with seemingly unrelated characters and events that author Clint Gaige weaves together in a tight,
satisfying tale. Review by Ingrid Taylor