Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Whiplash River

Confession time: I wanted to review this book solely because there is a character named Baby Jesus. I feel I need to be upfront with that right away. I mean, come on. That's a pretty genius name for anybody. I don't know why that's not topping the baby naming lists, maybe it will soon.

Whiplash River -  Lou Berney


Having left his life of crime behind, former getaway driver Charles “Shake” Bouchon has finally realized the dream of owning his own restaurant in Belize. Unfortunately, to do so he’s had to go deep in debt to a murderous local drug lord named Baby Jesus. And when Shake thwarts an attempted hit on an elderly customer named Quinn, things go from bad to worse.
Next thing Shake knows, his restaurant’s gone up in flames and he’s on the run from Baby Jesus, two freelance assassins, and a beautiful but ferocious FBI agent. Out of options, Shake has to turn to the mysterious Quinn for help. Suddenly Shake’s up to his neck in a dangerous score that he’ll never pull off unless he can convince an even more dangerous ex-girlfriend to join him.
If you like a fast paced crime book, this is for you. It's only 320 pages but you'll fly through it quickly because when I say a lot happens in this book? I am not exaggerating. I usually read before bed and get a few chapters in and call it good, but I had a hard time putting the book down because every chapter ended with some kind of cliff hanger to get you to the next one. 
So definitely a pro to the book is that it's a fast read and it's full of drama and action. A negative for me? Would be that there is a lot of story. By that I mean there are so many story lines that at times it can be difficult to keep track. At the same though, I imagine that if these events all happened in real life, it would be chaotic and overwhelming. I will say that even though there are a lot of characters, every one of them is well developed and seem real. And I kind of loved Baby Jesus. I just can't get over his name- it's awesome. But through all of it, it's actually funny. It's like a funny crime novel and generally very entertaining. 
I encourage you to check out Lou's website and his Facebook. I feel like he's the type of writer that once you like one book, you'll love all of his. 

1 comment:

trish said...

I have to admit that humor in books is usually over my head, but a character name Baby Jesus? Hilarious.

Thanks for being on the tour!