The Gold Coast swelters in record temperatures, and car salesman Gary Braswell's hot under the collar. With sales at rock-bottom, and up to his neck in debt to loan shark Jocko Mackenzie, Gary's sweating on a fat commission from a mysterious Russian couple.
If the loan is not repaid, there's more than Gary's kneecaps at stake - his long-suffering wife's also in peril. But Jocko demands more than repayment and has sinister plans for the hapless salesman.
Gary turns his skills to real estate and is soon embroiled in the murky world of money laundering. With the federal police sniffing around and Jocko on his tail, Gary concocts an audacious scam.
0Success means money - lots of it.
Failure means death.
But can hard-drinking, cocaine-snorting Gary pull it off?
20th Century Noir at its Most Entertaining!
Very much enjoyed this superbly paced, well written and engaging novel.
The author presents Gary as an ordinary man, with an ordinary life. As you read further you peel back the layers of Gary and his life, uncovering a severely flawed human being. And while you want to hate the man for being a scoundrel and an idiot you feel sympathy for him. The author, Blair Denholm carefully crafted this story with realism and subtle conscious you do not easily find in today’s genre piece.
The writing is blunt, frank and unapologetic, just like the character and yet there is a conscious grace and style that pulls you in and makes you want to know more.
A page-turner from the beginning, the author makes very logical choices in an illogical and sometimes absurd situation that is unnervingly realistic. You chuckle and enjoy while knowing that out there somewhere a poor sucker is mirroring Gary Braswell’s life.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves an exploration of the human condition and examining life choices and the sometimes – albeit subconscious—consequences. As I was reading, I was reminded of the shows Better Call Saul, Shameless, Breaking Bad, and the acclaimed novel “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”.
Come Find Me!
.png)