The Wheelman: A Novel

Duane Swierczynski

Apr 2010 · Macmillan + ORM

About this ebook

Nonstop action, twists and turns, and as hardboiled as they come, don't miss Duane Swierczynski 's thrilling The Wheelman.

Meet Lennon, a mute Irish getaway driver who has fallen in with the wrong heist team on the wrong day at the wrong bank. Betrayed, his money stolen and his battered carcass left for dead, Lennon is on a one-way mission to find out who is responsible—and to get back his loot. But the robbery has sent a violent ripple effect through the streets of Philadelphia. And now a dirty cop, the Russian and Italian mobs, the mayor's hired gun, and a keyboard player in a college rock band maneuver for position as this adrenaline-fueled novel twists and turns its way toward its explosive conclusion.

One thing's for sure: this cast of characters wakes up in a much different world by novel's end—if they wake up at all.

Ratings and reviews

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book like this. Swierczynski is a writer at Marvel Comics, which explains a lot. It is fast paced with short chapters divided into short sections. It is hard to put down. Lennon is a lot like a superhero, seemingly able to survive things that others can’t, but even he has a limit. Lennon is just a wheelman. He doesn’t rob or kill; he just handles the robbers’ escape for a share of the “earnings.” It starts with his accomplices trapped between the two sets of doors of the downtown Philadelphia bank. He has to think fast, just part of the job. But that’s not the only problem because someone has betrayed them. Lennon goes from disaster to disaster, but pushes on because his family’s lives are also at stake. This thriller/mystery won’t make any top literature lists but that’s OK. I don’t want to cheer for bank robbers but this is fun. And, unlike many quick novels, it is very detailed yet doesn’t feel the need to tie up every loose end the way we want.

Like Baby Driver, but darker, more violent, and very twisted. Loved it. This author needs more recognition.

About the author

DUANE SWIERCZYNSKI is the author of The Wheelman, The Blonde, Severance Package, and Expiration Date, and writes for Marvel Comics. The Wheelman was nominated for the Gumshoe Award. He lives in Philadelphia.