Lou Berney immediately earned a seat of honor at the mystery mastersâ table with his crackling caper novel, Gutshot Straightâa lightning-fast, fiendishly clever suspenser that screamed for a sequel. And here it is. Former professional wheel man Charles âShakeâ Bouchon is back, living in the Caribbean paradise of Belize with his lawless past far behind himâuntil a gunshot tears through his beachside restaurant and heâs on the run again. A twisting tale filled with lawmen, con men, and hit men; a beautiful but deadly FBI agent; and a murderous thug named Baby Jesus, Whiplash River recalls the best of the off-the-wall crime fiction impresariosâElmore Leonard, Carl Hiaasen, James W. Hall, Robert Ferrigno, Tim Dorseyâwhile establishing its own unique orbit in the noir universe.
Lou Berney is the multiple award-winning author of Dark Ride, November Road, and The Long and Faraway Gone, as well as Gutshot Straight and Whiplash River. His short fiction has appeared in publications such as The New Yorker, Ploughshares, and the Pushcart Prize anthology. He lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and teaches in the MFA program at Oklahoma City University.