Jimmy Coates is fresh out of a 2-year stay at the Perryville
Correctional Facility in Arizona for trying to sell some black market Saguaro
cacti. Once out, he latches up with some old friends who give him a sure-fire
tip on the upcoming Lakers-Suns playoff game. He gets some change from a shark,
bets it all and loses. Now the shark has to be paid.
Jimmy’s dad willed him 20 acres of prime development land,
but his brother Richard, doing his best tough love act, puts the inheritance on
hold until Jimmy straightens out his life. So Jimmy needs to find some cash from elsewhere.
Richard’s got his own problems. He
owns a string of successful dry cleaners that have just been hit with a rash of robberies. Richard wants to start a family but
Evelyn, his wife, isn’t interested. She wants some adventure, so she goes to
Jimmy wanting him to teach her how to commit a felony, for the rush.
Jimmy’s told of a guy who wants to press an insurance scam
on crappy basketball shoe knock offs. So she and Jimmy break in, steal the
shoes, and pawn them off on a local Paiute reservation. She’s thrilled, beds
Jimmy, then goes home.
And that’s about where I lost interest. This was touted as
part Carl Hiassen and part Elmore Leonard and might have been, but having just
finished Cogan’s Trade and it’s top of the mountain dialogue, this just never
clicked for me and probably any number of books would’ve lost my interest after
that Higgins book.
Then, as I was losing interest, the library notified me that
the latest release by one of my favs was ready for pick up. That sealed the
deal. Bye-Bye Jimmy Coates. Hello, Mack Bedford, the US Navy, their SEALs, and
angry Russians out to flex their muscles. Check back soon.
East Coast Don
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