(Note: Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program)
I don't always pick up books by new or unfamiliar authors, but the synopsis of this book intrigued me, so I took a chance. I'm very glad that I did. This is an incredibly fun read about a 30 year-old college graduate ne'er-do-well, Jimmy Veeder, and his return to the Imperial Valley area where he grew up and where his father is dying. As a dying wish, the father asks his son to go find a Mexican prostitute he knew. This outrageous request is the set-up for a rollicking tale of friendship and cross-border hi jinx. At least, that's part one of the book. Part two is where things start to get screwed up and Jimmy and his best friend, Bobby, have to get out of it all alive. Throughout all of it, Jimmy will learn about the man his father really was and about how the world really is (or at least how the end of the novel would have you believe them to be). Despite the somewhat bleak outlook on people the book holds, there is a sense of hope that comes through in the last chapter. Not to mention this novel is incredibly fun in part one and harrowing in part two. I couldn't put this book down in the last 10 chapters. In his first novel, Mr. Shaw has written a crackling good read about life on the border in the Imperial Valley. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for both a good laugh and a suspenseful tale.