Former wheelman, Charles 'Shake' Bouchon is having a very bad week. He's late on his monthly payment to drug lord Baby Jesus, the restaurant he went into debt for is shot up in an attempted assassination on one of his elderly customers and when someone blows the restaurant up, he has no way to pay back the money he owes. To top it off, he has at least three different people trying to kill him.

Shake needs to get out of Belize and fast, but with no money, assassins, the FBI, and a drug lord on his tail he's running out of options. His only hope is to trust Quinn, the man Shake saved in his restaurant who seems to be in more trouble than Shake himself.

WHIPLASH RIVER is superbly written. It's the type of story where you honestly quit noticing the words on the page as the images they evoke are playing through your mind. I'm not kidding when I say that reading about the food in this book really made me hungry. Mr. Berney has a gift for drawing the reader into his world with clever, elegant descriptions that bring the story to life. Fast-paced, fun, and brimming with action, the story flows smoothly, ever faster, and still manages a surprise or two.

The characters themselves are amazingly complex and likable. Endearing, fierce, imperfectly human they jump off the page and I often found myself rooting for the secondary characters. I can't wait to see what Lou Berney has in store for this cast as I hope he continues exploring the world with Shake as they grow, change, and hopefully still find themselves in unbelievably unlucky events.

Part of the connection that develops between readers and the characters is due in part to the idea that everyone deserves a second chance. Most of the characters have done things they regret; jail time, cons, bad relationships. The characters struggle to change their life, change the outcome they see themselves heading to. Sometimes this is good, sometimes not. They don't fall into saint of sinner category. They're people who cross the legal line at times but they're still good people.

WHIPLASH RIVER offers everything; wonderful writing, complex characters, exotic locations, and a good, fun story. Definitely worth reading.

Book Summary