Witty, duplicitous and teeming with lurking danger, Double Barrel Bluff is a captivating thriller that balances violence and opportunistic maneuverings with matters of the heart and emotional moments. Lou Berney delivers yet another highly engaging and suspenseful novel sure to entertain the masses.
Shake Bouchon is a former wheelman for the Armenian mob, now blissfully married to the love of his life and living a quiet, hidden existence in Bloomington, Indiana. But that all comes crashing down when an Armenian thug, who vowed to kill Shake the next time he sees him, shows up at Shake’s home. But the real surprise is he’s not there to kill him, rather he’s hoping to enlist Shake’s help to find Alexandra Ilandryan, the boss of the Armenian mob who has gone missing in Cambodia and a woman Shake had a prior romantic relationship with. Against his and his wife’s better judgement, Shake agrees to get involved and finds himself in a position where he cannot trust anyone, violence waits around every corner, and the relationship with his wife is on the rocks. But the only way out is through, and Shake is highly capable of bringing this fraught situation to a (mostly) positive conclusion.
Double Barrel Bluff is an intense and fun read. The plot is intriguing, the pacing is brilliant, the dialogue is clever, and the outcome is uncertain. All of which grab your attention and force you to turn the pages as quickly as possible. But the main stars of this show are the characters. Wonderfully developed personalities that fit the story perfectly. From an Armenian mob enforcer to a clairvoyant hippie to the double-crossing mob boss wannabe and his sidekick to the over-their-head kidnappers and laid-back mastermind and more, each character has been flawlessly and memorably crafted to fit the narrative and propel the book forward. Throw in an exotic locale and you have a thriller that checks all the boxes.
Enjoyable, vivid and absorbing, Double Barrel Bluff draws you into its richly detailed world and keeps you enthralled from start to finish.
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