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BULLETS by Steve Brewer Intrigue Press, October 2003 300 pages $24.95 ISBN: 1890768502 Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

In this standalone work, Steve Brewer takes a break from his comic Bubba Mabry series. Brewer hasn't lost his sense of humor, but BULLETS has a harder edge than the Mabry books, as well as much more complex plotting and characterization.

The action takes place in Las Vegas where a hit woman named Lily Marsden knocks off a rich businessman by the name of Max Vernon. That wouldn't ordinarily present a problem, but she pulled off the hit in the upscale Tropical Bay casino. The proprietors of that establishment are naturally peeved because the news of a murder in a favored gambling spot isn't exactly attractive to the high rollers.

The casino owner puts his chief of security on to resolving the Lily situation. Little does he know that ex-cop Joe Riley from Chicago is also tracking Lily down to clear his name in another hit that she made in his home turf.

Before you can say "Jackpot!", there is a large cast of characters all chasing after one another. There are the vengeful 60-year-old twin brothers of the first victim, a few homicide detectives, a pair of dimwits who keep trying to even a gambling score with Joe, Lily's hit arranger and the chief of security for the casino. They are all playing a grand game of Musical Guns, and the reader is in for a wild and wooly ride.

Brewer writes with an assured hand and deftly plots a work that could easily have spun out of control. I was fooled into thinking I knew how things were going to play out, only to find that Brewer wasn't going to travel into cliché territory. The resolution was resoundingly satisfying.

BULLETS is fast-paced, full of witty dialogue, quirky characters, a touch of romance and outrageous situations. It's a book you have to like. If you don't agree, don't open the door to anyone named "Lily".

Reviewed by Maddy Van Hertbruggen, July 2004

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