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SHOOTING ELVIS
by Robert M. Eversz
Grove Press, August 1996
217 pages
$12.00
ISBN: 0802135013


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

When you hear the name "Mary Alice Baker", what image do you conjure up in your mind? Something like a sweet girl living in a small town wearing fuzzy pink sweaters? That's exactly who Mary Alice Baker is, a 24-year-old with very few ambitions other than to keep peace in her family, which is admittedly difficult with her hotheaded and physically abusive father. Mary Alice has her own place and works as a photographer's assistant at Hansel & Gretel, a kids' photo specialty shop. Mary Alice is actually a talented photographer who views life through her camera lens, but she doesn't even know that she has talent.

Life changes dramatically one day when her worthless boyfriend, Wrex, asks her to exchange a package at LAX airport. Even though he is perpetually broke, he is willing to give her $200 to make the swap which convinces her in spite of her reservations about possibly being involved in a drug deal or worse. She's to meet a guy with a cigar and give him a briefcase and take whatever he gives her in return. What he gives her is a huge case on wheels. What she gives him is an exploding briefcase that blows up part of the airport. In just a few short seconds, Mary Alice becomes a terrorist.

Frightened out of her wits, she goes into hiding, dyes her hair black, pierces her nose and ears and dresses in funky clothes. Her new alias is "Nina Zero", and the change in name is truly a change in character. Nina becomes a person living on the edge. She finds a room with a filmmaker wannabe and a kitsch artist by the name of Billy b. Eventually, they figure out who she is and want to cash in on her notoriety. Everyone wants a piece of Nina, now that she's become a celebrity. Think "tabloid fodder" or "movie of the week". In the meantime, she hooks up with a detective agency (with 2 guys named Ben and Jerry) so that she can figure out what is really going on. She's also being followed by 2 ruthless thugs who she calls Frick and Frack.

At first, we breeze through life with Nina, kind of like being on the inside of a great caper. But things quickly become very serious and lots of bad stuff goes down, much of which is at the hands of our heroine. It turns out she's rough and she's tough and she's resourceful and spirited. She's as different from Mary Alice Baker as a man-eating tiger is from a kitten. In fact, she is a lethal weapon.

Hip, fast-moving, humorous, terrifying, shocking, poignant-this book covers all the bases. Eversz has crafted a wonderful tale with a memorable protagonist. I sure hope she gets out of jail soon so that we can see her again.

If you like noir, you're going to love this very original book! Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Maddy Van Hertbruggen, December 2001

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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