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CROOKED
by Brian M. Wiprud
Dell, July 2006
320 pages
$6.99
ISBN: 0440243122


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

You know how sometimes successful series have spin-offs? Well, Brian Wiprud has used that same technique in creating CROOKED. Two of his earlier books, PIPSQUEAK and STUFFED, featured Garth Carson, a taxidermy collector living in New York City. One of the characters introduced in those books was Nicholas Palihnic, who is Garth's black-sheep brother and who caused some mayhem of his own. Now Nicholas is working for an insurance company to find a stolen painting. Unfortunately for them, Palihnic is a hustler at heart and he's not above putting some of his own deals together when it comes to artistic treasures.

Palihnic is a bit of a Romeo. He is also hired by Nicasia Grieg, a former lover and insurance investigator, to find her boyfriend Barney Swires, who has disappeared and may have been eaten by a crocodile in Costa Rica. No DNA testing has been done on the foot in the croc's stomach, but deep in her heart, Nicasia believes that Barney is still alive. Well, not to ruin anything, but he is and pulling off a bunch of scams of his own. However, his ultimate goal is to reunite with Nicasia -- there is such a thing as true love even among hustlers.

Add in another insurance guy who has big plans of the illegal variety, and you have the foundations of a huge caper. Everyone is double-crossing everyone else. While at first this is somewhat confusing, Wiprud displays a deft hand at keeping the narrative threads untangled. There's a build-up to a rousing finale and ultimately, good triumphs over evil, true love rules and some people live happily ever after.

I enjoyed CROOKED, but I have to admit that it took me a while to adjust to the style of this book. All of Wiprud's earlier works have been laugh-out-loud madcap romps. CROOKED is completely different and does not have Wiprud's trademark zany humor. Although I missed that element in this book, I do admire the author for going in a different direction. And he did placate me a bit by including Garth, his girlfriend Angie, and the incredible landlord Otto in a touching domestic scene.

Overall, I enjoyed the book but have to admit for a preference for the more demented works of Wiprud.

Reviewed by Maddy Van Hertbruggen, July 2006

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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