First published 2009
Jimmy Luntz once sang in a choir, but now he runs from dangerous creditors who want their money back. His gambling addiction has put him in debt to Juarez, an Arab moneylender who pretends to be Mexican. Juarez sends Gambol to collect payments. Gambol is a tall, sad man with an oversized head who helps his boss torture debtors who refuse to pay. They once ate the testicles of one stubborn borrower. Meanwhile, Anita Desilvera wakes up one morning to discover she has become a wanderer, a criminal, and soon a divorcee. Her husband and a corrupt judge have framed her for embezzling 2.3 million dollars. These four characters cross paths on the back roads of California. Their desperate hunt for money sets off a chain reaction of betrayals, revenge, and murder that spirals beyond anyone's control.
Genres: fiction, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: California
Period: 21st-century
196 pages · Hardcover · Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Content warnings: addiction, violence