Lou Berney – författare

“Lou Berney’s novel is so energetic, so droll, and so wheezingly funny that it accomplished what no book ever has before: it made me forget to eat lunch.”—Stephen Harrigan, New York Times bestselling author of Challenger ParkA fast and funny caper in the tradition of Elmore Leonard, Carl Hiaasen, and the Coen Brothers, Gutshot Straight brings a fresh new talent into the crime fiction fold: Louis Berney. He’s already won raves for his short fiction collection The Road to Bobby Joe and Other Stories (“Rivals the work of contemporary hotshots T.C. Boyle and Ralph Lombreglia” —Chicago Tribune). With Gutshot Straight, Berney is “all in”—sure to win a fervent following with the story of “Shake” Bouchon, fresh out of prison and on the straight and narrow path…after maybe just one last job.

“Like Carl Hiaasen, Berney delights in the cartoonish. Like Elmore Leonard, he can drive a plot. What sets him apart is how well he evokes love, making the romance…as compelling as the mystery.”—Boston Globe

Lou Berney immediately earned a seat of honor at the mystery masters’ table with his crackling caper novel, Gutshot Straight—a lightning-fast, fiendishly clever suspenser that screamed for a sequel. And here it is. Former professional wheel man Charles “Shake” Bouchon is back, living in the Caribbean paradise of Belize with his lawless past far behind him—until a gunshot tears through his beachside restaurant and he’s on the run again. A twisting tale filled with lawmen, con men, and  hit men; a beautiful but deadly FBI agent; and a murderous thug named Baby Jesus, Whiplash River recalls the best of the off-the-wall crime fiction impresarios—Elmore Leonard, Carl Hiaasen, James W. Hall, Robert Ferrigno, Tim Dorsey—while establishing its own unique orbit in the noir universe.

“Like Carl Hiaasen, Berney delights in the cartoonish. Like Elmore Leonard, he can drive a plot. What sets him apart is how well he evokes love, making the romance…as compelling as the mystery.”—Boston Globe

Lou Berney immediately earned a seat of honor at the mystery masters’ table with his crackling caper novel, Gutshot Straight—a lightning-fast, fiendishly clever suspenser that screamed for a sequel. And here it is. Former professional wheel man Charles “Shake” Bouchon is back, living in the Caribbean paradise of Belize with his lawless past far behind him—until a gunshot tears through his beachside restaurant and he’s on the run again. A twisting tale filled with lawmen, con men, and  hit men; a beautiful but deadly FBI agent; and a murderous thug named Baby Jesus, Whiplash River recalls the best of the off-the-wall crime fiction impresarios—Elmore Leonard, Carl Hiaasen, James W. Hall, Robert Ferrigno, Tim Dorsey—while establishing its own unique orbit in the noir universe.

WINNER OF THE EDGAR AWARD, THE MACAVITY AWARD, THE ANTHONY AWARD, AND THE BARRY AWARD FOR BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL

NOMINATED FOR THE 2015 LA TIMES BOOK PRIZE

With the compelling narrative tension and psychological complexity of the works of Laura Lippman, Dennis Lehane, Kate Atkinson, and Michael Connelly, Edgar Award-nominee Lou Berney’s The Long and Faraway Gone is a smart, fiercely compassionate crime story that explores the mysteries of memory and the impact of violence on survivors—and the lengths they will go to find the painful truth of the events that scarred their lives.

In the summer of 1986, two tragedies rocked Oklahoma City. Six movie-theater employees were killed in an armed robbery, while one inexplicably survived. Then, a teenage girl vanished from the annual State Fair. Neither crime was ever solved.

Twenty-five years later, the reverberations of those unsolved cases quietly echo through survivors’ lives. A private investigator in Vegas, Wyatt’s latest inquiry takes him back to a past he’s tried to escape—and drags him deeper into the harrowing mystery of the movie house robbery that left six of his friends dead.

Like Wyatt, Julianna struggles with the past—with the day her beautiful older sister Genevieve disappeared. When Julianna discovers that one of the original suspects has resurfaced, she’ll stop at nothing to find answers.

As Wyatt''s case becomes more complicated and dangerous, and Julianna seeks answers from a ghost, their obsessive quests not only stir memories of youth and first love, but also begin to illuminate dark secrets of the past. But will their shared passion and obsession heal them, or push them closer to the edge? Even if they find the truth, will it help them understand what happened, that long and faraway gone summer? Will it set them free—or ultimately destroy them?

"When people say they want to read a really good novel, the kind you just can''t put down, this is the kind of book they mean. Exceptional." —STEPHEN KING

“Berney’s emotional, empathetic writing keeps . . . the pages turning.” —ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, “Required Reading”

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY Entertainment Weekly • Washington Post • AARP • Newsweek • Dallas Morning News • South Florida Sun-Sentinel • Chicago Public Library • Real Book Spy • CrimeReads • Litreactor • Library Journal • LitHub • Booklist

Winner of the Barry, Macavity, and Anthony Awards, the Hammett Prize, the Left Coast Crime “Lefty” Award for Best Mystery Novel, the Oklahoma Book Award for Best Fiction Novel, and the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award for Best Thriller Novel!

Set against the assassination of JFK, a poignant and evocative crime novel that centers on a desperate cat-and-mouse chase across 1960s America—a story of unexpected connections, daring possibilities, and the hope of second chances from the Edgar Award-winning author of The Long and Faraway Gone.

Frank Guidry’s luck has finally run out.

A loyal street lieutenant to New Orleans’ mob boss Carlos Marcello, Guidry has learned that everybody is expendable. But now it’s his turn—he knows too much about the crime of the century: the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Within hours of JFK’s murder, everyone with ties to Marcello is turning up dead, and Guidry suspects he’s next: he was in Dallas on an errand for the boss less than two weeks before the president was shot. With few good options, Guidry hits the road to Las Vegas, to see an old associate—a dangerous man who hates Marcello enough to help Guidry vanish.

Guidry knows that the first rule of running is "don’t stop," but when he sees a beautiful housewife on the side of the road with a broken-down car, two little daughters and a dog in the back seat, he sees the perfect disguise to cover his tracks from the hit men on his tail. Posing as an insurance man, Guidry offers to help Charlotte reach her destination, California. If she accompanies him to Vegas, he can help her get a new car.

For her, it’s more than a car— it’s an escape. She’s on the run too, from a stifling existence in small-town Oklahoma and a kindly husband who’s a hopeless drunk.

It’s an American story: two strangers meet to share the open road west, a dream, a hope—and find each other on the way.

Charlotte sees that he’s strong and kind; Guidry discovers that she’s smart and funny. He learns that’s she determined to give herself and her kids a new life; she can’t know that he’s desperate to leave his old one behind.

Another rule—fugitives shouldn’t fall in love, especially with each other. A road isn’t just a road, it’s a trail, and Guidry’s ruthless and relentless hunters are closing in on him. But now Guidry doesn’t want to just survive, he wants to really live, maybe for the first time.

Everyone’s expendable, or they should be, but now Guidry just can’t throw away the woman he’s come to love.

And it might get them both killed.

FINALIST FOR THE LA TIMES BOOK PRIZE!

From Lou Berney, the acclaimed, multi award-winning author of November Road and The Long and Faraway Gone, comes a Dark Ride

Sometimes the person you least expect is just the hero you need

Twenty-one-year-old Hardy “Hardly” Reed—good-natured, easygoing, usually stoned—is drifting through life. A minimum-wage scare actor at an amusement park, he avoids unnecessary effort and unrealistic ambitions. 

Then one day he notices two children, around six or seven, sitting all alone on a bench. Hardly checks if they’re okay and sees injuries on both children. Someone is hurting these kids.

He reports the incident to Child Protective Service.

That should be the end of it. After all, Hardly''s not even good at looking out for himself so the last thing he wants to do is look out for anyone else. But he''s haunted by the two kids, his heart breaking for them. And the more research he does the less he trusts that Child Protective Services —understaffed and overworked—will do anything about it.

That leaves…Hardly. He is probably the last person you’d ever want to count on. But those two kids have nobody else but him. Hardly has to do what''s right and help them.

For the first time in his life, Hardly decides to fight for something. This might be the one point in his entire life, he realizes, that is the entire point of his life. He will help those kids.

At first, trying to gather evidence that will force the proper authorities to intervene, Hardly is a total disaster. Gradually, with assistance from unexpected allies, he develops investigative skills and discovers he’s smarter and more capable than he ever imagined.

But Hardly also discovers that the situation is more dangerous than he ever expected. The abusive father who has been hurting these children isn’t just a lawyer—he also runs a violent drug-dealing operation. The mother claims she wants to escape with the kids—but Hardly isn''t sure he can trust her.

Faced with a different version of himself than he has ever known, Hardly refuses to give up. But his commitment to saving these kids from further harm might end up getting the kids, and Hardly himself, killed.

Noviembre de 1963.

Se le acabó la suerte a Frank Guidry. A la sombra del prominente capo de la mafia, Carlos Marcello, la combinación de encanto, inteligencia y astucia de Guidry lo lleva los primeros puestos del negocio. Pero todo cambia repentinamente cuando una horrible tragedia golpea al mundo: John F. Kennedy es asesinado a tiros en la plaza Dealey. Guidry había estado en Dallas menos de dos semanas antes, cumpliendo una tarea para Carlos, y no puede evadir la creciente sospecha de que está involucrado en el asesinato más escandaloso de la historia. Ahora su vida está en riesgo, y Carlos cuenta con que Guidry será el chivo expiatorio. Es hora de que este utilice todas las conexiones que ha logrado y todos los favores que le deben, huya del país y mantenga un perfil bajo... porque su vida pende de un hilo.

Charlotte tiene veintiocho años y es madre de dos niñas. Su esposo es amable, pero es un borracho perdido. Ella ha estado durante años tratando desesperadamente de sobrevivir y de proteger a sus hijas, pero el asesinato del presidente ha puesto de manifiesto una sola cosa: que su vida en Oklahoma no tiene futuro. La única opción de Charlotte es llevarse a sus hijas y marcharse.

Guidry se encuentra con la bella ama de casa de Oklahoma, sentada a un lado de la carretera con nada más que un auto roto, dos pequeñas y un perro en el asiento trasero, y se da cuenta de que ha encontrado el disfraz perfecto para escapar.

Lo último que Guidry espera en un momento como este es acabar metido en un viaje por Estados Unidos con una madre y dos niñas, pero Charlotte y él están en el punto en que necesitan y pueden ayudarse mutuamente. Y a medida que la persecución tras Guidry se vuelve más peligrosa, las cuatro vidas resultan estar en riesgo. ¿Encontrarán la senda a la libertad, o los sentimientos mutuos cada vez mayores que Charlotte y Guidry están alimentando serán su perdición?

BARA EN FAMILJ KAN RÄDDA HONOMSom maffiabossen Carlos Marcellos högra hand i New Orleans vet Frank Guidry att ingen är oumbärlig. Och nu har turen kommit till honom – han vet för mycket om mordet på president John F. Kennedy. Bara timmar efter att JFK skjutits börjar män med band till Marcello försvinna, och Guidry bestämmer sig för att fly. Han tar sikte på Las Vegas där han har en gammal vän, en farlig man som hatar Marcello tilllräckligt mycket för att hjälpa Guidry.Den viktigaste regeln när man är på flykt är att aldrig stanna upp. Trots det stannar Guidry när han möter Charlotte och hennes två små döttrar. Deras bil har kraschat och Charlotte är också på flykt, från småstaden och sin alkoholiserade man. Den perfekta täckmanteln, inser Guidry, och tillsammans fortsätter de mot Vegas. Som en familj.På vägen upptäcker han en kärlek som han aldrig upplevt tidigare och plötsligt handlar resan inte längre om att komma bort – utan om att hitta hem.Lou Berneys roman November Road har hyllats av kritiker, läsare och författare som Stephen King och Don Winslow. Den har också utsetts till årets bästa bok av en lång rad tidningar.