Gone Bamboo » (First Paperback Edition)

Executive chef Anthony Bourdain grabbed the attention of diners everywhere with his revealing look at the restaurant biz, Kitchen Confidential. Along with hosting popular food shows on the Discovery Channel and the Food Network, Bourdain has also written several novels that have earned him a reputation as "a new master of the wiseass crime comedy" (Publishers Weekly).

Gone Bamboo pits Henry, a CIA-trained assassin, and Frances, his hard-nosed, hard-bodied wife against two governments and a cross-dressing mafioso. Henry and Frances have gone bamboo-living an idyllic, retired life in the Caribbean-but when Donnie, a powerful capo relocated by the Federal Witness Protection Program, inadvertently jeopardizes their plan, all hell breaks loose. Despite the fact that Henry once tried to kill Donnie, the two join forces against the transvestite mob boss looking to ace Donnie. But things aren't going to be so easy...

Written in Anthony Bourdain's signature style-raucous, funny, a bit vicious, and always fun- Gone Bamboo is a feast of murder, hitmen, and the hitwomen they love. Reminiscent of Dashiell Hammet's Nick and Nora, Bourdain's Henry and Frances are a tough-talking, unlikely couple that will win you over-if they don't kill you first.

Publishers Weekly

Following his hilarious first novel, Bone in the Throat, with another antic tale, Bourdain establishes himself as a new master of the wiseass crime comedy. Henri Denard, an ex-Vietnam War hero who was trained as an assassin by the CIA and is now cozy with the French government, is living a peacefully hedonistic life as a ponytailed hippie on St. Martin with his wife, Franceswho's smart, gorgeous and similarly handy with a gun. But Henry's past is coming back to haunt him: a year ago, 320-pound crossdressing mob boss Jimmy "Pazz" Calabrese hired him to knock off two rivals at a ski resort. Henry botched the job, allowing one of the mobsters, D'Andrea "Donnie Wicks" Balistieri, to survive. Now, not only has Donnie Wicks made a deal with the FBI to testify against Jimmy Pazz, but he's also ended up as Henry's neighbor on St. Martin. After weighing his options, Henry decides to confront Donnie directly. To gain access to the mobster, Henry and Frances befriend Donnie's friends and housesittersuptight failing restaurateur Mickey and his fun-loving girlfriend, Racheland end up hitting it off with Donnie, too. Meanwhile, the thug Jimmy's hired to hit Donnieand maybe Henry, toohas found true love with an Indian prostitute and isn't at all eager to complete the task. As Jimmy grows frustrated, the number of playersfederal marshals, French spies and a variety of small-time gangsterscontinues to mount, threatening mayhem and bloodshed. A potentially routine mob caper is brought to life by tight plotting, appealing characters and a stylish mix of irony, snappy dialogue and amoral verve. Author tour. (Sept.)