Gun Monkeys »

Victor Gischler lives in the wilds of Skiatook, Oklahoma–a long, long way from a Starbuck's. His wife, Jackie, thinks he is a silly individual. He drinks black, black coffee all day long and sleeps about seven minutes a night. Victor's first novel, Gun Monkeys, was nominated for the Edgar Award.


From the Hardcover edition.

Charlie Swift just pumped three .38-caliber bullets into a dead polar bear in his taxidermist girlfriend’s garage. But he’s a gun monkey, and no one can blame him for having an itchy trigger finger. Ever since he drove down the Florida Turnpike with a headless body in the trunk of a Chrysler, then took down four cops, Charlie’s been running hard through the sprawling sleaze of central Florida. And to make matters worse, he’s holding on to some crooked paperwork that a lot of people would like to take off his hands. Now, with his boss disappeared and his friends dropping like flies, Charlie has got his work cut out just to survive. If he wants to keep the money and get the girl too, he’s really going to have to go ape...

Nominated for the Edgar Award for Best First Novel, Gun Monkeys is a fast, furious collage of wit and wise guys, violence and thrills—and a full-throttle run through the dark side of the Sunshine State.

Library Journal

Unusual protagonists, a bantering tone, and dark humor characterize this hard-boiled mystery by first novelist Gischler. Narrator Charlie "the Hook" Swift is primary enforcer/hit man for crime boss Stan, but a crew from Miami tries to "squeeze" them out of business. When Stan's targets at a strip club turn out to have been policemen, things begin to go haywire: the rivals move in, killing Stan's guys, and Charlie winds up with a sought-after set of crooked ledgers. Violent action and murder continue, with money laundering, an understanding mom, and the FBI thrown in for good measure. For collections of noir crime fiction. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.