When Tim Kearney draws a license plate across the throat of a Hell's Angel, he's pretty much a dead man. It's his third crime and, according to California law, that gives him "life without the possibility of parole." Killing a Hell's Angel also makes him a dead man on any prison yard in California. That's when the DEA makes Kearney an offer: impersonate the late, legendary dope smuggler Bobby Z so that the agency can trade him to Don Huertero -- northern Mexico's drug kingpin -- for a captured DEA agent. Tim Kearney bears an uncanny resemblance to Bobby Z, and, with some training, he might be able to pass. Or not. But, really, what choice does he have? So, he's off to a compound in the middle of a desert that's been designed by Huertero's number-two man to look like the Arab fort in his favorite movie, Beau Jeste ("The Santa Fe thing had been done to death.") Kearney's surprised when he meets Bobby Z's old flame, Elizabeth, who was never mentioned in his training, and her son, who she claims belongs to him. It's a short vacation by the pool before Kearney's on the run from drug lords, bikers, Indians, and cops ... and the kid's along for the ride. Some of the pursuers want Bobby Z, and some want the considerably less legendary Tim K. Whether he pulls it off, whether he can keep the kid and the girl and his life, makes for a hilarious, fast-paced, and truly touching audio.
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"Tim Kearney is a three time loser looking at the prospect of life in the California prison system or a shank in the back when a bright spark at the DEA realizes that he looks an awful lot like the recently deceased enigmatic drug kingpin called Bobby Z. The feds make a deal, they will release Kearney and then trade him in the guise of Bobby Z. to Mexican drug lords who don't know the truth about the real Z. If all this sounds a little too preposterous to make a good story, it gets even wilder when Tim breaks out of the drug lords lair with a young child in tow and sets up the most unlikely buddy story in a long time. Blasting through the southwest with guns blazing to keep himself and the kid alive, Tim realizes that the only way he can survive is to become Bobby Z. for real, which is when things turn really nasty. Reading Winslow is a blast, he writes with a wry, adrenaline fueled sensibility that keeps the story moving briskly. Filled with dry humor, along with fascinating characters, this is perfect beach reading for crime fans."
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Tim (4 out of 5 stars)