The Death and Life of Bobby Z: A Thriller - Softcover

Winslow, Don

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0307275345 ISBN 13: 9780307275349

Publisher: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, 2006

Synopsis

FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE CARTEL.

When Tim Kearney, a small-time criminal, slits the throat of a Hell's Angel and draws a life sentence in a prison full of gang members, he knows he’s pretty much a dead man. That’s until the DEA makes Kearney an offer: impersonate the late, legendary dope smuggler Bobby Z so that the agency can trade him for one of their own, who was captured by a Mexican drug kingpin. Knowing his chances of survival are a little better than in prison, Kearney accepts, and he winds up in the middle of a desert at the notorious drug lord’s lavish compound. To his surprise he meets Bobby Z's old flame, Elizabeth, and her son. At first, it’s a short vacation by the pool, but when things turn bloody, the three of them begin the most desperate flight of their lives, with drug lords, bikers, Indians, and cops furiously chasing after them. Whether he pulls it off, whether he can keep the kid and the girl and his life, makes this compelling novel a hilarious, fast-paced thriller about a con caught in a devil’s bargain.

About this title

Review

Here's a thriller with everything going for it--a great plot gimmick, excellent action and sex scenes, beautifully-realized characters on every level, and a crisp, pungent, in-your-face writing style that rarely stops to let you catch your breath. Nobody has actually seen the legendary Laguna Beach surfer-turned-drug dealer Bobby Zacharias for years, so a nasty federal agent thinks he has a chance of passing off a lookalike in a hostage switch with a Mexican drug lord. Bobby Z's double, a career screw-up named Tim Kearney, takes the deal because it means a chance to get out of prison--where the Hell's Angels want to terminate him. But when the switch backfires, everyone in the world is after the fake Bobby Z--who takes off with the 6-year-old son of the real Bobby on a cinematic, fully satisfying run for their lives.

From the Publisher

Writers all over are already proclaiming The Death and Life of Bobby Z a must-read:

"The Death and Life of Bobby Z is the story of what happens when you get evicted -- with extreme prejudice -- from the Hotel California. It has whiplash speed, deliciously sleazoid characters and a major attitude problem. What a blast."
-- Carl Hiaasen

"Don Winslow's prose is quick and lucid, and the story of Bobby Z sings on every page."
-- Robert B. Parker

"Reading Don Winslow's novel The Death and Life of Bobby Z reminds me of the time I stumbled across the secret that was Elmore Leonard. I get the feeling Winslow won't be a secret much longer. Not with this book. Not with this wonderful blend of story and character, humor and grit."
-- Michael Connelly

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0307275345
• ISBN 13: 9780307275349
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272