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In author Rick Gavin’s hilarious Delta capers, repo-man Nick Reid and his sidekick, Desmond, have found themselves brawling with all kinds of layabouts, troublemakers, and even a few hardened criminals. And in their latest adventure, Nowhere Nice, their troubled past comes back to haunt them.
Nowhere Nice finds Nick and Desmond and yet another gang of quirky Delta characters heading off on a quest to find a ruthless escaped convict before he finds them.
In 2011’s Ranchero, the duo’s run-in with meth dealer Guy Boudrot resulted in a prison term for him and hundreds of thousands of dollars in hidden drug money for them. Since then, Boudrot has been telling everyone who will listen what he plans to do if he ever gets his hands on them again. So when he breaks out of prison and goes on the run, Nick and Desmond know that they—and everyone who contributed to Boudrot’s arrest—are in serious trouble. As Boudrot sets out, leaving a trail of destruction and dead bodies in his wake, Nick and Desmond try to track him down—a mission that becomes all the more serious once Boudrot kidnaps Nick’s girlfriend, Tula.
If you’re looking for wacky adventures and crazy characters, you can’t go wrong with a Rick Gavin novel. This time around, as Nick and Desmond head out in search of Boudrot, they stop by run-down shacks and makeshift prisons to collect a truckload of wacky Delta dwellers—and one Delta dog—who are all in danger of the drug lord’s violent revenge. And although they’re only really good at getting into fights and stinking up Desmond’s Escalade, they add plenty of comic relief to the adventure.
As in Gavin’s earlier novels, nothing much happens. The goal is pretty simple: stop Boudrot before he terrorizes anyone else. But that means traveling through various southern states, paying visits to random characters, stopping at a number of restaurants, and frequently getting into fights. It’s like the Mississippi Delta version of a Harold & Kumar movie—and it’s often wildly, laugh-out-loud hilarious.
Unfortunately, though, in Nick and Desmond’s third adventure, the usual formula doesn’t feel quite as fresh and fun as it did before. The side trips often feel forced and unnecessary—an obvious attempt to keep up the same wild and wacky flair while changing things up a bit with some new characters. And, at times, the story starts to drag. The numerous mishaps and side trips get old, and you’ll just want the characters to get on with it already.
Still, Nick and Desmond make lovable leaders in their latest romp through the Delta—and the cast of quirky supporting characters bring plenty of laughs. So while Nowhere Nice isn’t quite as nice as Gavin’s earlier novels, it still makes for an entertaining read.
Listen to the review on Shelf Discovery:
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