Author Steve Brewer follows the lead of crime-fiction masters Elmore Leonard and Donald Westlake: When criminals — or those who skim the edge of the law — are your main characters, make the “heroes” likable, the humor broad, the dialogue crisp and the villains so nasty there’s never any doubt who the reader should root for.
Brewer does just that in the entertaining, amusing “Boost” (Speck Press, 221 pages, $24). This tightly plotted crime novel packs in a lot of action as it briskly moves along.
Sam Hill is a criminal though he has never been arrested and never charged with anything. He boosts cars — high-end, collectible cars that are works of art. Through an elaborate underground network in Albuquerque, he’s hired to steal certain cars for very special anonymous buyers.
But Sam’s latest job, to steal a 1965 Thunderbird from a lawyer’s house, goes wrong: There’s a dead man in the trunk, and the cops are waiting at his arranged drop point. Sam knows he has been set up, and he and his motley crew organize to find out by whom. Despite his profession, Sam is a likable guy with few enemies, but the frame-up sounds like an old-fashioned case of revenge.
The breathless pace of “Boost” still allows for character development, a view of cool vintage cars and humor that is a combination of sophisticated and slapstick. Through his 11 mysteries, Brewer has established a reputation for fine storytelling skills. “Boost” should boost his readership.
