Shaker : A Novel

Meet Roy Cooper, stoic, unassuming "errand runner" for various New York criminals. Roy arrives in Los Angeles to shoot a man named Martin Shine a week after a powerful earthquake has knocked out cell service, buckled the freeways, and thrown L.A. into chaos. Roy doesn't know who Shine is or why he has to die, but he does his job and does it well. Except for one thing: after the hit, Roy can't find where he parked his car. Wandering the streets of North Hollywood, he stumbles upon a jogger getting mugged and beaten by four young gangbangers. Despite his attempt to simply put his head down and walk away, Roy winds up in the middle of another killing. Things get more complicated when the murdered jogger turns out to be a controversial mayoral candidate. Roy himself is shot twice, hospitalized in critical condition, and mistaken for a hero when a local resident leaks a video that goes viral. Now meet the rest of the cast of characters, including Kelly Maguire, a disgraced LAPD detective with an anger management problem and strange feelings about L.A.'s newest hero; Science, the teenage gangbanger/shooter, who needs to keep Roy quiet about what he's seen; Mayor Miguel Santiago, who finds himself facing accusations that he's just had his opponent whacked; Albert Budin, Roy's onetime mentor and one of the scariest, creepiest characters in recent crime fiction; and myriad criminals, politicians, and cops who all need Roy to disappear--preferably forever. Finally, meet Scott Frank, who has created not just one of the most entertaining novels of the year but also one of the most surprising. This first novel is fun and funny as well as moving and textured, nuanced and powerful. Shaker is the debut work of fiction by a major new storyteller. From the Hardcover edition Meet Roy Cooper, stoic, unassuming errand runner for various New York criminals. Roy arrives in Los Angeles to shoot a man named Martin Shine a week after a powerful earthquake has knocked out cell service, buckled the freeways, and thrown L.A. into chaos. Roy doesnt know who Shine is or why he has to die, but he does his job and does it well. Except for one thing: after the hit, Roy cant find where he parked his car. Wandering the streets of North Hollywood, he stumbles upon a jogger getting mugged and beaten by four young gangbangers. Despite his attempt to simply put his head down and walk away, Roy winds up in the middle of another killing. Things get more complicated when the murdered jogger turns out to be a controversial mayoral candidate. Roy himself is shot twice, hospitalized in critical condition, and mistaken for a hero when a local resident leaks a video that goes viral.#160; Now meet the rest of the cast of characters, including Kelly Maguire, a disgraced LAPD detective with an anger management problem and strange feelings about L.A.s newest hero; Science, the teenage gangbanger/shooter, who needs to keep Roy quiet about what hes seen; Mayor Miguel Santiago, who finds himself facing accusations that hes just had his opponent whacked; Albert Budin, Roys onetime mentor and one of the scariest, creepiest characters in recent crime fiction; and myriad criminals, politicians, and cops who all need Roy to disappearpreferably forever. Finally, meet Scott Frank, who has created not just one of the most entertaining novels of the year but also one of the most surprising. This first novel is fun and funny as well as moving and textured, nuanced and powerful. Shaker is the debut work of fiction by a major new storyteller The tense, darkly funny, unputdownable debut novel from one of the most successful screenwriters of the past twenty years--the tale of a hit man mistaken for a hero whose sudden, unwanted fame makes him a target for the surprising number of people who want him dead. Roy Cooper, a stoic, unassuming "errand runner" for various New York criminals, arrives in Los Angeles just as a powerful earthquake throws the city into chaos. Still, Roy is able to get his hit job done well. Except for one thing: amid the chaos, he can't find his car. Helplessly lost in North Hollywood, he stumbles upon a jogger being beaten by four gangbangers, and, despite his best efforts, winds up in the middle of the fray. The jogger--a controversial mayoral candidate--is murdered. Roy ends up hospitalized in critical condition and is lionized--mistaken as a hero--when a video of the fight goes viral. Enter Kelly Maguire, an LAPD detective with an anger-management problem and an uneasy feeling about L.A.'s newest hero; Science, the teenage sociopath gangbanger/shooter who needs to keep Roy quiet about what he's seen; Albert, Roy's onetime mentor and one of the scariest, creepiest characters in recent crime fiction; and myriad criminals, politicians, and cops who need Roy to disappear--preferably forever. "The tense, darkly funny, unputdownable debut novel from one of the most successful screenwriters of the past 20 years--the tale of a hit man mistaken for a hero whose sudden, unwanted fame makes him a target for the surprising number of people who want him dead."-- Provided by publisher