I gave up halfway through this. It did absolutely nothing for me. I’m not sure what others found hilarious here — to me this felt like a straight-to-Netflix knockoff of a Coen brothers movie. A rough suggestion of style, but no substance.

I see comparisons to Elmore Leonard, and that’s an insult to Leonard. His characters are believable, even the minor ones, and that’s what makes the dialogue shine. Effective satire (to me) requires an understanding of the genre being satirized (see Mel Brooks), and this book didn’t seem to have it. It didn’t feel like a noir or a western. 

I honestly don’t see the appeal. Maybe someone can help me figure out what I’m missing. 

This review was fairly on-the nose to me.