Shoutgun Opera -- Victor Gischler

I was slightly bemused by this blurb from PW that appears on the back cover of Shotgun Opera, the new Dell paperback from Victor Gischler, who's looking for a few "Gischler Virgins," by the way. The blurb, from a review of Suicide Squeeze says, "Gischler is a light and clever satirist . . . ." You can read my review of that book here. Somehow the phrase "light and clever satirist" is not one that would have leapt to mind as I read it. Sure, it's funny from time to time, but, well, never mind. Let's get to Shotgun Opera. Probably PW thinks this one is another of those light and clever satires. I found it to be a fast-moving chase novel with a really high body count, which is only to be expected when you're dealing with "the most dangerous woman in the world." Her job is to kill a few guys who happen to know that a terrorist is on the loose in the U.S. Before long we meet her murderous family, a deadly geezer who'd be right at home in Damned Near Dead, other assorted killers, and a few nice folks. There's even an assassin named Lee Goldberg, except that his show-biz name is Jack Spratt. But what really won my heart is the fact that Jack's (or Lee's) wife is an alligator wrestler. You simply can't go wrong with female alligator wrestlers. If you haven't read anything by Victor Gischler yet, you're missing out. Not to worry, though. He's going to be around for a while.