Stray Bullets 2: Somewhere Out West details pretty much what happened next after Orson, Beth and Nina took off with all that cash and coke. The majority of the book is set in Seaside, a raggedy-ass town out in the desert with a three mile long boardwalk, ready for when an earthquake drops California off into the ocean. I’m not making that up. The other main attraction is Lilly Bottoms, the five-legged cow, and every year there is a fair where she is the guest of honor and main attraction.
So it’s 1983, and our trio have been living in a trailer park on the outskirts of Seaside for about a year. Things are tense between Beth and Orson because he wants to continue to lay low and Beth is sick to death of this shitty trailer and freak show town. Nina is a basket case, living in a haze of drugs and denial. They fight and screw and amuse themselves messing with the townsfolk. Of course you know that Scottie (Harry’s enforcer with a striking resemblance to Jesus) and Monster are gonna show up, aiming to get their booty back.
In the middle of the book there is an interlude with an Amy Racecar adventure set in the 4080’s. Back in 1983, Amy, our little Virgina Applejack lands in Seaside and the story takes on an added dimension.
While to book started out a little slow for me, once Amy took her place, the action really took off and it was one breathless read to the finish.
