speck Press (Hardcover), ISBN 0-9725776-5-3

Sam Hill lives an unobtrusive but comfortable life in a Spanish-style condo located in a quiet section of Albuquerque, New Mexico. He makes his living boosting cars. He prefers to steal common ordinary sedans like Hondas and Chevrolets which don't call attention to themselves on the city streets, but sometimes he gets an order for something special.

He knew the risk he took when he boosted the classic Thunderbird, but he reveled in the challenge. This time, however, the tricked out T-Bird he picked up for an anonymous client yielded its own surprise, the body of a police informant locked in the trunk with a bullet hole between his eyes. Temporarily stashing the car and the body in a well concealed hiding place presented no problem for the experienced booster. Deciding how to dispose of the car and its contents -- and figuring out who set him up and why -- would require a little help.

Sam enlists the aid of his protégé, Billy Suggs, and his old friend Way Way Henderson, a mountain of a man at six-foot-seven and two-hundred-ninety pounds who works as a bouncer at a local club and can clear a room with just a menacing look. With additional help from Robin Mitchell, owner of an auto parts shop with an illegal chop shop on the side, they discover the motive and identity of the set-up man. Sam gets revenge with a cleverly conceived plan, but finds himself pursued by the local police Auto Theft Division, the DEA, and the ruthless head of a drug ring.

He ingeniously avoids the police, but his sense of competitiveness won't let him quit while he is ahead and he must eventually come face to face with a situation which might lead to his death and that of his companions. In the showdown phase in this game of gotcha, Hill hatches his final scheme to turn the tables on his cadre of pursuers. What follows leads to an amusing and entertaining conclusion.

In Boost, Steve Brewer once again presents his own unique and enjoyable combination of quirky characters, a fast moving plot and a perverse sense of humor. A short novel of only 221 pages it is, as I contentedly discovered, a fine choice to while away a few leisurely hours on a cold and rainy day.

Clint Hunter

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