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Rick Gavin’s debut crime novel, “Ranchero,” is of the gritty American variety, intended to be read by those who believe in making an afternoon of it. The book begins with repo man Nick Reid, who guides us through the adventure, offhandedly making it known that Percy Dwayne Dubois knocked him over the head with a shovel (thanks, Percy) when Reid arrived to repossess a television. Not only did Dubois conk Reid out with a shovel, but he absconded with the restored ’69 Ranchero that Reid had borrowed from his landlady. This is the event that launches Reid’s odyssey through the Mississippi Delta in pursuit of the stolen vehicle. 

  Odyssey narratives disguised as crime novels (or maybe it’s the other way around) may contain any number of elements, but the reader rarely objects if the enterprise is helped along by a worldly narrator who is willing to say anything, anywhere, yet is also equipped with the ability to use well-timed understatement and droll humor. Reid measures up to this standard with some combination of these qualities in every line. In addition, “Ranchero” fulfills the odyssey requirement by being well-stocked with memorable (if sometimes treacherous) characters, ominous imagery, and perilous obstacles for the foolhardy narrator to overcome. (If a guy gets pummeled with a shovel and has the wherewithal to pursue his attacker, he qualifies as foolhardy. A case can be made for writing off the Ranchero and buying the landlady a new Avalon.)  

At any rate, Reid’s boon companion throughout the tale is fellow repo man Desmond, who has established the relatively conventional American routine of dining exclusively on Coney Islands at a nearby Sonic. Desmond has a deadpan delivery that threatens to steal the show, and he never met with a serpent that did not scare him silly. 

   The path to the Ranchero, which all of the characters except Reid keep referring to as “Stole,” becomes steadily more deadly as the narrative drives to a conclusion.  This is the type of book where you are sitting at page 200 and relishing the trek to the end. The jacket copy for “Ranchero” suggests that this is the first of a series.  Sign me up.

  Review by Todd Robins

Ranchero (Hardcover)

By Rick Gavin

$24.99

ISBN-13: 9780312583187
Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days
Published: Minotaur Books, 10/2011

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