FAR OUT

A former FBI agent sees it all—conniving lawyers, mistaken identities, police shootouts, car chases, and Hollywood celebrities—in Talib’s second installment of his thriller series.

After rescuing, falling in love with, and marrying movie star Goldie Saint Helen, Iraq veteran and former FBI agent Blake Deco has the perfect life: He spends his days screenwriting and managing his popular restaurant along the beach, and Goldie is up for an exciting part in Far Out, a movie about a 1960s private eye named Gypsy Star. But their Shangri-La implodes when Goldie bonks her head in a bad car accident and develops dissociative amnesia. “Her reality and fantasy have overlapped, and she thinks she’s someone else.” Not just anyone else, in fact, but Gypsy Star. Gypsy is witty and relentless, searching for a missing young woman who might be wrapped up in a CIA plot involving mind-controlling drugs. Blake has his hands full as he attempts to play along with his wife’s feisty new persona as she makes enemies and friends and earns more than a few odd looks. If that wasn’t enough, Goldie’s lawyers are scheming to get the confused star put away for good—and steal her millions while they’re at it. Much of the novel is a clever, quirky drama filled with silly misunderstandings and situational comedy (and a whole lot of ’60s slang). The last quarter is a generic thriller in which the reader sees much less of Goldie (and Gypsy) and much more of Blake and his veteran pals getting into all sorts of action-packed shenanigans. It’s easy to see that author Talib enjoys writing action; the car chases, shootouts, and other thriller staples move seamlessly from page to page. However, it is Goldie—or rather Gypsy—who is the heart of the story, bringing hilarity and light through a creative premise. The smart, quick-paced plot works well, but much of the cast is unlikable. Also, Mexican characters often appear as racist stereotypes. Overall, Talib’s second Blake Deco outing is fun and inventive, but many of the players need makeovers.

An unpredictable, rowdy thriller that sometimes shines.