Double Barrel Bluff

Berney’s outstanding third Shake Bouchon thriller (after Dark Ride) sees the former getaway car driver’s retirement interrupted when an Armenian mobster pays him a visit. Dikran Ghazarian is the bodyguard for L.A. mob boss Alexandra Ilandryan, who’s gone missing during her annual trip to Cambodia. Because of his close bond with Alexandra, Dikran sets aside his vow to kill Shake, her former lover, to ask for his help finding her. Shake’s wife, Gina, is less than pleased to see her husband run off in search of his ex, but that doesn’t stop him from uneasily joining forces with the dim-witted Dikran (“He had the cognitive skills of the fence post lying broken next to them”). Meanwhile, in Siem Reap, Cambodia, a disgraced professor and an ex-con are holding Alexandra hostage, believing her to be a rich American tourist, with no clue what retribution awaits them. Shake remains a lovable, wise-cracking hero, and Berney does him justice with a cast of memorable supporting characters and a gorgeously rendered Southeast Asian locale. This sterling neo-noir series continues to deliver. Agent: Shane Salerno, The Story Factory. (Nov.)