Flipping Boxcars

The promising fiction debut from comedian Cedric “the Entertainer” Kyles (Grown-A$$ Man) chronicles family man and community fixer Floyd “Babe” Boyce’s bootlegging operations in post-WWII Caruthersville, Mo. In 1948, Babe and his partner in crime, Karter (whose life Babe saved in the war), commit to a deal with Tommy Wojak, who heads the Polish arm of a Chicago crime syndicate. The pair has 72 hours to raise $54,000 to buy 3,000 cases of untaxed bourbon arriving by railroad from Canada. An expert gambler, Babe banks on his ability to read cards, dice, and people to hopefully win the cash from the bustling Sportsman Hall casino. His plans are derailed, though, when he suffers a shock defeat at the craps table after an all-night hot streak convinces him to make a hefty bet, and loses his savings along with the deeds to farmland his wife has purchased. To salvage his marriage and his children’s futures, Babe enlists the help of an enterprising army friend to pull off an audacious train robbery. Despite an underbaked subplot involving Ku Klux Klan attacks in Caruthersville, Kyles and Eisenstock deliver stirring gambling scenes, strong characterizations, and vivid prose. The result is an energetic caper that’s more than meets the eye. Agents: (for Kyles) Anthony Mattero, CAA; (for Eisenstock) Eric Rhone, A Bird and a Bear. (Sept.)