Lowdown Road

It’s the summer of 1974, and Chuck Melville has just been released from state prison for aggravated assault in this all-action outing from Von Doviak (Charlesgate Confidential). Rough and reckless, Chuck immediately winds up in the middle of a double murder, and while he’s on the run from the law, his lothario cousin Dean convinces him to help steal 250 pounds of marijuana from Dean’s boss, big-time dope peddler Antoine Lynch. Intending to sell the weed to a swarm of biker groupies gathered for an Evel Knievel stunt show at Idaho’s Snake, the duo embarks on a wild cross-country drive from Texas, attracting lusty women and ruthless psychopaths at almost every stop along the way; with a vengeful sheriff and pissed-off Antoine in hot pursuit, the cousins barrel, grinning, toward a grim finale. Though the story occasionally gets sidelined in favor of ever-escalating grindhouse madness, Von Doviak never drops the ball. Razor-sharp dialogue and high-octane action keep this entertaining pulp novel afloat. (July)