I'd always remembered the beginning of this book - with the drug dealer who takes a phone-call from someone asking him to sit down, and then telling him that as soon as he gets up the bomb in his chair will go off - but I'd forgotten the rest. And it's a good one.

A couple of middle aged ex-Vietnam protesters, Skip and Robin, served time in prison after they planted bombs in the '70s. Twenty years later, they meet up again, to find that Mark, an old college fellow, is in line to inherit millions of dollars when his brother, Woody, dies. So they hatch up a plan with Mark to get rid of Woody. Trouble is, things don't go to plan: Mark gets blown up by mistake, so Skip and Robin have to go after Woody instead. But Woody is in a semi-permanent drugged state, and to get to him, they first have to get past Donell, who used to be a Black Panther, and has his own plans for what should happen to Woody's fortune. Add to this a girl who's trying to bring a rape charge against Woody, and the cop who was suspended after he tried to bring Woody in, and you've got a cracking mixture of characters, each with his own agenda, and none of whom trusts any of the others.

Brilliant. And good names too, especially "Juicy Lips", the bodyguard.

Completed : 12-Jan-2005 (audiobook)