Gone Bamboo

This rowdy beach story about an over-the-hill hit man and a retired Mafioso is charmingly narrated by Chris Patton, who lends subtle characterizations to most of the main players. To his credit, Patton doesn't fall into the trap of making the gangsters sound like "The Sopranos," but, going to the other extreme, his depictions are so subtle that the listener can't always follow the dialogue. When his last Mob hit in New Jersey failed, Henry Denard retired to laid-back St. Maarten with his wife, an ex-stripper. Despite the difficulty of concealing a weapon when one is not wearing clothes, the two maintain their vigilance and are prepared when Henry's former capo nemesis shows up on the island under witness protection. N.M.C. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Starred review from July 31, 1997
Following his hilarious first novel, Bone in the Throat, with another antic tale, Bourdain establishes himself as a new master of the wiseass crime comedy. Henri Denard, an ex-Vietnam War hero who was trained as an assassin by the CIA and is now cozy with the French government, is living a peacefully hedonistic life as a ponytailed hippie on St. Martin with his wife, Frances--who's smart, gorgeous and similarly handy with a gun. But Henry's past is coming back to haunt him: a year ago, 320-pound crossdressing mob boss Jimmy "Pazz" Calabrese hired him to knock off two rivals at a ski resort. Henry botched the job, allowing one of the mobsters, D'Andrea "Donnie Wicks" Balistieri, to survive. Now, not only has Donnie Wicks made a deal with the FBI to testify against Jimmy Pazz, but he's also ended up as Henry's neighbor on St. Martin. After weighing his options, Henry decides to confront Donnie directly. To gain access to the mobster, Henry and Frances befriend Donnie's friends and housesitters--uptight failing restaurateur Mickey and his fun-loving girlfriend, Rachel--and end up hitting it off with Donnie, too. Meanwhile, the thug Jimmy's hired to hit Donnie--and maybe Henry, too--has found true love with an Indian prostitute and isn't at all eager to complete the task. As Jimmy grows frustrated, the number of players--federal marshals, French spies and a variety of small-time gangsters--continues to mount, threatening mayhem and bloodshed. A potentially routine mob caper is brought to life by tight plotting, appealing characters and a stylish mix of irony, snappy dialogue and amoral verve. Author tour.