Beluga

In Gavin’s stellar second slapstick noir set in the Mississippi Delta (after 2011’s Ranchero), former cop Nick Reid and his humongous black buddy, Desmond, invest money in a lame-brained scheme to steal a truckload of tires, which turn out to be the hot property of Lucas Shambrough, a deviant offshoot of a proud local family. In revenge, Lucas promptly sics his cronies—including his psycho mistress, who dresses like a schoolgirl but enjoys pounding people to pieces with blunt instruments—on the thieves. Since one of the endangered hijackers is Desmond’s former brother-in-law, Larry “Beluga” LaMonte, Desmond and Nick intervene to stop the mayhem, though all Nick really wants to do is get better acquainted with an attractive by-the-book policewoman. Gavin clearly likes his dimwitted characters, and he appreciates how hard they struggle with their harsh existence in the Delta. Somewhat less cerebral than Joe R. Lansdale’s Hap & Leonard stories, this is a captivating and frequently hilarious series. Agent: Marian Young, the Young Agency. (Nov.)