Johnny Shaw was born and raised on the Calexico/Mexicali border, the setting for his award-winning Jimmy Veeder Fiasco series. He is also the author of the Anthony Award-winning adventure novel, Big Maria. His shorter work has appeared in Thuglit, Crime Factory, Shotgun Honey, Plots with Guns, and numerous anthologies. He is the creator and editor of the fiction magazine, Blood & Tacos, which recently added a phone app, a Podcast, and a book imprint to its empire. Johnny received...
The Upper Hand
The Upper Hand
Synopsis
Fifteen years ago, Axel, Gretchen, and Kurt Ucker lost their father, and learned at the same time that he had secretly been a thief their whole lives, leaving a fortune unaccounted for. Since then the Uckers have lived precariously: their small town shunned them, their mother Bertha retreated into her religion and her favourite televangelist, Brother Tobin Floom, Axel took a dead-end job, Gretchen turned to petty crime, and Kurt stayed home with his garage band.
When Bertha dies, she leaves everything to Floom and his gold-plated revival, and the Uckers are left without an inheritance, a house, or a future. Then their long-lost aunt turns up with a plan: infiltrate Floom's multimillion-dollar ministry and pull off the grandest heist in Ucker family history.
From the Anthony Award-winning author of Big Maria, The Upper Hand is a comic caper about a family of con artists and what, exactly, holds a family together.
Vibe
Genres
Characters
Axel UckerProtagonist
Eldest Ucker sibling, stuck in a dead-end job.
Gretchen UckerProtagonist
Ucker sister who turned to petty crime.
Kurt UckerProtagonist
Youngest Ucker, who stayed home with his mother and his garage band.
Brother Tobin FloomAntagonist
Televangelist to whom the siblings' mother left her entire estate.
Subjects
Places
Edition
The Upper HandPaperback, Jul
302 pages
Thomas & MercerISBN: 97815039007382 editions available
