The death and life of Bobby Z : a novel

When longtime loser Tim Kearney kills a Hell's Angel, it's his third strike. Life without parole follows. But with Angels in every prison, it looks to be a pretty short life. That's when the DEA makes an offer. It seems they've promised to deliver the legendary drug lord Bobby Z to Don Huertero, northern Mexico's drug kingpin, in exchange for a DEA agent. The fact that Z is dead might present a problem, except that Kearney bears an uncanny resemblance to him. All they want is for Kearney to impersonate Bobby Z: they think that with a little training, a little instruction, he might pass. Or he might not. But, really, what choice does Tim have? So he's launched into Bobby Z's life - rarefied and luxurious just until it becomes chaotic and hair-raising. Don Huertero wants Bobby Z alive, but only so he can have the pleasure of killing him. Add to that the surprise appearance of Bobby's mysteriously lethal girlfriend and his six-year-old son, and Tim has more of Bobby's life than even the DEA bargained for. Now, suddenly, Tim is running for his life - from drug dealers, henchmen, bikers, Indians and cops, all chasing him down across southern California's deserts and mountains straight to the dead-end edge of the ocean. Some of his pursuers want Bobby Z, but some of them want the considerably less legendary Tim K, who's beginning to realize that he'd better become legendary if he's going to keep the girl, save the kid and stay alive in the process. All of which he might manage to do if he can just stop being Tim Kearney... When Tim Kearney draws a license plate across the throat of a Hell's Angel, he's pretty much a dead man. It's his third crime and, according to California law, that gives him "life without the possibility of parole." Killing a Hell's Angel also makes him a dead man on any prison yard in California. That's when the DEA makes Kearney an offer: impersonate the late, legendary dope smuggler Bobby Z so that the agency can trade him to Don Huertero — northern Mexico's drug kingpin — for a captured DEA agent. Tim Kearney bears an uncanny resemblance to Bobby Z, and, with some training, he might be able to pass. So, he's off to a compound in the middle of a desert that's been designed by Huertero's number-two man to look like the Arab fort in his favorite movie, *Beau Jeste*. Kearney's surprised when he meets Bobby Z's old flame, Elizabeth, who was never mentioned in his training, and her son, who she claims belongs to him. It's a short vacation by the pool before Kearney's on the run from drug lords, bikers, Indians, and cops ... and the kid's along for the ride. Some of the pursuers want Bobby Z, and some want the considerably less legendary Tim K. Whether he pulls it off, whether he can keep the kid and the girl and his life, makes for a hilarious, fast-paced, and truly touching novel. [from Amazon] A Mexican drug lord offers to free a DEA agent in return for an American gangster who is in jail in Thailand. In fact the gangster is dead, but the Mexican does not know this. Convicted killer Tim Kearney is offered his freedom by the DEA if he will impersonate the gangster and Kearney jumps at the opportunity, only to discover the Mexican wanted the gangster free so he could kill him. Now, suddenly, Tim is running for his life -- from drug dealers, henchmen, bikers, Indians and cops, all chasing him down across southern California's deserts and mountains straight to the dead-end edge of the ocean. By the author of While Drowning in the Desert