Lou Berney Books in Order

Ordinary people find themselves in circumstances that demand extraordinary responses in this short-story collection. Their unexpected actions reveal how familiar lives can change when events push them beyond the behavior others have come to expect.

Former getaway driver Shake Bouchon accepts an errand for an Armenian mob boss and discovers his cargo is a woman marked for death. Freeing her sends them toward Panama, pursued by criminals and tempted by a potentially valuable score.

Shake Bouchon’s attempt at running a Belize restaurant collapses after he saves a customer from assassination. With his business destroyed and killers pursuing him, Shake follows the mysterious customer toward another dangerous chance to change his fortunes.

A case brings private investigator Wyatt back to Oklahoma City and the unsolved theater massacre he survived. Meanwhile, Julianna pursues new information about her sister’s disappearance, as both seek answers to tragedies that have shaped their adult lives.

Shake Bouchon’s quiet married life ends when an Armenian gangster demands help locating his missing boss, Shake’s former lover. Traveling to Cambodia, he enters a dangerous hostage negotiation complicated by criminal rivalries and his wife’s determination to intervene.

After Kennedy’s assassination, mob fixer Frank Guidry realizes his small role in the preparations makes him disposable. Fleeing west, he meets a mother escaping an unhappy marriage with her daughters, and their developing bond complicates his desperate survival plan.

Amusement-park worker Hardly Reed discovers two abused children and doubts the authorities will protect them. His attempt to gather evidence draws him into conflict with their father, a violent criminal who makes the rescue increasingly dangerous.

After fleeing Las Vegas, two criminals rebuild their family’s life around an Oklahoma City club. Across four decades, their five children pursue different futures while confronting the criminal legacy that continues to shape their choices.