Shooting Elvis (Paperback)

Mary Alice was once a law abiding, blonde, blue-eyed, talented twenty-plus year-old who photographed children for a living at Hansel and Gretel's Baby Photo Studio. She and her family - Mom, Pop and oldest brother Ray - lived in a blue collar community, a small town that never "amounted to much," just over the hills from L.A. The town's motto, "Small Towns Are Smile Towns."

Mary Alice did not smile much. Her father is an abusive alcoholic, prone to violence, and her mother, passive, loving, has taken everything he dished out over the years. Her daughter cannot understand why. I wrote above that Mary Alice is talented and this talent lies in her artistic sensibility which she expresses through the eye of the camera - obviously not the kind of work she turns out for Hansel and Gretel! Her photographic vocation is a bone of contention with Mr. Baker. "The idea I took photos to understand the world and myself made him suspicious, like maybe I was too stupid to understand that the world is a straightforward place where you have to work hard and support yourself and your family and then relax a little after, and art is for people who don't have to work for a living and unnecessary to guys like him, unless you consider television or action pictures art."

Wrex, Mary Alice's biker boyfriend, a real loser, persuades her to do a favor for him. After much effort on his part, she finally agrees to take his package, (contents unknown), to the airport and exchange it with a total stranger for another package, (contents unknown) - for the sum of $200. Mary Alice probably would have done it for free, eventually, with enough nagging. However, she spontaneously stated her fee, initially, to get Wrex off her back. She was shocked when he accepted and paid her upfront, especially since he was always broke. Obviously, her decision to help Wrex is a disastrous mistake. One could ask why Mary Alice, an intelligent young woman, does the favor, but then there would be no plot...right? This lack of believability is a major weakness in the storyline.

So, our girl drives to the airport, recognizes her contact, makes the exchange and barely escapes the subsequent violent explosion with her life. Now she is wanted by the LAPD and FBI for blowing up Los Angeles International. Some pretty scary underworld characters are looking for her also, as well as for the package she received and still has in her possession .

What's a girl to do? Mary Alice reinvents herself as ebony-haired Goth, Nina Zero, and winds up hanging out with LA's pseudo alienated, anti-intellectual, anti-art, artistic subculture, which views her as a photographer doing "explosive new work." There's her new roommate Billy b, a manic, driven, narcissistic artist whose giant paintings of famous folks, especially Elvis, represent the ultimate in American kitsch. And roomy number two - Cass, is an out of work screenwriter and all around retro punk.

Determined to discover what is behind the crimes she has become involved in, feisty Nina hooks up with the least reputable PIs in the city to learn the ropes of sleuthdom. These guys are the only ones who will hire her. Soon on the run from just about everyone, including her new "friends," Nina begins to discover the answers she seeks - most of them ludicrous. Warning! There is lots of mindless violence here - none of it particularly scary. Lots of action, little substance.

I would have put "Shooting Elvis" down at about page 100 except for the character of Mary Alice/Nina, who is fantastic. When Robert Eversz writes about her and her dysfunctional family he turns out some excellent prose. The story is told through a first person narrative, Nina's. Her take on most events is fascinating - she can't help some of the ridiculous scenarios the author involves her in. Some of the other minor characters, like the artists, are also quite good. Eversz really needs to work on his plot and subplots, however. These are weak. An intelligent lady like Nina needs an equally intelligent storyline to move around in...and readers enjoy meaningful plots with purpose too.

Worth reading as the introductory piece in the Nina Zero series, which I hope improves.
JANA