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The Albuquerque Turkey (Radar Hoverlander #2)
by
John Vorhaus (Goodreads Author)
Master con artist Radar Hoverlander is getting out of the life…unless his old man drags him back in.
After their last big con netted them a nice chunk of change, Radar Hoverlander and his grifter girlfriend, Allie Quinn, have vowed to go straight. But Radar’s fragile commitment to clean living is put to the test when an oddly hefty lady in red shows up and stalks him throug...more
After their last big con netted them a nice chunk of change, Radar Hoverlander and his grifter girlfriend, Allie Quinn, have vowed to go straight. But Radar’s fragile commitment to clean living is put to the test when an oddly hefty lady in red shows up and stalks him throug...more
Hardcover, 272 pages
Published
March 22nd 2011
by Crown
(first published March 10th 2011)
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The Albuquerque Turkey by John Vorhaus
An insider’s look at the world of the grifter, a peek into the mind of a con artist who struggle with his own identity in a convoluted and intricate plot of chicanery is the essence of this book.
Mr. Vorhaus does an excellent job at portraying con artists at work. He delves into their motivation and desires. He identifies grifters as living a life style not so much for the money but for the thrill of the scam. Vorhaus used a lot of terminology that is specif...more
An insider’s look at the world of the grifter, a peek into the mind of a con artist who struggle with his own identity in a convoluted and intricate plot of chicanery is the essence of this book.
Mr. Vorhaus does an excellent job at portraying con artists at work. He delves into their motivation and desires. He identifies grifters as living a life style not so much for the money but for the thrill of the scam. Vorhaus used a lot of terminology that is specif...more
John Vorhaus’s Albuquerque Turkey follows on from his previous novel, The California Roll, but the reader certainly doesn’t need to read the first story to follow and enjoy the second. I haven’t read California Roll yet, but after reading Turkey I shall certainly look out for it.
The story’s told in first person by con artist Radar Hoverlander. After their last successful caper, he and girlfriend Allie Quinn have decided to go straight. But now Radar’s long-lost father steps into their lives, und...more
The story’s told in first person by con artist Radar Hoverlander. After their last successful caper, he and girlfriend Allie Quinn have decided to go straight. But now Radar’s long-lost father steps into their lives, und...more
Oh another would be Route 66. It travels all over. Even right through Albuquerque, New Mexico. You can also see the Balloon Fiesta there in October. Of course if you can not travel there you can visit through a story. I have been to Albuquerque when I was a child to visit my Grandmother. It was native and wild to me. But I have been back through my books when reading The Albuquerque Turkey recently. This was just as wild for me as it was when I was a child. Now back then it was seeing things so...more
Review from my blog, The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia
First Sentence:
It started with a dog, a biggish one loping down the sidewalk with that weird canter some dogs have, the front legs syncopating and the rear legs slewing sideways in tandem.
The Albuquerque Turkey was nothing like I thought it was going to be. When I first heard about it I thought that it would have a caper-like feel, like the Ocean's 11 movies and that it was going to be funny. I was sorely mistaken. It was either just not funny...more
First Sentence:
It started with a dog, a biggish one loping down the sidewalk with that weird canter some dogs have, the front legs syncopating and the rear legs slewing sideways in tandem.
The Albuquerque Turkey was nothing like I thought it was going to be. When I first heard about it I thought that it would have a caper-like feel, like the Ocean's 11 movies and that it was going to be funny. I was sorely mistaken. It was either just not funny...more
Quite a bit of techno education on running con games in this world - especially for Vegas people. Character development quite good and the inclusion of a one-eared dog early on makes this a well-balanced kind of read. A man can learn a lot about woman-think from some stirrings in the hero's mind and the balance of tough and talented spirits between men and women. The drives and motivations of con-artists, artists and businessmen in general are on the table for you. The surprises are, of course,...more
I won this book from the goodreads giveaway.
I'm not sure if I'm just out of the loop or if this was an overly hard to understand book. I've never been a gambler or a grifter, so half the time I had no idea what the characters were talking about. Even when they tried to spell it out, I still was very confused. For me, I felt like it was almost a chore to get through the first half of this book. Once we got past the drama between the main character and his girlfriend trying to decide how they wan...more
I'm not sure if I'm just out of the loop or if this was an overly hard to understand book. I've never been a gambler or a grifter, so half the time I had no idea what the characters were talking about. Even when they tried to spell it out, I still was very confused. For me, I felt like it was almost a chore to get through the first half of this book. Once we got past the drama between the main character and his girlfriend trying to decide how they wan...more
John Vorhaus brings his personable, yet criminal, main character--Radar Hoverlander--back for some schemes-gone-wrong in his new release, The Albuquerque Turkey. Readers met con-man radar and his equally lovable and crooked new girlfriend, Allie, in the series debut, The California Roll. Now the pair is back for their toughest challenge yet: a respectable life as crime-free, upstanding citizens. Easier said than done for these two.
Add in a grifter patriarch, an old nemesis, and a couple of eccen...more
Add in a grifter patriarch, an old nemesis, and a couple of eccen...more
I love getting books from GoodReads contests. I find author's I might never have looked at before.
Quite a bit of humor follows the adventures of Radar, Allie & Mirplo (a group of grifters who came together in the author's first book, The California Roll). Even though I had a pretty good idea what was really going on, there were more than enough twists and turns to keep my head spinning.
I would recommend reading the first book to get to know the characters first. There's not a lot of back sto...more
Quite a bit of humor follows the adventures of Radar, Allie & Mirplo (a group of grifters who came together in the author's first book, The California Roll). Even though I had a pretty good idea what was really going on, there were more than enough twists and turns to keep my head spinning.
I would recommend reading the first book to get to know the characters first. There's not a lot of back sto...more
I won this book from First Reads. It is a very good book. Very enjoyable. Thank you.
I would like to thank Goodreads First Reader Giveway and Crown Publishers for selecting me to read John Vorhaus's new novel "The Albuquerque Turkey". Let me start by saying I don't like reviews that contain spoilers and plot lines, for I want future readers to discover this wonderfully witty, and colorful fun ride of a caper novel.
The twists, turns, and hidden agendas keep you riveted to the final word of this caper tale. This well written novel is funny, fast, and full of colorful characters an...more
The twists, turns, and hidden agendas keep you riveted to the final word of this caper tale. This well written novel is funny, fast, and full of colorful characters an...more
I won this book through the GoodReads First Reads.
In short, The Albuquerque Turkey is a fun book. The writing style is quirky, fast-paced and easy to read. It was interesting and kept my attention and was a worthwhile read.
The reason I find it not as compelling as it should be is because I found the "twists" in the plot somewhat predictable. The story was interesting and fun but I never felt fully immersed because I did not feel like the surprises were real. The fourth wall did not feel complete...more
In short, The Albuquerque Turkey is a fun book. The writing style is quirky, fast-paced and easy to read. It was interesting and kept my attention and was a worthwhile read.
The reason I find it not as compelling as it should be is because I found the "twists" in the plot somewhat predictable. The story was interesting and fun but I never felt fully immersed because I did not feel like the surprises were real. The fourth wall did not feel complete...more
This is slapstick in book form. Radar Hoverlander has vowed to go straight from his life of cons, but his father reappears in his life and sends his plans and resolutions packing. The ending is grand, hilarious, over-the-top, and totally entertaining (as is the entire book). You'll laugh out loud, roll your eyes, and enjoy it immensely.
Hilarious romp by an extremely likeable con man and his partners. I found this book on my shelf and am not sure how it got there... a giveaway in Santa Fe at last year's Left Coast Crime? When I saw it had been nominated for a Lefty at this year's conference, I pulled it down and laughed my way through.
Conman Radar Hoverlander isn't sure if he can trust his dad, who has walked into his life after over 20 years and saying he desperately needs money to pay off a man in Vegas. Once again, this is a wild ride that seems a bit too complicated and leaves the reader in a dark a bit much in the name of twists. Still, it was a fun ride
My full review at Epinions.
My full review at Epinions.
Delightful book featuring... conmen/conwomen/conpeople..., let's just leave it at grifters who take us through cons, crosses, double crosses, bag drops and more. Pure reading pleasure with the great advice of "Be the show".
Truly a Good Read.
Truly a Good Read.
I won this on Goodreads first reads .I really enjoyed this book. Allie and Rader his main characters, are conmen /grifters. This is a somewhat complicated story. But it is entrancing.There are many twists and turns throughout and it,ll keep you guessing. Ilook forward to reading more books by this author
I enjoyed this book. I've never read Vorhaus before and I received this ARC through a Goodreads giveaway. His main characters, Allie and Radar, are con men/grifters and this is a thoroughly entracing, if somewhat complicated, story. There are many twists and turns throughout the plot and it'll keep you guessing. I'll definitely read the next Allie and Radar book.
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A very enjoyable story. The characters are thoroughly self assuming, semi annoying, which for me, makes me love/hate all of them, even the meaner badder guys. Great con jargon, learned some new words, which i will be using in my everyday vocab.
Although I usually read mystery and detective genres I found this quite entertaining to read. There were so many turns at the end that my head was spinning. Kudos to goodreads.com and Crown Publishing for providing this book as a free read, it helped open doors to other genres for me.
It took me a little while to get used to the rhythm of the author's voice, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. I spent most of my time trying to figure out the con, and will probably go back and read The California Roll when I get a chance. The characters weren't perfect, but they were fun. I could totally picture this book as a Tarantino movie.
Feb 23, 2011
shinfu
marked it as to-read
I have just won this book from First Reads. I look forward to reading it. Thanks.
Great quirky characters.
I really had a time getting into this book. It was one I won on Goodreads. Once I got into it, the story was pretty good. It's a story about a con-man trying to go straight and lead a regular life with the girl of his dreams. Because of his father, he ends up backsliding into his old life. Several twists and turns later, the story ends on a happy note. I wasn't sure that it would for a while. Reminded me very much of the movie "The Sting". You really have to pay attention but it is worth it.
LOL !
I liked what I heard of this but there were too many technical issues to finish.
Definitely a fun read.
It was fun to reunite with the characters from The California Roll, but something seemed off. Sure, Radar is supposed to be off-kilter in this book due to the unexpected reappearance of his long-lost grifter father, but he's still Radar Hoverlander. Too often I found myself frustrated that the legendary con man couldn't see the twists and turns that seemed all too obvious to me.
Won this as a Goodreads giveaway. It was a fun read with lots of twists. And twists to the twists. :)
I enjoyed this book, as did my husband. We liked the humor and personalities of the characters. This is a fun book about conartists that are maybe trying to lead a "normal" life. Enjoyable and easy to read.
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John Vorhaus is known to one and all as the man who brought Radar Hoverlander – con artist extraordinaire – to life in the “sunshine noir” mystery novel, The California Roll, and its acclaimed sequel, The Albuquerque Turkey.
John is also well known as the author of The Comic Toolbox: How to be Funny Even if You're Not, and its acclaimed sequel, The Little Book of SITCOM, which continue to be defini...more
More about John Vorhaus...
John is also well known as the author of The Comic Toolbox: How to be Funny Even if You're Not, and its acclaimed sequel, The Little Book of SITCOM, which continue to be defini...more
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