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Strip
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and when a team of unlikely criminals band together for an audacious score, everything is bound to go off the rails. A broke strip club announcer, an ex-con bodybuilder, a meth-head drag racer, and a career criminal have set their eyes on the local strip club, where a safe full of millions of dollars in cash awaits them. What none of them know is that the place is under surveillance by police officers intent on busting the Mafioso owner . . . .
358 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 6, 2012
2 people are currently reading
152 people want to read
About the author
John Bruni
73 books85 followersJohn Bruni was born on July 25, 1978 in Elmhurst, Illinois. He attended local schools from kindergarten all the way through college, where he spent time as a journalist for the Elmhurst College Leader, writing comic book reviews, an occasional feature article, and a series of regular columns as THE STRAIGHT with his Primitive Underbelly partner, Jesse “GonZo” Russell (whose story, “Bear’s Tale, Abridged” appears serialized in all three issues of TABARD INN). He was also the poetry editor of the campus literary/art magazine, MIDDLEWESTERN VOICE, for a whole two weeks, during which time he chose none of the poems that were published.
He has worked several jobs, among them selling ad space for a local newspaper publisher. He was not very good at this (in fact, one might say he was dismal) and was quickly shown the door, but he managed to place a few stories with a couple of their publications (COLLEGE NEWS and CHICAGO COMMUTER) before he left. He also worked selling season tickets for the Drury Lane theater in Oakbrook, which he was much better at, and he toiled away at Sears, selling shoes for almost two miserable years. He was unjustly fired from the library featured in his "Tales from the Library" columns in issues one and two of TABARD INN. He worked as a teleconference operator and in tech support for about a decade, but the company fired him after they discovered his books. He now works in repair for a telecom company, where he is much happier.
He likes to think he’s a professional writer, and he is getting paid for his work more and more often these days. With two hundred publications to his name, his most recent outing is the novel, AND JESUS CAME BACK, from Rooster Republic. He also has collection of short stories called TALES OF QUESTIONABLE TASTE, published by StrangeHouse Books, who also published his novel, POOR BASTARDS AND RICH F*CKS. His novella, DONG OF FRANKENSTEIN, was published by New Kink. He has a novel, STRIP, which was originally published by Melpomene, the mystery and crime imprint of MUSA. It has been re-released by Riot Forge. His shorter work has also appeared in several anthologies, such as ZOMBIE, ZOMBIE, BRAIN BANG! from StrangeHouse, A HACKED-UP HOLIDAY MASSACRE from Pill Hill, and the critically acclaimed VILE THINGS from Comet Press. You can also read his work in issues of SHROUD, MORPHEUS TALES, CTHULHU SEX, OVER MY DEAD BODY!, THE REALM BEYOND, TALES OF THE TALISMAN, AOIFE'S KISS, LIQUID IMAGINATION, and a variety of other grand publications. He is also very proud of his first foray into comic books; thanks to Leo Perez and Jon Lennon of CheeseLord Comics, one of his real life stories was adapted into a one-page strip for the August 2011 issue of PRODUCT OF SOCIETY.
One of his poetry reviews has also been published in the Winter 2006 issue of BIBLIOPHILOS (vol. XII, no. 4), but his contributors copies got lost in the mail, and this issue has sold out. If anyone out there has a copy of this magazine, please get in contact with him at editor@talesofquestionabletaste.com. He is willing to pay top dollar for it.
Very briefly, he was the editor and publisher of TABARD INN: TALES OF QUESTIONABLE TASTE. He still has boxes and boxes of back issues cluttering up his house. If you're interested in taking some of them off his hands, he would greatly appreciate it, as he needs the space.
John Bruni is kind of creeped out by writing about himself in the third person, so he’s going to stop now. Besides, the screaming of kidnapped children in his cellar is distracting him . . and he must do something about this immediately. He can be followed on Twitter @tusitalabruni; on his blog, www.talesofunspeakabletaste.blogspot.... and he was also a horror movie reviewer at www.forcedviewing.com. If you are living in the past, you can also find him on MySpace at www.myspace.com/tabardinn, but be warned, he is never there.
He has worked several jobs, among them selling ad space for a local newspaper publisher. He was not very good at this (in fact, one might say he was dismal) and was quickly shown the door, but he managed to place a few stories with a couple of their publications (COLLEGE NEWS and CHICAGO COMMUTER) before he left. He also worked selling season tickets for the Drury Lane theater in Oakbrook, which he was much better at, and he toiled away at Sears, selling shoes for almost two miserable years. He was unjustly fired from the library featured in his "Tales from the Library" columns in issues one and two of TABARD INN. He worked as a teleconference operator and in tech support for about a decade, but the company fired him after they discovered his books. He now works in repair for a telecom company, where he is much happier.
He likes to think he’s a professional writer, and he is getting paid for his work more and more often these days. With two hundred publications to his name, his most recent outing is the novel, AND JESUS CAME BACK, from Rooster Republic. He also has collection of short stories called TALES OF QUESTIONABLE TASTE, published by StrangeHouse Books, who also published his novel, POOR BASTARDS AND RICH F*CKS. His novella, DONG OF FRANKENSTEIN, was published by New Kink. He has a novel, STRIP, which was originally published by Melpomene, the mystery and crime imprint of MUSA. It has been re-released by Riot Forge. His shorter work has also appeared in several anthologies, such as ZOMBIE, ZOMBIE, BRAIN BANG! from StrangeHouse, A HACKED-UP HOLIDAY MASSACRE from Pill Hill, and the critically acclaimed VILE THINGS from Comet Press. You can also read his work in issues of SHROUD, MORPHEUS TALES, CTHULHU SEX, OVER MY DEAD BODY!, THE REALM BEYOND, TALES OF THE TALISMAN, AOIFE'S KISS, LIQUID IMAGINATION, and a variety of other grand publications. He is also very proud of his first foray into comic books; thanks to Leo Perez and Jon Lennon of CheeseLord Comics, one of his real life stories was adapted into a one-page strip for the August 2011 issue of PRODUCT OF SOCIETY.
One of his poetry reviews has also been published in the Winter 2006 issue of BIBLIOPHILOS (vol. XII, no. 4), but his contributors copies got lost in the mail, and this issue has sold out. If anyone out there has a copy of this magazine, please get in contact with him at editor@talesofquestionabletaste.com. He is willing to pay top dollar for it.
Very briefly, he was the editor and publisher of TABARD INN: TALES OF QUESTIONABLE TASTE. He still has boxes and boxes of back issues cluttering up his house. If you're interested in taking some of them off his hands, he would greatly appreciate it, as he needs the space.
John Bruni is kind of creeped out by writing about himself in the third person, so he’s going to stop now. Besides, the screaming of kidnapped children in his cellar is distracting him . . and he must do something about this immediately. He can be followed on Twitter @tusitalabruni; on his blog, www.talesofunspeakabletaste.blogspot.... and he was also a horror movie reviewer at www.forcedviewing.com. If you are living in the past, you can also find him on MySpace at www.myspace.com/tabardinn, but be warned, he is never there.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 13, 2013
What a thrill ride! “Strip” is a terrific novel that is chalk full of action, violence, blood, and of course, strippers. Four men who’ve never met decide to rob a strip joint; a strip joint which happens to be run by the mob. The kicker? These four men don’t care. Stupid, or just plain crazy? And unknown to the men and the mob, the cops have been watching the joint for some time. Will they live to tell the story, or will they shoot their way out to freedom? The only way to find out is to read this book. I highly recommend this book if you love a book full of action and suspense, and at times a little humour; with a hodgepodge bunch of characters, some good, some bad, and some just evil. Such an intriguing and well-written novel that kept me engaged as I couldn’t put it down; I could envision the events unfolding, as though I was watching a movie. Take heed and give this one a read.
October 4, 2015
A solid, dark and gritty novel with well-built characters. The thing that stands out in my mind after reading is that the book showcases the range Bruni has. Having read many of his other stories, this showed me a different side that I enjoyed. Recommended!
January 22, 2013
What does it say about a book when one of the most moral characters in it is a man who is paid to break people's fingers if they actually touch the strippers they are watching? In this case it says you are in for an interesting read.
This book is full of characters, most of whom are not very nice. You've got a Neanderthal body-builder with an Oedipal Complex, a soul-less criminal mastermind, a freaky-tweaky meth addict/ getaway driver who performs Japanese sword katas to help him focus on his driving and the sleazy strip club announcer who got the whole bloody ball rolling. There is also a broad supporting cast of thieves, prostitutes, Mafioso, violent degenerates, perverts, obsessive cops and one dying, cantankerous soap opera addict. What these characters all have in common is that they are all either directly or indirectly connected to the heist of a Mafia run strip club.
I never like to give away too many spoilers so I won't get into many details. It should suffice to say that said sleazoid strip club announcer, Will Timmon, needs big money fast and the only way he can see to get it is to rob the safe at the strip club at which he works. Running his mouth off at a local dive bar, Will meets someone with the know how to make that robbery a reality. Thus the ingredients are combined to create one slimy gumbo of wretched scum and villainy.
If the heist went according to numbers it would not make for nearly as much entertainment as if something went horribly wrong. This heist is no exception. The crew assembled for the job is a dicey one to begin with, and things get progressively more clustered until the exceptionally violent climax, which explodes from the book like a bullet from the back of some stoolie's head.
If graphic sex and violence is your thing, you'll love this book. If gritty, doomed-from-the-start crime stories are your thing, you'll love this book. If you like your humor dry and dark, you'll love this book. If you like all three of those things then you've just hit a Literary Trifecta. Comments (2) | Permalink | Most recent comment: Jan 17, 2013 1:26 PM PST
This book is full of characters, most of whom are not very nice. You've got a Neanderthal body-builder with an Oedipal Complex, a soul-less criminal mastermind, a freaky-tweaky meth addict/ getaway driver who performs Japanese sword katas to help him focus on his driving and the sleazy strip club announcer who got the whole bloody ball rolling. There is also a broad supporting cast of thieves, prostitutes, Mafioso, violent degenerates, perverts, obsessive cops and one dying, cantankerous soap opera addict. What these characters all have in common is that they are all either directly or indirectly connected to the heist of a Mafia run strip club.
I never like to give away too many spoilers so I won't get into many details. It should suffice to say that said sleazoid strip club announcer, Will Timmon, needs big money fast and the only way he can see to get it is to rob the safe at the strip club at which he works. Running his mouth off at a local dive bar, Will meets someone with the know how to make that robbery a reality. Thus the ingredients are combined to create one slimy gumbo of wretched scum and villainy.
If the heist went according to numbers it would not make for nearly as much entertainment as if something went horribly wrong. This heist is no exception. The crew assembled for the job is a dicey one to begin with, and things get progressively more clustered until the exceptionally violent climax, which explodes from the book like a bullet from the back of some stoolie's head.
If graphic sex and violence is your thing, you'll love this book. If gritty, doomed-from-the-start crime stories are your thing, you'll love this book. If you like your humor dry and dark, you'll love this book. If you like all three of those things then you've just hit a Literary Trifecta. Comments (2) | Permalink | Most recent comment: Jan 17, 2013 1:26 PM PST
January 22, 2013
Pretty good novel about the misadventures of a criminal gang who plot to knock over a Mafia-run strip club, filled with distinctive characterization (my particular favorite is a drug-addicted wheelman). Starts off with a bit of a comic vibe but turns very dark towards the final act--imagine a Coen Brothers movie, but much sleazier. A bit too dialogue-heavy in the early stages, but the tension ratchets up ones things start going south. Handles moral ambiguity very well. A promising debut from Mr. Bruni.
April 26, 2015
The setup of the characters and the environment were pretty good, although a lot felt a bit stereotypical. But, about half way through, the actual crime got underway and I thought the characters lost a lot of focus. There were some bad decisions made all around and although that may be realistic when you put people in that situation, it did not seem to make good reading. For me, some of the sex and violence just didn't work.
Not bad but I think it could have been better if the plot had been tightened up and the overall length shortened.
Not bad but I think it could have been better if the plot had been tightened up and the overall length shortened.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews