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Repo Shark
Ace Vegas repo man Zef DeGroot is sent to Hawaii to collect a vintage Harley-Davidson from a legendary dope-dealer and karaoke killer the locals call Donny Punani. But an easy snatch for a ninja of Zef's mad skills becomes a nightmarish farce when he finds monstrous crooks, crooked cops and the lust-mad gods of paradise are all conspiring to push his shit in.
300 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 2, 2014
13 people are currently reading
234 people want to read
About the author
Cody Goodfellow
161 books383 followersCODY GOODFELLOW has written nine novels and five collections, and has won three Wonderland Book Awards for Bizarro Fiction. He wrote, co-produced and scored the short Lovecraftian hygiene films Stay At Home Dad and Baby Got Bass, which have become viral sensations on YouTube. He has appeared in numerous short films, TV shows, music videos and commercials as research for his previous novel, Sleazeland. He also edits the hyperpulp zine Forbidden Futures. He “lives” in San Diego. Find out more at codygoodfellow.com.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
January 20, 2025
I needed to take a little break from horror, and this book caught my eye. So it’s pretty wild, with tons of quirky and strange characters. I had flashbacks of The Big Lebowski and Inherent Vice, in the sense that you have a seedy main character working on an assignment, but things progressively get worse as they get closer to the truth. The author does a great job keeping the reader engaged in the story. It has some gross moments, but also lots of action and humor. The ‘About the Author’ section also had me laughing, too. Goodfellow has a strong showing here and I look forward to seeing his other works.
July 24, 2021
Shark Week CONTINUES! At least for me, because real life took a three day-sized bite out of my precious sharky reading time. And now real life can go fok itself.
Which actually makes for a good transition to the topic of this review, as the reader will find out soon enough.
Honestly, it's hard to find the right words to describe this book. Those words might not even exist. It surely is bonkers. And the intriguing parts of it I can't describe without a few spoilers. So, if you are sensitive to those, skip the next two paragraphs.
The main protagonist, Zef or Zephyrus actually, calls himself a Repo Ninja. He's after a guy that has stolen the Captain America bike from Easy Rider, although Zef has never heard of that movie. In any case, he ends up on Hawaii and tries to repossess the bike from dope-dealer and karaoke killer (yes, really) Donny Punani (really).
Zef ends up stumbling from one crazy situation into the next and somehow acquires the job to kill Punani, who is also a wereshark. Not even kidding. Zef is not great at a lot of things, except for getting into trouble and being so flexible that the transition from the first paragraph of this review to the second might be seen in a new light. Still not kidding.
So Zef recruits some help.
I would like to say that things really got crazy from there. But, honestly, the whole book is crazy, and bizarre, and sometimes a little gross. There's just no way telling whether you might enjoy this or not. After a couple of chapters I didn't even know for myself. But, fok, it was fun.
Which actually makes for a good transition to the topic of this review, as the reader will find out soon enough.
Honestly, it's hard to find the right words to describe this book. Those words might not even exist. It surely is bonkers. And the intriguing parts of it I can't describe without a few spoilers. So, if you are sensitive to those, skip the next two paragraphs.
The main protagonist, Zef or Zephyrus actually, calls himself a Repo Ninja. He's after a guy that has stolen the Captain America bike from Easy Rider, although Zef has never heard of that movie. In any case, he ends up on Hawaii and tries to repossess the bike from dope-dealer and karaoke killer (yes, really) Donny Punani (really).
Zef ends up stumbling from one crazy situation into the next and somehow acquires the job to kill Punani, who is also a wereshark. Not even kidding. Zef is not great at a lot of things, except for getting into trouble and being so flexible that the transition from the first paragraph of this review to the second might be seen in a new light. Still not kidding.
"I'm afraid, yo... I'm not a..." I'm not a killer, he tried to say. I mean, sure, I can kill people, just not on purpose.
So Zef recruits some help.
"A leper, a psychotic burnout and a gay Filipino couple who kill tourists for money. You expected a smooth outcome?"
I would like to say that things really got crazy from there. But, honestly, the whole book is crazy, and bizarre, and sometimes a little gross. There's just no way telling whether you might enjoy this or not. After a couple of chapters I didn't even know for myself. But, fok, it was fun.
January 18, 2016
I have a confession: this is the first time I’ve read a Cody Goodfellow novel. Better late than never right?
If you’re an avid horror fan, chances are you’ve stumbled across some of Goodfellow’s short stories in a Lovecraftian anthology or quite possibly read one of the many collaborative books he’s written with Splatterpunk God John Skipp.
In Repo Shark, we meet Zef who is a self-proclaimed repo ninja sent to Hawaii to quietly repossess a famed motorcycle from a gangster named Donny Punani (funny right?). Zef thinks it’ll be an easy job, but it turns out to be incredibly hard navigating the foreign landscape. He has to avoid dirty cops, his own vices, a horny mystical woman, and a predilection for making thing so much worse.
I’ve been to Hawaii a couple times and this book definitely takes me back to that serene landscape. Surprisingly enough, Goodfellow has never been to Hawaii yet he manages to unearth the gritty aspects of the islands and the setting he depicts seems to be spot on.
What impressed me even more than the lush descriptions and maximalist prose was the well-researched aspects of Hawaiian culture, tradition and mythology. There’s a deep understanding of the people who live on the islands, a bit of dark history sprinkled in, and the spawn of the shark god himself: Donny Punanai.
There were a couple times where I thought the book could’ve ended about half-way through the narrative, but this is where Goodfellow truly flexes his literary muscles. The second half of the book is cranked up in every way possible.
Repo Shark is a high-octane, trippy yet humorous, crime fiction novel that delivers something fresh to the genre and makes you question paradise. Aloha, baby.
If you’re an avid horror fan, chances are you’ve stumbled across some of Goodfellow’s short stories in a Lovecraftian anthology or quite possibly read one of the many collaborative books he’s written with Splatterpunk God John Skipp.
In Repo Shark, we meet Zef who is a self-proclaimed repo ninja sent to Hawaii to quietly repossess a famed motorcycle from a gangster named Donny Punani (funny right?). Zef thinks it’ll be an easy job, but it turns out to be incredibly hard navigating the foreign landscape. He has to avoid dirty cops, his own vices, a horny mystical woman, and a predilection for making thing so much worse.
I’ve been to Hawaii a couple times and this book definitely takes me back to that serene landscape. Surprisingly enough, Goodfellow has never been to Hawaii yet he manages to unearth the gritty aspects of the islands and the setting he depicts seems to be spot on.
What impressed me even more than the lush descriptions and maximalist prose was the well-researched aspects of Hawaiian culture, tradition and mythology. There’s a deep understanding of the people who live on the islands, a bit of dark history sprinkled in, and the spawn of the shark god himself: Donny Punanai.
There were a couple times where I thought the book could’ve ended about half-way through the narrative, but this is where Goodfellow truly flexes his literary muscles. The second half of the book is cranked up in every way possible.
Repo Shark is a high-octane, trippy yet humorous, crime fiction novel that delivers something fresh to the genre and makes you question paradise. Aloha, baby.
July 16, 2014
Broken River is a new bizarro publisher focused mostly but I don't believe exclusively on weird crime novels. This imprint is the brain child of J David Osbourne the author of "By the Time We Leave Here We'll be Friends" a novel surreal novel published by Swallowdown and one of the best books I read the year it came out. Swallowdown to me had put out a chain of books that I considered instant classics. So I was excited when Osbourne put out a novel by fellow Swallowdown alum and diabolical genius Cody Goodfellow fresh off his Wonderland award for All Monster Action.
The novel in question is the most straight bizarro of Goodfellow's novels. Every single one of his novels are on the bizarro side of horror. It is not to say that this novel lacks horror elements, in fact it has more horror elements than I expected. However this is a bizarro crime novel. Goodfellow himself described it as “It’s about a repo man who goes to Honolulu to repossess a classic Harley from a were-shark. If you’ve ever enjoyed the quirky detective novels of Charles Willeford, Joe Gores or Elmore Leonard while flying on mushrooms, then this will come as a sensible value. Zef DeGroot is a tarnished White Knight private eye in the classic Spade-Marlowe tradition, but with black belts in karaoke and auto-fellatio.”
The story of vegas based repo-ninja named Zef. He has just taken a job to re-claim a Harley Davidson sold to gambler on a roll in Vegas. Before the sellers realized this Hawaiian man named Donny Punani whose money was not good for it the classic bike was on it's way back to the islands. Punani is serious criminal but he is also the ghost-god son of the King of All Sharks.
As Zef navigates the island he has to sift through the criminal underworld and deal with the possible legends. I laughed through-out the novel, but enjoyed the story and setting as well. Zef is the kinda hapless hero. As weird as it is Goodfellow doesn’t skimp on the quality story-telling and razor sharp prose. It ends with a finale as disgusting as anything in the World Horror convention’s annual Gross-out contest, but it was not forced. It was perfectly weaved in the story and had me laughing and marveling at its genius.
The best thing about this novel? It is like nothing this author did before. I hope you buy it and read it. You’ll enjoy it and then we should all get more weird as hell crime novels from Cody Goodfellow
The novel in question is the most straight bizarro of Goodfellow's novels. Every single one of his novels are on the bizarro side of horror. It is not to say that this novel lacks horror elements, in fact it has more horror elements than I expected. However this is a bizarro crime novel. Goodfellow himself described it as “It’s about a repo man who goes to Honolulu to repossess a classic Harley from a were-shark. If you’ve ever enjoyed the quirky detective novels of Charles Willeford, Joe Gores or Elmore Leonard while flying on mushrooms, then this will come as a sensible value. Zef DeGroot is a tarnished White Knight private eye in the classic Spade-Marlowe tradition, but with black belts in karaoke and auto-fellatio.”
The story of vegas based repo-ninja named Zef. He has just taken a job to re-claim a Harley Davidson sold to gambler on a roll in Vegas. Before the sellers realized this Hawaiian man named Donny Punani whose money was not good for it the classic bike was on it's way back to the islands. Punani is serious criminal but he is also the ghost-god son of the King of All Sharks.
As Zef navigates the island he has to sift through the criminal underworld and deal with the possible legends. I laughed through-out the novel, but enjoyed the story and setting as well. Zef is the kinda hapless hero. As weird as it is Goodfellow doesn’t skimp on the quality story-telling and razor sharp prose. It ends with a finale as disgusting as anything in the World Horror convention’s annual Gross-out contest, but it was not forced. It was perfectly weaved in the story and had me laughing and marveling at its genius.
The best thing about this novel? It is like nothing this author did before. I hope you buy it and read it. You’ll enjoy it and then we should all get more weird as hell crime novels from Cody Goodfellow
August 10, 2015
A brilliant, cartoon-y novel that kept making me laugh while challenging my expectations. Maybe it was not a transcendent emotional experience, but who cares, really? REPO SHARK was just a non-stop onslaught of over-the-top Grand Theft Auto-like insanity. What I liked best about it is that while the storyline is rather linear, it's not what defines the novel. The fun in REPO SHARK is about close-minded, task-oriented professional Zef DeGroot colliding with the paper thin tourist culture of Hawaii. This relationship between Zef and an entire culture dictated the course of this hilarious novel. I really, really wish someone turns it into a late night cartoon. REPO SHARK will go down in history as one of the great cult novels.
April 29, 2015
I've been reading this book lately, usually while staying up late feeding my kid. Holy crap it's intense. There are scenes in here that are frying my brain like an egg. Maybe the best thing Cody Goodfellow's ever written. By the time you're sucked into the Hawaiian atmosphere of it, you're butt-clinching with Zef's every move, positive that Donny Punani is about to slip out of the shadows and rip your baby to shreds. It's a little scary and a lot awesome
December 6, 2014
Kind of like Hunter S Thompson but with more crime, hints of weird supernatural shit and a protagonist based on Ninja from Die Antwoord. If that sounds like something you'd be interested in you should probably read this book.
May 22, 2014
Best fuckin book I've read all year!
October 23, 2015
Rad as hell. Just read it already.
October 16, 2014
Repo Shark is pure giddy euphoria on the page for people with a twisted sense of humor. It nuzzles up to the pleasure center of the abby-normal brain where it stays even after the last page is read. Somehow Goodfellow takes what should be an unlikable character and makes the reader root for him, or at least find sick solace in his failures. The mythology is perfectly crafted, left unexplained in just the right way that it feels natural and works for this warped fish out of water versus a wereshark story.
June 1, 2019
This book was balls worthy. By that I mean it was the tits. I'm not even gonna break into pretentious language to describe it's literary quality, and make myself seem less dumber (?) than some of the other reviewers. There were a few things that threw me off and didn't seem to go with the plot, but it's whatevs. This guy is probably one of the better writers out there currently. Basically, imagine Ninja from Die Antwoord going to Hawaii to repo a motorcycle from a thug. Yep. Good shit!
August 16, 2020
Repo Shark made me upload my first review at Goodreads and that says something.
Zef DeGroot is a skillfull, audacious and persistent Repo Man, who has just landed in Hawaii to recover a vintage Harley Davidson from a local drug dealer and gang leader. As he blends into the Tiki reality and meets the islands' inhabitants, DeGroot realises there is much more at stake than just reclaiming an expensive air-cooled V-twin. In order to fulfill his mission and survive the day, he will have to focus all his strengh and bluster against heavy artillery and supernatural powers.
I found out about Repo Shark from crimereads.com and part of the reason I purchased the book was its magnificent cover. If you observe it in detail, you get a pretty good summary of the content. Cody Goodfellow perfectly blends fast-paced action scenes, with gunfire exchange and heavy violence, horror atmosphere and surprising doses of humour. I always believe that for a book to be readable (let alone enjoyable), it has to be written primarily for the joy of it creator. Repo Shark is no exception and I am pretty sure that Goodfellow will be satisfied reading it after years and years.
The protagonist is really likeable, possessing equal doses of ability and stupidity, while the villains are striking and original. It is evident that the writter is very fond of Hawaii (even though he has never been in the place, as he admits) and also of H.P. Lovecraft, to whom he pays tribute especially in the final chapters of the book. There are also gearhead references, to a very special cinema motorcycle and to striking automobilies (like Shelby Ford Mustangs).
Repo Shark does not belong to a certain genre and it is quite an achievement that Goodfellow has managed to perfectly balance mystery, tons of gore and bloodshed and also fun. The book requires an open minded reader and will surely reward him with a very rich and authentic literary sensation.
Thumbs up and I look forward to my next C.G. reading.
Zef DeGroot is a skillfull, audacious and persistent Repo Man, who has just landed in Hawaii to recover a vintage Harley Davidson from a local drug dealer and gang leader. As he blends into the Tiki reality and meets the islands' inhabitants, DeGroot realises there is much more at stake than just reclaiming an expensive air-cooled V-twin. In order to fulfill his mission and survive the day, he will have to focus all his strengh and bluster against heavy artillery and supernatural powers.
I found out about Repo Shark from crimereads.com and part of the reason I purchased the book was its magnificent cover. If you observe it in detail, you get a pretty good summary of the content. Cody Goodfellow perfectly blends fast-paced action scenes, with gunfire exchange and heavy violence, horror atmosphere and surprising doses of humour. I always believe that for a book to be readable (let alone enjoyable), it has to be written primarily for the joy of it creator. Repo Shark is no exception and I am pretty sure that Goodfellow will be satisfied reading it after years and years.
The protagonist is really likeable, possessing equal doses of ability and stupidity, while the villains are striking and original. It is evident that the writter is very fond of Hawaii (even though he has never been in the place, as he admits) and also of H.P. Lovecraft, to whom he pays tribute especially in the final chapters of the book. There are also gearhead references, to a very special cinema motorcycle and to striking automobilies (like Shelby Ford Mustangs).
Repo Shark does not belong to a certain genre and it is quite an achievement that Goodfellow has managed to perfectly balance mystery, tons of gore and bloodshed and also fun. The book requires an open minded reader and will surely reward him with a very rich and authentic literary sensation.
Thumbs up and I look forward to my next C.G. reading.
October 7, 2014
Hay mucho mythpunk por ahí, pero poco tan punk como éste.
November 12, 2025
Dark and bizarre with a great sense of humor. This was a fun crime adventure across the islands of Hawaii, it touched on a lot of the interesting issues related to the colonization and commodification of the islands and interweaved them well with a modern retelling of a pulp adventure story.
July 25, 2019
I thought I had given up on that kind of testosterone-driven crime thriller featuring a drug-addled antihero and a thin plot. This was my go-to in the 90s until my tastes evolved. But Repo Shark, which I culled from a list of unusual crime novels from the indisposable crimereads.com, proved me wrong. And it’s yet another reminder that good writing can paper over a multitude of sins.
The plot is straightforward: guy goes to Hawaii to repossess a motorcycle, things aren’t what they seem, hijinks ensue. But Goodfellow writes it with such sharp prose that doesn’t attempt to condescend the reader, or wink at them with an “Ain’t it cool?” look. His character is a loser. He’s interacting with losers. They do loser stuff. That’s what this book is all about and its biggest strength is never trying to be more than that.
Goodfellow also portrays Hawaii, a place I’ve never been to, as a seedy underbelly of imperial greed and cultural genocide. A lot of plot and dialogue is devoted to the plight of the natives on the islands and how the Afrikaner lead character is suspicious no matter what by virtue of his white skin. It gave poignancy to a story that’s not necessarily looking for some.
And it helped to assist swallowing the hardest part of the story: the lead is an avowed racist and homophobe. Some lines I haven’t seen in a book in years (“Does this make me gay?”) popped up. I stopped halfway through to do a quick search of the author because even though I was enjoying it, I didn’t want to give my attention and support to some alt-right tool. Fortunately, from what I gleaned from Goodfellow’s interviews and works, he seems like a decent fellow who’s keen on how institutional racism affects folks. You wouldn’t know it reading this though so be forewarned. Your mileage may vary.
But if you can stomach those issues, it’s a good book that’s worth your time. I’m definitely going to check out more of Goodfellow’s work.
The plot is straightforward: guy goes to Hawaii to repossess a motorcycle, things aren’t what they seem, hijinks ensue. But Goodfellow writes it with such sharp prose that doesn’t attempt to condescend the reader, or wink at them with an “Ain’t it cool?” look. His character is a loser. He’s interacting with losers. They do loser stuff. That’s what this book is all about and its biggest strength is never trying to be more than that.
Goodfellow also portrays Hawaii, a place I’ve never been to, as a seedy underbelly of imperial greed and cultural genocide. A lot of plot and dialogue is devoted to the plight of the natives on the islands and how the Afrikaner lead character is suspicious no matter what by virtue of his white skin. It gave poignancy to a story that’s not necessarily looking for some.
And it helped to assist swallowing the hardest part of the story: the lead is an avowed racist and homophobe. Some lines I haven’t seen in a book in years (“Does this make me gay?”) popped up. I stopped halfway through to do a quick search of the author because even though I was enjoying it, I didn’t want to give my attention and support to some alt-right tool. Fortunately, from what I gleaned from Goodfellow’s interviews and works, he seems like a decent fellow who’s keen on how institutional racism affects folks. You wouldn’t know it reading this though so be forewarned. Your mileage may vary.
But if you can stomach those issues, it’s a good book that’s worth your time. I’m definitely going to check out more of Goodfellow’s work.
March 7, 2019
This is one wild and crazy book. I enjoyed it and felt the conclusion was particularly strong, but it is not for the weak of heart or stomach. If you are easily offended by strong language, slurs of any kind, absurd situations, or general grossness, you might want to skip it. If you like vivid characterization, imaginative plotting, and stream-of-consciousness narrative, maybe give it a try. It is quite funny, if you appreciate slapstick comedy and bawdy humor.
Primarily told in extreme close-up! third person, Repo Shark follows a stupid, yet sweet, young South African from Las Vegas on a job to Hawaii to repossess a fabulously expensive motorcycle. If there is an bad decision to be made in regards to this trip, Zef makes it, landing in deeper and deeper sh*t with more and more increasingly dangerous people, all the while getting further and further from his goal. The pacing is a break-neck speed collage of chase scenes and beatdowns.
The locations in Hawaii are rich characters in themselves, and the book effectively contrasts the natural areas with the expensive tourist traps as well as the seamier side of every town. There is a lot to think about regarding how a tropical paradise fares once it becomes accessible to everyone.
In contrast to Zef's madcap adventures, the supernatural elements unfurl slowly, patiently and insidiously stalking our antihero. The resolution is amazing. I found it a perfect resolution to quite an impossible predicament.
I couldn't get this book through my local library or the inter-library loan system. I purchased an electronic copy.
Primarily told in extreme close-up! third person, Repo Shark follows a stupid, yet sweet, young South African from Las Vegas on a job to Hawaii to repossess a fabulously expensive motorcycle. If there is an bad decision to be made in regards to this trip, Zef makes it, landing in deeper and deeper sh*t with more and more increasingly dangerous people, all the while getting further and further from his goal. The pacing is a break-neck speed collage of chase scenes and beatdowns.
The locations in Hawaii are rich characters in themselves, and the book effectively contrasts the natural areas with the expensive tourist traps as well as the seamier side of every town. There is a lot to think about regarding how a tropical paradise fares once it becomes accessible to everyone.
In contrast to Zef's madcap adventures, the supernatural elements unfurl slowly, patiently and insidiously stalking our antihero. The resolution is amazing. I found it a perfect resolution to quite an impossible predicament.
I couldn't get this book through my local library or the inter-library loan system. I purchased an electronic copy.
Read
December 6, 2019From cover to cover, this was a fucking trip. It reads like an American Gods and Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits crossover fever dream with a Hawaiian backdrop. Couldn't read a sentence without wondering how it would sound in a Mars Volta song.
Can't say it's for everyone, can't say it's even for me, but I can say that it's one of the strangest books I've ever finished.
Can't say it's for everyone, can't say it's even for me, but I can say that it's one of the strangest books I've ever finished.
February 17, 2020
A weird, fun book.
May 27, 2021
Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo fokkin' good!
March 9, 2023
Barking Mad
Gloriously offensive, gratuitous, violent bizarro pulp of the most enjoyable kind. Goodfellow is a fantastically weird and faced paced writer, with a real talent for similes.
Gloriously offensive, gratuitous, violent bizarro pulp of the most enjoyable kind. Goodfellow is a fantastically weird and faced paced writer, with a real talent for similes.
April 26, 2024
The first third of this is glorious Cody Goodfellow at his best. But when that heavy Harley falls sideways, it takes a while to pick up and put back on the road. It all comes full circle in the end, however.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews