Boondoggle

by Mark Rapacz

Young women keep showing up dead in the swamplands area of Oslo, Minnesota and nobody seems to care—except for Mack Harrison and his crewmates working as mosquito eradicators; aspiring hit man Jerry, stoner burnout Smokey, absent-minded Sid, and yoga-practicing foreman Lorne. The more the bodies pile up the more they start to think they should do something about it. Maybe. This is just how things are in Oslo. Dead girls in swamps are like the rising sun.

Still, Mack seems to be the only guy bothered by it all, but he’s new to the crew—recently moved from Chicago—and those big town ideals don’t always mesh well with Oslo values because there’s plenty he just doesn’t understand. Mack and the crew are pretty sure they know who or what is behind these deaths. They have theories. Could be Sheriff John. Could be the new med-tech giant MedSci. Could be Metro Area Vector Control itself—Mack and the crew do have the midnight task of disposing of these bodies.

Someday, they might put theory to action, but they are getting a pretty good paycheck for not doing much of anything. So, not a big deal, really.

238 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 20, 2016

About the author

Mark Rapacz’s stories have appeared in a number of publications, including Plots with Guns, Revolver, Thuglit, Pulp Modern, Water-Stone Review, East Bay Review, Hawai’i Review, Martian Lit and The Best American Nonrequired Reading. His latest crime novel, A Burdizzo for a Prince, is out now from Fahrenheit Press. He and his wife live in Minneapolis where he continues to write stories.

Reviews

[David Nemeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first started reading Mark Rapacz' Boondoggle (280 Steps), I did not have a good feeling. I did not want this book to go all cliché on me — if I wanted something like that I'd watch an Angelina Jolie movie. But it didn't take Rapacz to show me that wasn't going to happen. Note: I should have a little more trust in the publisher 280 Steps.

Mack, the main character, has joined a company that kills mosquitos in Minnesota. He is an aimless twenty-something, grieving over his father's sudden death and he lives with his mother who has been stuck in housecoat shock for months since the death of her husband. Rapacz opens Mack's inner dialogues to the reader as we learn of his anxiety about . . . well, everything.

He was always reminded of that when he and his parents went southside to visit his uncles on his mother’s side. He couldn’t even keep up with those men. They all had blue-collar jobs, spoke blue-collar ways, and hand opinions about sports, politics, and women. Mack didn’t have opinions about any of that. He knew his uncles thought he was soft, thought he was too rich, living in that rich neighborhood, with a dad who had a rich job and friendly face and who seemed to get along with everybody.

It was all weakness to them. The only thing that protected Mack from his uncles was his mom and his aunts. They all adored him. He was their Little Mack. Sweet and quiet and when he was young, the cutest kid in the room. He grew up, sort of. Got to be about an inch taller than his aunts, which seemed manly enough. His uncles were all six-foot something. His dad was also six-foot something. Mack didn’t know how he missed out on that.

Boondoggle focuses on a few mosquito-killing teams who bust "their ass so folks could comfortably roast pig parts." But then they discover a body of a young woman in the swamps off the interstate — it's not the first and it won't be the last. Even though they helped the police, they knew there was something amiss, they knew they were in deep shit. As one co-worker said, "It’s the forbidden triangle of the corrupt. Mob. Government. Corporation. And we’re the pawns. Don’t you see it? We’re the henchman."

Boondoggle could have gone down the road of a New York Times Best Seller, but it did not. It was better than that. Rapacz has written a wonderful character study of a man who has difficulties in connecting with society though he continually tries to do so.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chasing insects in the swamps of Minnesota isn’t really a difficult job, but crack mosquito eradicator Mack Harrison can’t help wondering about all those murdered girls that keep turning up. Mack might not be the most ambitious guy around, but he’s starting to think that he should do something- even if not doing much of anything has worked pretty well so far. With a healthy serving of noir humor and a side of existential musing, this is perfect for fans of Twin Peaks and Fargo. I can’t recommend this novel highly enough!

[Evan Kingston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic Rapacz: funny and brutal with a strong plot punctuated by powerful writing. Surprisingly poignant and topical to our current national political climate, too, considering it is about Minnesotan mosquitos.

[Rosanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book although I must admit I was a bit disappointed with the rather untidy finale. There's lots of dialogue, both funny and poignant. Rapacz is a great storyteller and I'll be keeping an eye out for new tales from him.

[Rhonda Gilliland · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a subject for a mystery, and boy, does it work. This doesn't have the neat and tidy ending, but I'd love to see it have room for a series. The characters are interesting and intriguing. The author's cutting humor doesn't demean you and is so dry and relatable. For example, Mack realized it took more work to look like you were working than to just do your job in the first place. "If he wasn't the first suspect in a school shooting, he'd be the first one they'd question." "He didn't just make gallows humor acceptable, he made the gallows themselves acceptable." "Respect the pants." The crew is fascinated with the HBO series, The Wire. You'll be wondering what you missed. It was so refreshing to be introduced to a new, young writer, with all respect to middle to older aged writers. I've gotten into mysteries as I got older, and this was right up my alley. Plot line, characters, and a damn good story. You'll be begging for more.

[Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book brought back a lot of Mosquito Control memories, but it really required better editing.