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Velvet Elvis
Sonny Cantone is having a really bad day. He’s broke. His girlfriend left him. He drinks more than he should and smokes a lot of pot. And now some lunatic stole his car. As an ex-con with little experience in anything other than criminal enterprises and bad decisions, Sonny’s job prospects are not looking good, even in the middle of a blistering summer in the little Cape Cod tourist trap town he calls home. Worse still, he’s sleeping with a shady stripper that works as an informant for a dirty cop that hates him and has a penchant for extreme violence. So when Sonny’s partner in crime and stoner buddy Crash offers to bring him in on a caper that promises to yield some quick money, he has to listen. But nothing has prepared Sonny for the vortex of mayhem and madness he’s about to fall into.
In a cloud of marijuana smoke, he and Crash descend into the hot summer night, on the run from an array of crazed characters populating the darkest and seediest corners of Cape Cod after dark. And now, what seemed like an easy score turns instead into a surreal nightmare both horrific and darkly hilarious. Sonny just wants to get home, but it’ll take all night—this night—a crazy night that just keeps getting crazier, and one he’ll need to make right before things spiral so far out of control they’ll never get out alive.
Sonny Cantone is having a really bad day. Wait until he sees the next twenty-four hours.
Praise for Books by Greg F.
“ Dangerous Boys shows how great it is to be in the hands of a seasoned pro like Greg F. Gifune.” —James Grady, author of Six Days of the Condor
“This quietly powerful short novel should bring much deserved attention to Gifune, who succeeds in imbuing what could have been a clichéd and formulaic noir premise with haunting emotional depth. Fans of understated, sophisticated crime fiction are in for a treat.” — Publishers Weekly , starred review for Saying Uncle
“A perfect balance of hardboiled noir and occult horror, Greg F. Gifune’s Drago Descending is a real page-turner, genuinely frightening and emotionally devastating. This is a genre-bending tale of lost love and madness you won’t soon forget.” —Sandy DeLuca, author of Descent
“Gifune is on my very short list of must-read authors. I wouldn’t miss anything he writes!” —Richard Chizmar, author of Chasing the Boogeyman
In a cloud of marijuana smoke, he and Crash descend into the hot summer night, on the run from an array of crazed characters populating the darkest and seediest corners of Cape Cod after dark. And now, what seemed like an easy score turns instead into a surreal nightmare both horrific and darkly hilarious. Sonny just wants to get home, but it’ll take all night—this night—a crazy night that just keeps getting crazier, and one he’ll need to make right before things spiral so far out of control they’ll never get out alive.
Sonny Cantone is having a really bad day. Wait until he sees the next twenty-four hours.
Praise for Books by Greg F.
“ Dangerous Boys shows how great it is to be in the hands of a seasoned pro like Greg F. Gifune.” —James Grady, author of Six Days of the Condor
“This quietly powerful short novel should bring much deserved attention to Gifune, who succeeds in imbuing what could have been a clichéd and formulaic noir premise with haunting emotional depth. Fans of understated, sophisticated crime fiction are in for a treat.” — Publishers Weekly , starred review for Saying Uncle
“A perfect balance of hardboiled noir and occult horror, Greg F. Gifune’s Drago Descending is a real page-turner, genuinely frightening and emotionally devastating. This is a genre-bending tale of lost love and madness you won’t soon forget.” —Sandy DeLuca, author of Descent
“Gifune is on my very short list of must-read authors. I wouldn’t miss anything he writes!” —Richard Chizmar, author of Chasing the Boogeyman
230 pages, Paperback
Published October 17, 2021
4 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Greg F. Gifune
79 books352 followersCalled "One of the best writers of his generation" by both the Roswell Literary Review and author Brian Keene, Greg F. Gifune is the author of numerous short stories, several novels and two short story collections. His work has been published in a wide range of magazines and anthologies all over the world, and has recently garnered interest from Hollywood. His novels include The Bleeding Season, Deep Night, Saying Uncle, A View From The Lake, Night Work, Drago Descending, Blood In Electric Blue and Dominion.
Along with his short story collections, Down To Sleep and Heretics, his work has been nominated for numerous awards and is consistently praised by readers and critics alike across the globe. For seven years he was Editor-in-Chief of Thievin' Kitty Publications, publishers of the acclaimed fiction magazines The Edge: Tales of Suspense (1998-2004) and Burning Sky: Adventures in Science Fiction Terror (1998-2003), and currently serves as Associate Editor at Delirium Books.
The son of teachers, Greg F. Gifune was educated in Boston and has lived in various places, including New York City and Peru. A trained actor and broadcaster, he has appeared in various stage productions and has worked in radio and television as both an on-air talent and a producer. Earlier in life he held a wide range of jobs, encompassing everything from journalism to promotions.
The author of numerous novels, screenplays and two short story collections, his work has been consistently praised by critics and readers alike, and has been translated into several languages and published all over the world. Greg and his wife Carol live in Massachusetts with a bevy of cats.
Discover more about his writing at GregFGifune.com and UninvitedBooks.com.
Along with his short story collections, Down To Sleep and Heretics, his work has been nominated for numerous awards and is consistently praised by readers and critics alike across the globe. For seven years he was Editor-in-Chief of Thievin' Kitty Publications, publishers of the acclaimed fiction magazines The Edge: Tales of Suspense (1998-2004) and Burning Sky: Adventures in Science Fiction Terror (1998-2003), and currently serves as Associate Editor at Delirium Books.
The son of teachers, Greg F. Gifune was educated in Boston and has lived in various places, including New York City and Peru. A trained actor and broadcaster, he has appeared in various stage productions and has worked in radio and television as both an on-air talent and a producer. Earlier in life he held a wide range of jobs, encompassing everything from journalism to promotions.
The author of numerous novels, screenplays and two short story collections, his work has been consistently praised by critics and readers alike, and has been translated into several languages and published all over the world. Greg and his wife Carol live in Massachusetts with a bevy of cats.
Discover more about his writing at GregFGifune.com and UninvitedBooks.com.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 30, 2025
Velvet Elvis has Left the Building...
VELVET ELVIS
by Greg F. Gifune
5 stars. Sonny Cantone, ex-crime thug lives in Buzzard's Bay, last stop before Cape Cod proper, population 4,000...
One morning...
An old man in an aviator cap hot wired Sonny's old beater Volkswagen Rabbit and took it for a joy ride...
Meanwhile...
Sonny is deciding whether or not he wants to call the cops about his stolen car. He and the police aren't on good terms...
Sonny's friend in crime, Crash, calls him with a lucrative caper if he wants to do one more job...
The job was a quick $12,000 robbing a street vendor who sells sunglasses and velvet paintings...
Without a job and now without wheels...
Sonny walked to the corner bar, Beach Bum Dave's, to decide whether or not to take Crash's job...
Sonny was trying to go straight...
While in the bar, he met an old crime acquaintance, Telly, who offers Sonny a ride to Crash's bungalow...
The two stop along the way where...
Sonny reluctantly becomes lookout for Telly as he threatens a guy bothering one of his female friends...
After Telly drops Sonny off with Crash...
They rob the vendor, stealing the man's $12,000 and a velvet painting of Elvis, leaving the vendor badly beaten...
But...
When they got back to Crash's place and counted the money, they found $54,000, not the expected $12,000...
It seems...
They've robbed the wrong man. They have mistakenly robbed a man working for a vicious crime lord called The Toad...
And now The Toad is looking for them...
This was an excellent crime noir. Don't look for any heroes here. They only look out for themselves. Really good story and humorous in parts.
You really can't go wrong choosing a book by this author.
VELVET ELVIS
by Greg F. Gifune
5 stars. Sonny Cantone, ex-crime thug lives in Buzzard's Bay, last stop before Cape Cod proper, population 4,000...
One morning...
An old man in an aviator cap hot wired Sonny's old beater Volkswagen Rabbit and took it for a joy ride...
Meanwhile...
Sonny is deciding whether or not he wants to call the cops about his stolen car. He and the police aren't on good terms...
Sonny's friend in crime, Crash, calls him with a lucrative caper if he wants to do one more job...
The job was a quick $12,000 robbing a street vendor who sells sunglasses and velvet paintings...
Without a job and now without wheels...
Sonny walked to the corner bar, Beach Bum Dave's, to decide whether or not to take Crash's job...
Sonny was trying to go straight...
While in the bar, he met an old crime acquaintance, Telly, who offers Sonny a ride to Crash's bungalow...
The two stop along the way where...
Sonny reluctantly becomes lookout for Telly as he threatens a guy bothering one of his female friends...
After Telly drops Sonny off with Crash...
They rob the vendor, stealing the man's $12,000 and a velvet painting of Elvis, leaving the vendor badly beaten...
But...
When they got back to Crash's place and counted the money, they found $54,000, not the expected $12,000...
It seems...
They've robbed the wrong man. They have mistakenly robbed a man working for a vicious crime lord called The Toad...
And now The Toad is looking for them...
This was an excellent crime noir. Don't look for any heroes here. They only look out for themselves. Really good story and humorous in parts.
You really can't go wrong choosing a book by this author.
December 7, 2021
Known mostly for psychological horror, Gifune turns around and delivers a violent, funny, and unflinching look at life after 40 for 2 has- been criminals. A story that’s right up there with the best of Lansdale. And what a perfect ending
December 26, 2023
I’m so impressed by Gifune’s versatility. Well known for his psychological horror, this book proves that he can write fantastic noir (think Joe Lansdale) as well. Highly recommended!
October 26, 2021
Fast-paced, hardcore fiction about a heist that goes terribly wrong when a small-time former criminal gets lured back into the life with the hope for an easy score. Turns out to be anything but. Dark, violent, and impossible to put down, Velvet Elvis is Greg F. Gifune at his gritty and unflinching best!
March 28, 2025
Elvis has left the building!!
Sonny and Crash done fucked up!
They stole from the wrong person.
And said person wants their money back.
This story rocks from beginning to end. And I mean that literally. Once it kicks in, it doesn’t stop until the last page. And it’s a fun read. For the reader. Not for our two “heros”.
Sonny and Crash are basically a couple stoners that get caught up in a heist set up by a Vanilla Ice wanna be by the name of Kevin-Keith. That’s his first name. Roll with it.
They do the job only to discover the person they thought they were stealing from is not in fact the owner of the money. Oh, also, along with the money, Crash steals a velvet Elvis painting as well. Hence the title of the book.
The story is basically A Night in the Lives of Sonny & Crash. An extremely violent night. And, at times, quite funny.
Greg Gifune knows how to shift gears from ultra violent to comedic to reflective all in 2-3 pages.
In fact, the end came as a surprise. Sonny is pretty much a hard ass throughout the book. But in the end we see a different side of him. And that’s a nod towards Greg’s skills as a writer. Up until this book I knew Greg mostly as a horror author. But this one changes that.
Sonny and Crash done fucked up!
They stole from the wrong person.
And said person wants their money back.
This story rocks from beginning to end. And I mean that literally. Once it kicks in, it doesn’t stop until the last page. And it’s a fun read. For the reader. Not for our two “heros”.
Sonny and Crash are basically a couple stoners that get caught up in a heist set up by a Vanilla Ice wanna be by the name of Kevin-Keith. That’s his first name. Roll with it.
They do the job only to discover the person they thought they were stealing from is not in fact the owner of the money. Oh, also, along with the money, Crash steals a velvet Elvis painting as well. Hence the title of the book.
The story is basically A Night in the Lives of Sonny & Crash. An extremely violent night. And, at times, quite funny.
Greg Gifune knows how to shift gears from ultra violent to comedic to reflective all in 2-3 pages.
In fact, the end came as a surprise. Sonny is pretty much a hard ass throughout the book. But in the end we see a different side of him. And that’s a nod towards Greg’s skills as a writer. Up until this book I knew Greg mostly as a horror author. But this one changes that.
November 9, 2021
Down and Dirty
Greg is one of my favorite authors, so I'm inclined to like anything he puts out. But... in this case I'm inclined to absolutely LOVE it! Quite a way off the normal beaten path for this author, he churns out this gem of a book. One of my favorite publishers is Down n Out because they consistently publish some of the best books by some of the best authors of this genre. You can now add Greg Gifune to that particular list. I'm not surprised. He's ALWAYS good no matter what genre he's writing... and I'm ALWAYS going to be reading whatever he's writing. You should too.
Greg is one of my favorite authors, so I'm inclined to like anything he puts out. But... in this case I'm inclined to absolutely LOVE it! Quite a way off the normal beaten path for this author, he churns out this gem of a book. One of my favorite publishers is Down n Out because they consistently publish some of the best books by some of the best authors of this genre. You can now add Greg Gifune to that particular list. I'm not surprised. He's ALWAYS good no matter what genre he's writing... and I'm ALWAYS going to be reading whatever he's writing. You should too.
November 21, 2021
Fast paced and addictive, this is a simple tale that doesn't disappoint. The dialog is excellent between the east coast accent, the Italians, and then Gifune hits a home run with Kevin-Keith's new age thug/white trash "accent". I was laughing and smiling through the Kevin-Keith chapters. The ending was a pleasant surprise. I loved it. 5 stars
September 14, 2022
Noir at its finest.
This the first novel I have read by, this author and It won’t be the last. It has all the right ingredients hard boiled, full of grit and violence, caustic humour, crooked cops and those who live on the fringes of society from strippers, mobsters and criminals, weedheads.
This the first novel I have read by, this author and It won’t be the last. It has all the right ingredients hard boiled, full of grit and violence, caustic humour, crooked cops and those who live on the fringes of society from strippers, mobsters and criminals, weedheads.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews