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Vinnie's Head
Small-time Long Island criminal, Johnnie LoDuco, after giving up a promising career as a smut peddler, gets involved with some friends who rob a convenience store, get caught because they are too stoned to make a getaway, and then pin all the blame on him. And when his childhood buddy Vinnie bails him out of jail, he agrees to partake in a scam Vinnie has put together that will make them all rich. The only problem is: while out fishing one day Johnnie reels in the biggest catch of his life... Vinnie's head on the end of the fishing line. Now mafia types, bounty hunters, and Vinnie's girlfriend are after him, and Johnnie LoDuco doesn't have a clue as to why. Plus, they all seem to want Vinnie's head, but Johnnie seems to have misplaced it in an ice cooler--and if he wants to live he needs to get it back.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
1 person is currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Marc Lecard
8 books4 followersMarc Lecard is the author of the novels Vinnie's Head (St. Martin's Minotaur, 2007) and Tiny Little Troubles (St. Martin's Minotaur, 2008). His short stories have appeared in numerous magazines, as well as the anthologies Killer Year: Stories to Die For, edited by Lee Child, and Best New Horror 19, edited by Stephen Jones."
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 6, 2019
Vinnie's Head, as the studious reader of discerning taste no doubt already knows, embodies the theorum of Sustained Parodic Tension, an advanced comedic technique best left to the experts.
First our author writes a tongue-in-cheek version of a well-known trope, in this case film noir. This is Level One comedy. With meticulous care the tongue-in-cheek style gives way to a genuine and earnest presentation, which now strikes us as funnier because we expected the bar to be set much lower. This is Level Two.
Rarely does an author press on to Level Three, in which the circumstances grow wilder while our narrative tone doubles down on playing it straight, so we loop back around to tongue-in-cheek again. Laughs here are rapid and hearty. Very rare indeed is the book that dares escalate even further, but here we are. Lecard blows through level after level like this and never even blinks, ramping up the outrageous and upping the stakes beyond expectations at every turn in what becomes a pummeling rain of comedic blows.
Or maybe I'm overthinking things.
5 stars. Popcorn reading at its finest. Clear your schedule before you crack the cover on this one, because once you start you won't want to quit.
First our author writes a tongue-in-cheek version of a well-known trope, in this case film noir. This is Level One comedy. With meticulous care the tongue-in-cheek style gives way to a genuine and earnest presentation, which now strikes us as funnier because we expected the bar to be set much lower. This is Level Two.
Rarely does an author press on to Level Three, in which the circumstances grow wilder while our narrative tone doubles down on playing it straight, so we loop back around to tongue-in-cheek again. Laughs here are rapid and hearty. Very rare indeed is the book that dares escalate even further, but here we are. Lecard blows through level after level like this and never even blinks, ramping up the outrageous and upping the stakes beyond expectations at every turn in what becomes a pummeling rain of comedic blows.
Or maybe I'm overthinking things.
5 stars. Popcorn reading at its finest. Clear your schedule before you crack the cover on this one, because once you start you won't want to quit.
October 27, 2010
A mystery wrapped around a severed head filled with a lot of dark humor and enough whacked out characters to fill a ward at Bellvue Mental Hospital. What is not to like about a book like that? The ending does tend to go out with more of a whimper than a bang however.Almost kicking out a full four, as opposed to the three I gave it, star review Marc Lecard does a very good job with this novel.
December 11, 2024
Have you ever really wanted to recast the Goodfellas with Larry, Moe, and Curly and then set the film to the Benny Hill theme? Then you're in luck!
Johnnie, the hapless down-on-his-luck guy just happens to know some interesting people and happened to come across a disembodied head, is the living embodiment of "I don't know, I just work here." The book consists of him being kidnapped, chased, pulled into, arrested, saved, and ducking into nearly every single setting. Both the protagonist and the audience are being bounced around Long Island like a ping-pong ball. And he's generally stepping over dead bodies to move on to the next mind-melting scene.
It starts off as witty, particularly with Johnnie's 'go with the flow' candor keeping the heat out of the bullets whizzing by him at any given moment. You could say he keeps a cool head. But as he starts uncovering this grand conspiracy, particularly with the long explanation when the story comes to a head, it gets... convoluted. Theories are proposed, debunked, confessed, revised, inspected, detected, neglected, and rewritten. By the end, there are so many mistaken identities, stolen identities, that you're not sure if the master plan is ingenious or the result of a serious brain injury.
I will say---I know this was more played for comedy, but the lack of any emotion the characters have in response to most of the deaths in this book was jarring and felt more forgotten than anything. And one character that appears in the middle of the book is practically Johnnie's Deus Ex Machina; unlikely and generally swoops in and saves the day.
It was worth reading and definitely earned a few chuckles. It started out much stronger than it ended. But I will say, I've read 'the grand reveal' twice now and all I can say is, "HUH?"
Johnnie, the hapless down-on-his-luck guy just happens to know some interesting people and happened to come across a disembodied head, is the living embodiment of "I don't know, I just work here." The book consists of him being kidnapped, chased, pulled into, arrested, saved, and ducking into nearly every single setting. Both the protagonist and the audience are being bounced around Long Island like a ping-pong ball. And he's generally stepping over dead bodies to move on to the next mind-melting scene.
It starts off as witty, particularly with Johnnie's 'go with the flow' candor keeping the heat out of the bullets whizzing by him at any given moment. You could say he keeps a cool head. But as he starts uncovering this grand conspiracy, particularly with the long explanation when the story comes to a head, it gets... convoluted. Theories are proposed, debunked, confessed, revised, inspected, detected, neglected, and rewritten. By the end, there are so many mistaken identities, stolen identities, that you're not sure if the master plan is ingenious or the result of a serious brain injury.
I will say---I know this was more played for comedy, but the lack of any emotion the characters have in response to most of the deaths in this book was jarring and felt more forgotten than anything. And one character that appears in the middle of the book is practically Johnnie's Deus Ex Machina; unlikely and generally swoops in and saves the day.
It was worth reading and definitely earned a few chuckles. It started out much stronger than it ended. But I will say, I've read 'the grand reveal' twice now and all I can say is, "HUH?"
November 11, 2010
Everything that could go wrong with this guy, did. He is totally clueless and fun to read about. Another crazy read.
March 1, 2019
Johnnie LoDuco has a knack for stepping in shit. He can find it in a one-cow, 1,000-acre field.
But after his most recent failure, his old friend Vinnie bails him out of jail, takes him to Vinnie's new Long Island McMansion and starts getting the details for a new passport so he can help him with a credit card scam in Paraguay.
Vinnie and his girlfriend (a doctor who now hawks hair transplants on tv) then get into a limo and head for the airport, planning to send for Johnnie later.
But the McMansion gets shot up and Johnnie moves into Vinnie's old garage apartment, complete with a month's supply of ramen. He decides to go fishing and pulls in a whopper -- Vinnie's head.
It's funny and fast-paced. Johnnie is a nice enough guy, but he is the ultimate patsy for everyone. And now he doesn't know what to do with his old friend's head.
The book is entertaining. And it is one of the few mysteries that mentions Lindenhurst.
But after his most recent failure, his old friend Vinnie bails him out of jail, takes him to Vinnie's new Long Island McMansion and starts getting the details for a new passport so he can help him with a credit card scam in Paraguay.
Vinnie and his girlfriend (a doctor who now hawks hair transplants on tv) then get into a limo and head for the airport, planning to send for Johnnie later.
But the McMansion gets shot up and Johnnie moves into Vinnie's old garage apartment, complete with a month's supply of ramen. He decides to go fishing and pulls in a whopper -- Vinnie's head.
It's funny and fast-paced. Johnnie is a nice enough guy, but he is the ultimate patsy for everyone. And now he doesn't know what to do with his old friend's head.
The book is entertaining. And it is one of the few mysteries that mentions Lindenhurst.
May 9, 2022
On the first page, Johnnie LoDuco, avoiding a parole hearing, pulls up a head while fishing for flounder. And things go do downhill for Johnnie from there. This is a remarkably amusing, if at times grotesque, story about a feckless fellow with a gift for making appallingly poor decisions that lead him from one comically alarming situation to another. At each stage, it seems that things cannot get worse— but they do.
The pace is quick and the plotting intricate and sure. There are jokes hiding in some of the character’s names (a special treat for those with some Italian), but there is much more: very apt turns of phrase, cutting observations and flashes of description that convey mood or background in a flash. Johnnie’s decisions might make you flinch, but it’s well worth the ride to see how it all comes out.
The pace is quick and the plotting intricate and sure. There are jokes hiding in some of the character’s names (a special treat for those with some Italian), but there is much more: very apt turns of phrase, cutting observations and flashes of description that convey mood or background in a flash. Johnnie’s decisions might make you flinch, but it’s well worth the ride to see how it all comes out.
July 29, 2025
I picked this up for the Carl Hiaasen vibes, and it delivers in that department!
May 19, 2010
PROTAGONIST: Johnnie LoDuco
SETTING: Long Island
SERIES: Debut
RATING: 4.0
Johnnie LoDuco isn't really a bad guy. He's just a fellow that gets involved in dubious events and has incredibly bad luck. For example, as soon as he's released from county prison after serving time for a minor crime, he follows some friends who decide to rob a deli. Johnnie has actually had nothing to do with it, but when the cops follow the trail of cold cuts left behind, it leads them to our boy. Fortunately, he gets bailed out by an old friend, Vinnie McCloskey-Schmidt, who is planning a scam extraordinaire. Johnnie just has to go along for the ride and not do anything illegal—sound familiar?—and meet Vinnie and his bada-bing girlfriend, Jennifer Smeals, in Paraguay. But before the plan can be executed, Vinnie finds himself on the chopping block—literally. He disappears while at the airport. The circumstances of his being found are quite unusual. Johnnie decides to relax and forget everything by going fishing. And his catch is a big one—Vinnie's head. Obviously, he's got to hide it; and that's when the real fun begins.
Everyone seems to want Vinnie's head. Johnnie finds himself dealing with mobsters, cops, bounty hunters, a serial killer who collects heads, and Jennifer. A comedy of errors ensues, as the head is frozen, stolen, lost and relocated. Along the way, he meets a young woman named Patrice, who against all odds, empathizes with Johnnie and decides to help him out. The head-hunting serial killer turns out to be a relatively nice guy who offers his protection in exchange for the head.
You've probably figured out by now that VINNIE'S HEAD is the kind of book that has you laughing at the most grisly things. Lecard has created an original and entertaining cast of characters, with quirks and quips aplenty. Despite the somewhat far-fetched plot, he never goes too far. Somehow, in spite of all of the crazy goings-on, it feels like an entirely credible situation.
The book is Lecard's debut novel, and it's a twisted, hilarious work that is thoroughly engaging. Reading VINNIE'S HEAD is just like dropping Mentos into a bottle of Diet Coke—surprising, funny and sure to entertain you!
SETTING: Long Island
SERIES: Debut
RATING: 4.0
Johnnie LoDuco isn't really a bad guy. He's just a fellow that gets involved in dubious events and has incredibly bad luck. For example, as soon as he's released from county prison after serving time for a minor crime, he follows some friends who decide to rob a deli. Johnnie has actually had nothing to do with it, but when the cops follow the trail of cold cuts left behind, it leads them to our boy. Fortunately, he gets bailed out by an old friend, Vinnie McCloskey-Schmidt, who is planning a scam extraordinaire. Johnnie just has to go along for the ride and not do anything illegal—sound familiar?—and meet Vinnie and his bada-bing girlfriend, Jennifer Smeals, in Paraguay. But before the plan can be executed, Vinnie finds himself on the chopping block—literally. He disappears while at the airport. The circumstances of his being found are quite unusual. Johnnie decides to relax and forget everything by going fishing. And his catch is a big one—Vinnie's head. Obviously, he's got to hide it; and that's when the real fun begins.
Everyone seems to want Vinnie's head. Johnnie finds himself dealing with mobsters, cops, bounty hunters, a serial killer who collects heads, and Jennifer. A comedy of errors ensues, as the head is frozen, stolen, lost and relocated. Along the way, he meets a young woman named Patrice, who against all odds, empathizes with Johnnie and decides to help him out. The head-hunting serial killer turns out to be a relatively nice guy who offers his protection in exchange for the head.
You've probably figured out by now that VINNIE'S HEAD is the kind of book that has you laughing at the most grisly things. Lecard has created an original and entertaining cast of characters, with quirks and quips aplenty. Despite the somewhat far-fetched plot, he never goes too far. Somehow, in spite of all of the crazy goings-on, it feels like an entirely credible situation.
The book is Lecard's debut novel, and it's a twisted, hilarious work that is thoroughly engaging. Reading VINNIE'S HEAD is just like dropping Mentos into a bottle of Diet Coke—surprising, funny and sure to entertain you!
December 30, 2007
This first novel from Marc Lecard was quite good. For a first attempt. He takes the 'lovable loser' character to the next level. Johnnie can't seem to catch a break. Ever. But his wit and 'charm' kept me wanting to find out what would happen to him in the coming paragraphs and pages. Johnnie isn't the only character to like in this book. His compadre for much of the book is a boredom-driven excitement seeker that likes to push limits which is a nice contrast to Johnnie who would much rather let the world take him where ever it pleases. Bogdan is a quirky serial/assassin/killer that, in my opinion, makes the book move in the later half. If the characters don't keep you interested, then the conversation should. Again, plenty of sarcasm, dark humor, and wit to go around. Not to mention plot twists and several 'wait, what?' moments. I'd say if you're a Christopher Moore fan, this book should fill in nicely until Moore produces another.
April 15, 2008
Another debut novel, this was is more silly than Sean Chercover's above, but just as good. Johnnie LoDuco isn't even a small time crook, he is a disaster. Arrested for things he didn't do, never mind those he did, he is on the run from the cops, the mob, and a serial killer, who actually wants to be his friend. Besides worrying about all of this LoDuco is trying to save or lose (depending on the chapter) the severed head of his friend Vinnie. Kind of like a Carl Hiasson-light story, it was quite enjoyable.
July 18, 2007
The first half was so great, then the ending was awful! Good character development and dark humor, but plot developments that made no sense and required too much suspension of disbelief. Don't waste your time.
November 29, 2007
Ugh! A serial killer played for laughs? One of the worst books of the year.
Want to read
January 11, 200801/10/08 -- got from MOTB
February 25, 2008
Funny Book
July 21, 2008
funny, great characters. A great weekend book!
June 12, 2012
The protagonist is the best lovable loser I've read in a long time.
April 6, 2008
Hilarious. One review saw it as Elmore Leonard on crack!
March 26, 2010
Eh, quirky but not great. The best part was the serial killer THAT was quirky
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews