Starting this book was like getting back with old friends whose whereabouts were unknown for quite some time; I had the same eagerness to know what this bunch of crazies was up to. And, true to character, Jimmy and Bobby go through many hair-raising scenarios with their usual bravado, stupidity, drunkenness, funniness, camaraderie and the noblest of intentions. It was a lot of fun following the troublesome do through their misadventures in the hostile desserts of California, facing far more hostile opponents, ably supported by the cowboys Buck Buck and Snout.
The author has a knack for describing the darkest of situations with the funniest of expressions and I was laughing out loud at many places.
Apart from a few references specific to the place and culture that I could not get, Plaster City was a terrific ride and I'm looking forward to the next one... ( )

This second Jimmy Veeder Fiasco book is all about family and loyalty and fighting – lots of fighting, but if you read the first, Dove Season, you probably expected that.

“In Thermal, violence was entertainment. Better to be bruised than bored.”

There is no lack of action in this novel. Once again, Jimmy gets dragged, or jumps, into one of Bobby's Mavescapades, this time involving a teenager.

“'Thinking can't be good', Bobby said. 'It ain't our strongest suit.'”

The author manages to put a lot of heart into this book, the choices made between being loyal to friends and doing what is right for family when you need to choose both but can't.

There are some bad things happening to teens here, but to me, the book did not seem quite as violent as the first. The author's writing is crisp, and I liked Jimmy's first person point of view. I did hate that there was reference to frog gigging and dog fighting, but it didn't go into details.

The characters, well the good guys anyway, are quite lovable in their flawed ways.

“He went from a fun-loving loose cannon to a monkey with a gun. Sure, it's cute, but eventually someone's going to get hurt.”

“Girls that ate ribs, chewed tobacco, fought dirty, and had no idea what Pilates was. My kind of women.”

One of the best paragraphs of the book, I think, is:

“Real life doesn't come beautifully wrapped with a bow on top. Most events usually look more like a three-year-old's attempt to wrap Mommy's gifts. Crinkled and torn paper, too much tape, and covered in glitter and stickers. But it isn't for the lack of effort or the love put into the thing. Some people just can't wrap for [….]. No matter how hard people try, there will always be limits beyond our control, a ceiling to our influence and ability.”

Ain't that the truth?

I don't know if there will be another book in this series, but if there is, sign me up. ( )

Jimmy Veeder is a decent man trying to put his wild past behind him, settle down as a small-time farmer in California, and do the right thing by his endlessly patient girlfriend and her young son. The trouble is, “settled” sometimes starts to feel a little dull and empty . . . which is where his longtime buddy Bobby Maves comes in. Bobby still lives the life that Jimmy left behind: drinking, brawling, raising hell, and doing the kinds of things about that, afterward in the cold light of day, you can only explain by saying that it “seemed like a good idea at the time.”

When Bobby’s estranged teenaged daughter disappears and he asks for help finding her, Jimmy doesn’t think twice. A buddy is a buddy, after all, and—after the events of the first book in the series—Jimmy feels that he owes Bobby a debt he can never fully repay. They round up two more friends with even less common sense than Bobby and ride to the rescue, full of righteous determination but a little short on good ideas—never mind a well-thought-out plan.

The resulting story is epically chaotic, often profane, occasionally violent, and consistently funny in a watching-a-train-wreck kind of way. There are echoes of Donald Westlake and Carl Hiaasen, and fans of Joe R. Lansdale will have little difficulty imaging Jimmy and Bobby knocking back a few beers with Hap Collins and Leonard Pine. Shaw writes in a subtly different key, however, keeping Plaster City a few steps closer to reality than Lansdale’s tall tales of East Texas or Hiaasen’s gonzo South Florida adventures. It matters, because woven through the improvisational heroics are a series of subplots about trying to mend relationships that may (or may not) be broken beyond repair. Shaw makes Jimmy, Bobby, and their hardscrabble world (just) real enough that the stakes in those subplots feel high. It’s a tough literary line to walk, but he does it with grace, and the result is well worth reading. ( )

This book is entertaining, if not particularly believable. The two main characters are best friends who do ridiculous things and don't seem to think too much about the ramifications of their actions.

On the plus side, the writing is crisp and the action moves quickly. There aren't any dull moments here. The characters are well developed, in the sense that we know exactly who they are. The setting is described extremely well, giving me a vivid image of the area.

Now the not so great stuff. I thought the characters were immature. They often behaved more like boys in junior high school than adult men. Consequently, the humor often felt too childish for my taste. I felt Jimmy's wife was too passive. Jimmy did whatever Jimmy wanted (or whatever Bobby wanted Jimmy to do), and his wife accepted that was just the way it would be.

While I understand the point of this story is sticking by your friends no matter what, I felt Jimmy's loyalty was often misplaced. He supported his friend's incredibly irresponsible antics at the expense of his wife and son's needs.

A lot of the scenes felt overblown and the overall tone of the story made the cops look like incompetent idiots. By the end, I liked Jimmy a bit more but I still couldn't completely connect with his character or this story. ( )

7.15