Publisher's Synopsis
Award-winning book that recently earned acclaim from the prestigious Next Generation Indie Book Awards! Eddie Gillespie was born and raised in a shanty, backwards Brooklyn neighborhood called Van Bakel Beach. Everyone from the beach is proud to call themselves beach rats and most acted in-line with that moniker. Eddie, like many others from the beach, is a little bit of a loser. He can't get a girlfriend, he is perpetually underemployed, and is seeking a new life for himself. Eddie discovers an enigma in the neighborhood, a house filled with beautiful Russian mail order brides. He decides the best way to buy one for himself is to team up with his friend Mickey. Mickey is the classic grifter of Van Bakel Beach and agrees to help his buddy Eddie get the dough that he needs to make his pathetic dream a reality. Mickey is a man with a plan, but Joey Sallazzo, Jr. has a better one. A ramshackle gang from Van Bakel Beach is assembled to burglarize Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Restaurant in Coney Island on the day of the Mermaid Parade. After weeks of planning, scheming, and all out Brooklyn-style craziness involving trannies, junkie cops, and motorcycle gangs, the plan gets off without a hitch. Until they check the drop bag and chaos breaks out in Brooklyn.
