Like a Hole in the Head — Jen Banbury

Jill, a part-time bookseller with a biting wit, gets her hands on a rare, first-edition novel by Jack London -- courtesy of a suspicious-looking dwarf. Soon, a polite assassin arrives, with the dwarf in tow, demanding the book back. But Jill has already unloaded the valuable tome, and, as she values her life, immediately sets off to recover it. As an outrageous cast of thugs, sycophants, and central casting rejects join in the chase for the elusive volume and the special secret it contains, Jill finds herself cheated, kidnapped, drugged, tortured, and even forced to work as a movie extra. Twisted and subversive, Jen Banbury's debut is a mad, breathtaking romp through a hilariously dark vision of contemporary America.