Winner: Best First Novel, Arthur Ellis AwardsWinner: Indie Author Project Ontario“Elliott has a real feel for comedic noir in the Elmore Leonard vein, and his debut novel screams cult classic”–BooklistEddie Vegas made a terrible mistake. Now he has to pay the price. After a botched debt collection turned double murder, Eddie splits, desperate to avoid his employer, notorious L.A. crime boss Saul … his employer, notorious L.A. crime boss Saul Benedict, and his men (and Eddie’s ex-partners), Floyd and Sawyer, as well as the police. Soon he becomes entangled with the clever and beautiful Dakota, a Native American woman fresh in the City of Angels to find her missing friend–someone Eddie might know something about. Meanwhile in Texas, ex-assassin Rufus, seeking vengeance for his murdered brother, takes up his beloved daggers one final time and begins the long drive to L.A. When the bodies begin to mount, Detective Alison Lockley’s hunt for the killer becomes increasingly urgent. As paths cross, confusion ensues, and no one’s entirely sure who’s after who. But one thing is clear: They’re not all getting out of this alive.
Praise for Nobody Move
“A multifaceted series opener by a promising new voice in hard-boiled crime fiction. Fans of Elmore Leonard and Jim Thompson will find much to savor”
—Kirkus Reviews
“a new spin on the genre”
—San Francisco Book Review
“makes reading fun again”
—US Review of Books
“impossible to put down”
–Kevin Wilson, NYT bestselling author of Nothing to See Here
“fast-paced and chock full of interesting characters [and] chillingly delicious evil”
—IndieReader
“first class neo-noir”
—Murder, Mayhem & More
“not a single dull moment”
—Online Book Club
“satire at its best”
—Readers’ Favorite
“like Tarantino on the page . . . rushes at you from page one”
–Dietrich Kalteis, award-winning author of Poughkeepsie Shuffle
“Elliott has a gift for upholding momentum that never slows. The characterization is great, but it’s the high-octane action and a horde of twists along with tight plotting that make the book a winner”
—The Prairies Book Review
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Excellent!
If I would’ve had more time to read I would have devoured this book in one sitting. I’m a huge fan of the game Grand Theft Auto and this book reminded me a lot of that game. It’s also unique in its own way and no one character is a plain Jane. I absolutely loved how modern and real these characters were. Not to mention that one of them hails from the state I live in. I think my Favorites were Rufus and Floyd. The cover is brilliant and I highly recommend this for those who love mobster/modern noir reads. I am so excited for the next book in the series and cannot wait to get my hands on it.
Impossible to put down.
Like Tarantino on the page… rushes at you from page one.
Nobody Move by Philip Elliott was a fantastic novel about crime lords, accidental murder, as well as murder for hire, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, some heartbreak and cops doing their job over and above.
This is a great book about good and evil, it was fast paced, very exciting, it kept me on the edge of my seat with its twists and turns, backstabbing, double crossing and all round bad luck of the main character Eddie Vegas. His day started out just like any other, then bam he accidently shoots the man he was supposed to shake down for money owing to his boss. This one event turned his life around, he began his life on the run from his boss, he meets and falls in love with the sister of the woman he killed, who was having fun with the man he accidently shot. She became his victim of circumstance.
This novel has all the parts, Drug dealers, dual knife wielding Mexican set on revenge, strippers, thugs, a female detective intent on finding the double murderer, the flashing lights of L.A., bank robbers whose robbery went very wrong. All very interesting characters and each and every character had an integral part to play.
Eddie Vegas was a thug who went through all the emotions, remorse, fear, feeling out of control, angry, and resigned to his fate. He has not been a choir boy and he has made his fair share of mistakes, but he is still a likeable character that I wanted to barrack for and hoped he would eventually come out on top. His counterparts (the other bad guys) were decidedly darker than his character and in some instances, I was happy they got what they deserved.
I was not expecting the ending to be what it was, it was a very nice surprise.
I have been lucky enough to have been gifted this book by the author via Voracious Readers Only. This has not affected my review. Great book! Thoroughly enjoyable and engaging read.
Let me start by saying two things: No spoilers in my review and this is a MUST READ. Now, the things you need to know! Tons of violence and some action that might be distasteful to some that are not truly INTO this type of book (crime, murder, hired killers, etc)! That being said, the story was amazing, this could have been recreated out of a story from the 50s, and plopped into the reality, tragedy, and drama of today. The descriptors were amazing, you could actually picture the characters and the places being described, particularly if you are from the area from which the author bases the story(s). All of the characters are seamlessly tied together as the suspense and drama keep you turning the pages keeping you up way past your bedtime. Just plain not-put-downable. I can’t wait to read more of this author’s books…He has a new fan forever! I received a complimentary review copy, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
From the very first page, the dialogue pulled me right into the story and I could picture the scene as being something out of a 90s thriller movie. It’s fun, it’s fast-moving, and I loved it. Elliott does a fantastic job of making you want to turn the pages even though the characters are not the nicest of people. The book opens with Eddie and Floyd trying to recoup money for their boss to dire consequences, a murder, and Eddie on the run.
This book is ideal for those who love a mystery, nasty killers, and fast-paced action. There is some language that some readers may not like in particular the “N” word. It is a gangster style story and the first in the Angel City series.
The story itself is dialogue-heavy, but it’s done really well and I love dialogue so it worked for me.
All the characters are great and they’re all involved in some way or another. The characters are well written and you get a good sense of each and every one of them. There are plenty of twists and turns too. As I said, if you’re a fan of crime particular crime like those of Tarantino’s movies, then this is a must-read.
I’ve read Elliott’s writing before so I wasn’t surprised by how flawless it is.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and I’d be curious to see what happens in the next books in the series.
Nobody Moves is reminiscent of the 90s – early 2000s Tarantino movies, so if you liked those, this should be right up your alley. There’s twisted, crazy action tempered with dramatic conversations, and the settings are wonderfully drawn. There is a lot going on, and it’s a lot to keep up with. It made me think of a game of chess as the characters make their moves toward and away from each other. Then we have the relationships between the characters, some known and some not, and how they come together in some unlikely circumstances. This one doesn’t give us many truly good guys, most of the players in this twisted game are varying degrees of bad, depending on what they’ll do and how far they’re willing to go. I realize I’m being incredibly vague, but it’s near to impossible to give details about this first Angel City book without giving anything away, and this is one that needs be read spoiler-free. Suffice it say that Nobody Moves is full of murder and mayhem, and it moves at break-neck speed from start to finish.
Too much needless blood and gore. The author seems to hate Los Angeles while knowing hardly anything about it. The book has nothing of the city but street names.