Catch You on the Flipside
LEE KVERN
In 1983, Elle is a blackjack dealer at an Alberta casino. At the same time, Amado is a baggage handler in Manila. When Amado witnesses the assassination of a prominent political figure in Manila, he flees to Canada and ends up in the same casino as Elle; a disgruntled Hollander, Erik; and a card counter and stalker, Regrettable Russell.
Over the next thirty years, the characters remain intimately connected as their stories and histories intersect. Told from alternating points of view, this puzzle-in-progress brings each character’s pieces together that make up a whole picture that examines how everything from political espionage to intimate partner violence affects not only its direct participants but also its bystanders and witnesses.
Advance Praise for Catch You on the Flipside
“If gambling intrigue, bear attacks, and political kleptocracy are at all your pet subjects, this may be the book you’ve been waiting for.” — Jean Marc Ah-Sen, author of In the Beggarly Style of Imitation
“Holy Toledo, Lee Kvern is a great writer! What a vivid, gripping, appalling, horrifying, intense, physical real opening. And from there, Catch You on the Flipside never lets up. It’s as impressive in its scope as in its depth. I felt this novel, like real life, on every single page. Brava!” –Angie Abdou, author of This One Wild Life
“Current, urgent and utterly convincing, Catch You on the Flipside ties corrupt, Marcos-era Philippines to boom-bust Calgary of the early 1980s. Lee Kvern’s authentic, vividly drawn characters prove that everyone, peon or potentate, has an unexpected Side B.” — Richard Cumyn, author of This Lark of Stolen Time
“Catch You On The Flipside is an international thriller that deftly draws together an assassination in Manila, the staff at a Calgary casino, and a stalked barista. The fresh deck of characters includes famous politicians, unlucky baggage handlers, nefarious gun toters, smoke show redheads, and idiosyncratic casino regulars. In crisp inimitable prose that shows she knows when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em, Lee Kvern deals round after round of suspense and asks: “If a butterfly flapped its wings in Calgary, would it set off a storm in the Philippines?” — Barb Howard, author of Happy Sands
“With this book, Lee Kvern gives us a thrilling ride, a delicious noir, both lush and intense. Each chapter is vividly wrought with a tension so palpable, the pages turn themselves. Spanning decades and continents, and with an epic scope and ensemble of characters, every reader is in for a vibrant experience!”— Bradley Somer, award-winning author of Fishbowl and Extinction
Additional information
Format: | paperback |
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“Funny, moving, and epic at once, Catch You on the Flip Side is a standout.”–Kerry Clare, Pickle Me This
“Through clever misdirection and suspenseful foreshadowing, Kvern shows that the flipside of a person is ‘not always what you think’ … Whether describing the plight of a country or a few seedy gamblers, Kvern renders these individuals with equal humanity and detail.” — Ray Reid, Literary Review of Canada