DRY HUSTLE

by Sarah Kernochan ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 22, 1977

A new twist on the old theme of lovable rascals running a creative con game. Teenage runaway Randy hits the big city and is befriended by Kristal, who gets her a job at a Times Square girlie dance bar. Kristal is a 30-year-old gypsy who used to be a stripper and the wife of a Hell's Angel and doesn't like anyone to touch her. What Kristal does like is to con men out of as much money as they will cough up in response to stories of paraplegic sisters in need of support and hotel rooms that have to be paid for in advance. Kristal is all talk and no action--that's the dry hustle: no sex--and her tall tales are full of teasing detail and enough variety to outclass Scheherezade. Randy soon gets her own style of giving out ""empty promises"" (Kristal's motto), and the two ladies take their money and run, hustling their transcontinental way from one hotel bar to another, until Randy falls for a bearded hitchhiker who turns out to be the most artful hustler of all. Don't expect sordid realism to spoil the racket--Randy's telling bristles with snappy metaphors and tart remarks, Kristal is a compelling character, and the book's a raunchy and energetic jaunt through an imaginary underworld.

Pub Date: March 22, 1977

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1977

Categories: FICTION