Fun City Heist

Ex-drummer and Pushcart Prize–winning author Michael Kardos spins a delightful, fun-filled heist novel laced with heart, nostalgia, and rock and roll. It’s been decades since the Sunshine Apocalypse Band disbanded in a state of defeat—both broken and exhausted.

The drummer, Mo Melnick, has resigned himself to plopping down daily on a beach chair, renting umbrellas and chairs to Jersey Shore visitors. In the offseason, he makes do working for a landscaping company.

Mo formed the band with his childhood best friends—Johnny, Ed, and Ricky. Johnny, the band’s lead singer, suddenly returns from Florida and begs his buddies to reunite for one last gig—where it all started—Fun City, Quartz Beach, New Jersey, on July Fourth, the date of the amusement park’s official closure. Mo thinks this is a terrible idea, until his friend Ed convinces him to reconsider. Ed works at a local bar as a bartender and emcee for the weekly “open mic.” He informs Mo that Johnny is dying of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) at age forty-five and wants to go out honoring his past love.

The group reunites and starts rehearsing their old discography. Unfortunately, Ricky gets in a car accident and breaks his arm, making it impossible to play guitar. In the meantime, Mo incidentally crosses paths on the beach with his estranged daughter, Janice. Janice’s mother, Ivy, was a band groupie who periodically hooked up with Mo, resulting in a pregnancy. She had made it clear she would raise the child on her own. Over the years, Mo saw Ivy and Janice briefly during their annual summer visits to the beach and amusement park—but a lasting relationship never developed.

This summer, Janice comes alone and is staying at a friend’s place. When that arrangement falls through, she approaches Mo about staying “for a while” at his house. Ricky’s dilemma is soon solved when Janice picks up his guitar and, to everyone’s surprise, admirably plays the band’s entire discography—songs she had secretly learned on her own.

Then Johnny reveals his real plan: he’s using the performance as cover for an elaborately planned heist of the park’s cash proceeds from the Fourth of July. He feels he needs a big bankroll to support himself as his disease progresses.

In The Long Shadow, Michael Kardos infuses his deep musical knowledge into a twisted heist tale that layers nostalgia with heartfelt emotion, ratcheting up both suspense and intrigue. The absurdity of the ever-changing plan is mixed with humor and pathos, culminating in a satisfying denouement.

Thanks to NetGalley and Severn House Publishing for providing me with an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review. I sincerely hope that our unlikely hero, Mo Melnick, will make an encore appearance in a sequel.