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Ever since he was a boy, listening to his father’s stories about their grand ancestral home in the small Mexican village of La Paz, Morty Martinez has been convinced that he’s destined for greatness. A modern-day conquistador living in a little apartment in Brooklyn, Morty searches for a different kind of treasure, known in the feeler business as “tight ones.”
As a feeler, it’s Morty’s job to clean out homes after the owners have either moved out or passed on. But the real money is in the tight ones—the little tin cans that paranoid old homeowners once crammed with cash and stashed behind their sofas or under their floorboards for a rainy day.
One day, Morty finally hits the jackpot: more than $800k squeezed in peanut cans under an old couch. With his new-found fortune, he can finally leave Brooklyn and buy back that family estate.
But, of course, it’s never that easy, is it? Before Morty can settle down in Mexico, he’ll have to get the money past a few of his fellow money-hungry feelers, as well as a recently paroled assassin and a bitter ex-cop.
Written as a long confession to a priest in La Paz, Feelers is a fast-paced but light-hearted crime thriller that’s every bit as amusing as it is suspenseful. It’s as if Wiprud threw a bunch of eccentric (and usually shady) characters into a literary blender, added a boatload of cash and a few unexpected weapons, and pressed “Purée.” The result is one big, crazy free-for-all of shootings, car chases, stakeouts, and even a little bit of car-tipping. It’s frantic and violent and filled with wild twists and turns—and the action and adventure (not to mention the laughs) never let up.
From club-footed journalist Dexter Lewis to Morty’s nosy landlord, the characters are pleasantly quirky. And at the center of it all is an oddly likeable main character. Though he grew up in Brooklyn, Morty is absolutely convinced that he’s descended from the great conquistadores. And, as such, he talks exactly as you might imagine a Spanish explorer from the 16th century speaking (if, that is, he spoke English): choppy and without contractions. His awkward way of speaking (and, thus, writing) definitely takes a little getting used to, but, once you do get used to it, you’ll see that it’s all just a part of his bizarre charm.
Crammed with oddball characters and unexpected complications, Feelers is a crazy, comical thrill ride that will have you hanging on for dear life from beginning to end.
