The titular character of Tiffany Hanssen's crafty debut novel, My Name Was Gerry Sass, is a mild-mannered hit man who stays under the radar in Mystic, Iowa. Gerry launders money through the country music radio station he owns and takes the occasional job.
Otherwise, Gerry lives simply on a farm with his teenage daughter, Early, and has weekly dinners with his best friend, Father Dan Sullivan, a Catholic priest. But Gerry has angered the Chicago mob for whom he works, and they have sent two men to kill him. They execute him in the woods under a tree stand where Dan is hiding, too frightened to help.
Gerry's murder jump-starts the plot, which evolves into two odysseys. Early follows the killers in Gerry's prized Mustang, wanting revenge and to warn her estranged mother. Meanwhile, Dan takes off to get advice from his mob-connected brother in Chicago. Convinced that Early also has been killed, Dan is consumed by guilt that he was a coward for not helping her or Gerry. He's not sure what kind of priest he has become. In a Lovely Bones-esque twist, their narratives trade off with Gerry's as he reflects on his life and many mistakes. Gerry wasn't a good man, yet he cared deeply about Early, who discovers she is more like her father than she thought. My Name Was Gerry Sass brims with humor-laden action as Gerry, Early, and Dan learn about themselves and one another. --Oline H. Cogdill, freelance reviewer