The Upper Hand

From Johnny Shaw, the Anthony Award-winning author of Big Maria, comes a wild tale about the wonderful things that bring a family together--larceny, deception, and revenge.
Fifteen years ago, Axel, Gretchen, and Kurt Ucker lost their father. At the same time, they learned that he had secretly been a thief their whole lives--and left a fortune unaccounted for. Since then, the Uckers have lived a precarious existence. Their small town shunned and shamed them. Their mother, Bertha, retreated into her religion and her favorite televangelist, Brother Tobin Floom. Axel got a dead-end job. Gretchen turned to petty crime. And Kurt stayed with his mom and his garage band.
When Bertha dies, she leaves everything she has to Floom and his gold-plated revival. The Uckers are at a loss for words. And an inheritance, a house, and a future.
Until their long-lost aunt shows up with a secret: Floom is their grandfather; some new relatives: a family of liars, cheats, and thieves; and best of all, a plan: infiltrate Floom's multimillion-dollar ministry and pull off the grandest heist in Ucker family history.
When you've got nothing left to lose, you might as well risk it all.

Johnny Shaw is the author of the award-winning Jimmy Veeder Fiasco series, including the books Dove Season, Plaster City, and Imperial Valley, as well as the stand-alone novels Floodgate and Big Maria. He has won the Spotted Owl and Anthony Awards and was the Grand Marshal of the 69th Annual Carrot Festival Parade. Johnny lives nomadically.