Black Dogs: The Possibly True Story of Classic Rock’s Greatest Robbery, by Jason Buhrmester, published by Three Rivers Press. Release date: April 14, 2009.  241 pgs. Trade paperback original. $13.95.  ISBN: 978-0-307-45181-1.
        Jason Buhrmester’s debut novel takes “what if,” to the extreme, in a rollicking, droll, cynical, self-deprecating, profane tale of small time pre-adult crooks, bent on pulling off one of the most infamous rip-offs in classic rock’s history. 
        What actually happened?  Hours before the final show of their 1973 U.S. tour, members of the rock group, Led Zeppelin, found all the cash missing from their safe deposit box at the Drake Hotel in New York City.  The $203,000 robbery was never solved and the money never recovered.
        Buhrmester introduces the reader to Patrick Sullivan, a nineteen-year old petty crook and Black Sabbath fan, who has returned home to Baltimore after working for a catering service in New York.  He went there to distance himself from his culpability in a robbery, which landed his best friend Alex in jail; but when he witnesses a briefcase full of cash being placed in the hands of Led Zeppelin’s manager after a concert, all considerations of reform fly out the window as the idea of one final “scam,” flits through his mind.
        In Baltimore, Patrick gathers his partners in crime—Alex, Frenchy, and Keith—and convinces them to help him plot the robbery.  None of the slackers are very bright and usually take the line of least resistance—like drug-taking, theft, or getting laid. But with visions of getting rich, they drink lots of beer and start plotting away.
        A cast of peripheral characters (right out of “Saturday Night Live”) complicates their ever-changing plan at every turn: Backwoods Billy, a psychotic, born-again leader of the Holy Ghosts Christian Motorcycle gang, a man only too-willing to break every bone in Patrick’s body—justifying it with Scripture of course; a pill-popping D.A., with

enough secrets to get himself blackmailed; Alex’s 27 year-old uncle, Danny, a long-time crook and multiple felon, living with Alex’s grandmother; a safe-cracking funk band called the New York Giants; and the Maryland Chapter of the Misty Mountain Hoppers Led Zeppelin Fan Club. 
        When the boys get to New York, the plan almost comes apart when Frenchy using a rare Fender guitar as bait, diverts the attention of the band’s manager long enough for Patrick and Alex to squeeze into his hotel room and look for the money.  When they don’t find anything, Danny—now filling in for Keith, who is in jail after getting in the middle of a brawl with the Holy Ghosts at a local carnival—goes berserk and threatens to kill everyone.  Finally Patrick comes up with a safe deposit box key and some back stage passes.  They head for the Hotel’s office, where Patrick finagles the clerk into letting them into the box.  The cash is not in there.  Something has gone horribly wrong…
        Tossing the stage passes into the air, Patrick and his friends run for the car to make their getaway, leaving Danny behind to deal with a mob of crazy Led Zeppelin fans and the police. What happens after that is a page-turning, jaw-dropping road trip home.
        Former editor at Playboy, current editor of Inked, Jason Buhrmester has been published in Maxim, Spin, Wired, The Village Voice, and other publications.  He was a month old when Led Zeppelin was robbed.  He plays guitar and has been in a few punk/hardcore bands over the years.  He has an acute ear for dialogue, which makes the characters in this story come alive.
        Caution: raw language and lots of violence—not for the faint of heart.  Nonetheless, this would make a great beach, lake, or poolside read.  Highly recommended.
       
    
                                  Copyright © Sandy Raschke