Brewer starts with a great premise. A Florida motel owner, in dire need of cash and just turned down by his brother in Chicago, ends up as a hitchhiker in a car with a squabbling couple and a big big secret. No spoiler to tell you it has to do with money. The settings, such as the decrepit restaurant where they meet and the motel in Florida are well done. So are most of the characters, including the couple, the cops, and the motel owner's wife. The problem is, that once he has set up this great premise, Brewer's central character, in true pulp fiction boob-fashion, proceeds to do one stupid thing after another, resulting in a story that is neither believable nor particularly enjoyable. It's a shame he didn't just hand off the idea to John D. MacDonald or someone who knew how to build true suspense and deliver a shocking scene or two. ( )