Dog Beach by John Fusco: First Chapter

 First Chapter, First Paragraph is hosted by Bibliophile By the Sea. 

Dog Beach

Prologue 

He is running, eight stories up on a rusted crossbeam, when he feels it, that thing entering his bloodstream, the rush he secretly calls the Creature. The timer on the explosives - 280 pounds of M112 demolition charges - is beeping down the count.....(continues)

Chapter 1: Palm Springs, Magic Hour 

 Louie Mo sat in the passenger seat, peering through tinted aviators at the big hotel. The car, a beat-up Chevy Impala, smelled of cigarettes, aftershave, and a Supreme Croissant. 

"Shit, this mother's hot," Dutch caid, clawing the Styrofoam cup. "If I spilled it on me, I could sue Jack in the Box for ten mill."  

Louie glanced at her, the girl he usually just called Driver, but his mind was still fixed on the Marriott. "Too many people sue," he said in his broken English. 

I used the opening of the Prologue and the First Chapter to give you a better sense of the novel and where it might be going. I like that it's set in Palm Springs, Ca., a place I'd love to be, when it's not too hot.

Publisher's book description: Leaving a successful career as a stunt double in Hong Kong to escape the Chinese mafia, Louie Mo makes his living in Los Angeles as a hired knee-breaker. When Troy, an aspiring director, agrees to direct a film for producer Avi Ghazaryan, Avi's sketchy investors hire Louie to scare Troy into finishing their movie. Troy recognizes Louie Mo as the stunt man he once was, though older and with more aches and pains, and begs Louie to take the lead role in a movie. 

For Louie Mo, this chance at redemption might be his last. As his past catches up with him, he teams up with Troy to avoid the bad guys and pull off an impossible film of epic proportions. A fast-paced thrill ride, equal parts dark satire and action novel.

 Based on the opening paragraphs and the book description, would you read on?