The paradise in this entertaining novel is the area around San Diego, California--Coronado, California, to be exact. The fools are John Ray Mooney, a jinxed felon just out of Folsom prison; a struggling businesswoman; a hapless firefighter; a cop-turned-bank guard; and Billy Ho, a con man who has the locals believing he is the Prince of the Sultanate of Yip, a small nation in the South Pacific.

Mooney targets one of the local banks for a robbery--it always seems to have plenty of cash to pay Navy salaries. While planning the robbery, he meets the Prince and decides he would make a better, and easier, mark. When Mooney discovers the Prince is an imposter, they join forces to plan the bank heist. The daring twosome welcome the businesswoman, firefighter, and bank guard to help them--until they realize loot split two ways is better than dividing it five ways.

Fool's Paradise is a humorous look at crooks and the illusions that lead them to seek something for nothing. Steve Brewer is the author of nine previous crime novels and has a talent for combining felons and comedy. If you like Carl Hiassen, Donald Westlake, or Elmore Leonard, you will enjoy Fool's Paradise.