Product Description

Wiseguy Sid “Sleep” Bifulco doesn’t need no stinkin’ witness protection program. The mobster-turned-snitch, who always put his victims gently to sleep before whacking them, did his prison time and now has a new rural hideaway and a new avocation: trout fishing in a scenic river valley. Except that a bunch of local yokels won’t leave him alone.

From a sexy trout dealer in crimson hiking boots to a cop married to a pregnant porn star, everybody in this little town has an angle, a grudge or a crush on somebody. And Sid needs to figure out these yahoos fast—because with a vicious Mafia killer on his trail, a warden on his doorstep, and a highly incriminating videotape making the rounds, it turns out that the simple life isn’t so simple after all....

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #809828 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-26
• Released on: 2006-09-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 272 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Three elements make the latest from Wiprud (Crooked) a laugh-out-loud triumph. First, its protagonist: ex-professional hit man Sid "Sleep" Bifulco, a wise guy relocated to a "dot on the map" fishing community called Hellbender Eddy, Pa., after turning state's evidence against his mob buddies. Although he's never dropped a line in the water—all he knows about his second career he learned in the slammer from magazines like Sports Astream and Rod & Rifle—he doesn't let that stop him from diving into the fishing pool nose first. Second, its supporting cast: Sid assumes that country folk are either ignorant or naïve, and despite their quirks—Little Bob videotapes his every waking moment; the state trooper's pregnant wife refuses to let her delicate condition get in the way of her X-rated movie career—they get to prove him wrong, to delicious effect. Finally, a bucketful of hilarious miscommunications gives the plot—which includes the accidental slaughter of a scumbag and a missing video recording of it, a guardian angel with a soft spot for assassination, and a secret from Sid's past that could turn his fishing buddy homicidal—a serpentine trajectory that makes this suspenseful black comedy a page-turning, one-sitting read. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Lee Child, Author of Running Blind, Tripwire, and Killing Floor.
If Carl Hiaasen wrote for The Sopranos, it might be half as good as this . . . a page-turner that’s part wicked humor and part just plain wicked”

Sarah Lovett, Author of Dantes’ Inferno, A Desperate Silence and Acquired Motives
“SLEEP WITH THE FISHES is sly, stylish, fast, and downright fabulous...A first-rate keeper!”

Customer Reviews

A Self-Published Novel That Won't Put You to Sleep
Brian M. Wiprud's first (self-published) novel, Sleep With the Fishes, is a light bit of entertainment. This comic tale tells the story of Sid "Sleep" Bifulco, former mafia hit man turned informant, as he makes a new life for himself in a sleepy country town. Racing along from one improbable incident to another, this story hits its climax with a daring and dangerous stunt that should not be tried at home.

Sleep With The Fishes suffers from such a hectic pace. The story moves along in such a rush to get to the finish that the journey is compromised.

Sleep With The Fishes, as it stands now, lays down the bare bones of the story. However, it would have benefited from further revision that would put some meat on those bones and flesh out the story.

Further revision would have also strengthened other aspects of this novel. Only a handful of the characters are given even minimal treatment in characterization. Sid and Russ are the only two characters that have any real depth to them.

Certain subplots disappear without a trace. A crow named Reverend Jim stole several trinkets from Russ. Yet Jim's role in the story vanishes before page 40.

The use of language frequently lacks impact. Consider this line from page 84, "Omer dangled the receiver by a single index finger before sending it home." Beyond being an awkward visual, this sentence is needlessly ornate.

Despite all this, Sleep With The Fishes is still an entertaining story. Though lacking in polish, the story of Sid "Sleep" Bifulco is told with a great deal of enthusiasm. Enjoy this novel for what it is worth.

Non-stop. Clever.
Sleep With The Fishes is a taut and compact thriller, with deftly written narrative and genuine sounding dialogue. Brian Wiprud has taken an element of Mario Puzo and spiced it with some light humored Wiprud. Together the combination makes for one hell of an enjoyable suspense novel.



Sid "the Sleep" Bifulco is about to turn states evidence against a Mafia family. He has no interest in joining the Witness Protection Program. All he wants is to serve his time for the crimes he's committed and then be afforded the opportunity to escape to his own hideaway.



Spending his years as an exemplary prisoner, Sid learned all he could about the art of fishing. His learned skills attracted the attention of the warden. Once paroled, with property waiting for him along the Delaware, Sid knew he'd finally be able to apply all the skills to date he'd only be able to read about. He intended to spend the rest of his life fishing and on the right side of the law.



It only took days before that simple plan was completely destroyed. Fishing guru Russ Smonig has issues with his own past. His was wife was killed in a freak car accident. People believe he was responsible for her death. Deep down, he knows the Mafia is responsible. When he is involved in an accident, Sid is his only hope. Who else would know how to get rid of a body? What no one knows, until it is too late, is that the fateful evening had been captured on video. But things get even more out of control when the tape with incriminating footage gets mixed up with other tapes and dropped off in the return box at the video store. (And then rented by a police officer).



With an unexpected visit from the warden, looking to spend time with Sid fishing; with Russ learning the truth about Sid's past and his wife's untimely death; and with a state trooper looking to score big on some reward money, Sleep With The Fishes is an unnerving and compelling, character-driven story with a tightly crafted plot, great scenes and intense situations. Wiprud has a talent for telling unique stories...

Angling for gansters
Sleeping with the Fishes is a quick lively read. Mr. Wiprud has a sense of humor worthy of Donald E. Westlake. Well-drawn characters -- gangsters, fishermen, regular townpeople -- weave their threads of the story around fish, a thieving crow, red shoes, and more fish. The result is a bubbling rollicking ride through the rapids. In a nutshell, the story is about an ex-convict, retired from his gangland days, who wants nothing more than a quiet life in a small town on the river on which he intends to spend his days fishing. He draws on his expertise, provided by his former avocation, in handling a delicate matter for his fishing expert neighbor. A possibly incriminating video tape appears, gets misplaced, and reappears in unexpected places, former associates of the ex-con arrive wishing to renew his acquaintance, and complications arise. This was fun.