Bad Eye Blues [Hardcover]

Neal Barrett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1997

Taken to Idaho by mobster Vinnie ""Spuds"" DeMarco to create portraits of his eighteen resident cuties, the Spudettes, insect illustrator Wiley Moss finds himself up to his neck in trouble when someone starts killing off the hoods at DeMarco's lodge. By the author of Skinny Annie Blues. "

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Wacky" is the first word that comes to mind in connection with Neal Barrett's very strange, very funny mysteries about that ace illustrator of insects Wiley Moss, who keeps finding himself in dangerous situations. Even if comedy crime capers usually bug you, you might well get a buzz from this story, which begins when Wiley is kidnapped by a couple of low-rent thugs and dragged (by bus) to a money-losing brothel in Idaho. There, a minor league mobster forces Moss to sketch his so-called Spudettes--young ladies who cavort naked in the pool. More mobsters arrive, some are murdered, and Moss has to draw on all his skills to keep himself and a particularly spectacular Spudette named Laurel from joining them. Other books in the series available in paperback are Skinny Annie Blues and Dead Dog Blues.

From Library Journal

Abducted from a D.C. parking lot by a one-eyed Indian and a bad-tempered albino, insect illustrator Wiley Moss finds himself in backwoods Idaho. His voluble "host" practically forces Wiley to draw "tasteful" nude portraits of 17 beautiful (and not unwilling) "working" women. Before he can begin, though, murder interrupts, and his host's dangerous boss arrives. Told with barely concealed glee, this nonstop adventure capitalizes on nutty situations and crazy characters as Wiley tries to dodge the heavies and get back to luscious Claire de Mer. A strongly recommended second to Skinny Annie Blues, (Kensington, 1996).
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 277 pages
• Publisher: Kensington Books (May 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157566173X
• ISBN-13: 978-1575661735
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,681,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Neal Barrett Is One of the Best, July 7, 1999

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D. Read "Maximumdread" (GA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bad Eye Blues (Hardcover)

No matter what genre(s) he's writing in, it's hard to top Neal Barrett. In my mind, only Joe Lansdale, Andrew Vachss, and Lawrence Block are writing crime/mystery fiction of this caliber. If you like the non-traditional approach, and lean-and-mean prose, check out this Wiley Moss "Blues" series by Neal Barrett. Then, if you can, track down a copy of "The Hereafter Gang", a masterpiece that is sadly out of print. The reading public at large will discover Neal Barrett's awesome body of work someday, and I hope I'm around to see it.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Me and Wiley and the Big Grey Dog, April 24, 2000

By 

Steve "Heavy" Haltom (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bad Eye Blues (Hardcover)

You can't beat Neal Barrett when it comes to smells. Take your doughnuts and diapers, Doublement gum, carboard coffee and ancient onion rings, wet socks, winos, chicken parts and kiddie farts, diesel and despair. Yep. There ain't no doubt you're smelling the big coast-to-coast . . . that rollling blue box bound for for Big Sky country. Hang on to your ribs, folks. There's funny stuff ahead.

If you haven't read Neal Barret Jr. you owe it to yourself. He's not Carl Hiaason . . . he's Hiaason on PCP.

By the books. All of them.