Big Money [Hardcover]

Jack Getze (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 12, 2008

THREE WOMEN WANT HIM DEAD... Left in charge of a one-office Jersey Shore investment firm, suspended stockbroker Austin Carr becomes the prize in a war between two crime crews and a powerful state investigator. Trying to stay alive with mobsters, beautiful cops, and a hit-man he calls the creeper chasing him, Carr stumbles into the secret lives of three desperate women. One becomes a victim, one a murderer. And Carr is her next victim... -I stuff the DVD under my laptop and work hard to put on my three-o'clock-in-the-morning, full-boat Carr grin. Not exactly a simple trick. And definitely not sincere. I mean, how am I supposed to be calm and forthright when this DVD suggests last night's love interest-the lady headed this way-could be a killer. Clever of me to wake her up. I gasp when I see her. Oh, my. And oops. Oh, my because she's wearing nothing but white athletic socks. Oops because she's using both hands and all ten red-nailed fingers to grasp a pump action, single barrel shotgun. "You found the DVD, didn't you?" Ms. Shotgun says. "DVD?" If it wasn't for rhyming consonants, I'd be pretty much speechless. My gaze is tightly focused on her bare breasts and that shotgun in the same close-up. Visually and emotionally, it's a lot to absorb.-

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jack Getze spent nine years as a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, a total of twelve years covering national business and economic news for the Times, the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, and the London Times. Getze later sold stocks and bonds for a regional securities firm on the New Jersey Shore. BIG MONEY is the second installment in his Austin Carr Mystery Series. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Hilliard & Harris Publishers (March 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591332389
• ISBN-13: 978-1591332381
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,497,854 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A former reporter for the Los Angeles Times and the old L.A. Herald-Examiner, author Jack Getze writes the Austin Carr Mystery Series, some short fiction, and is also the Fiction Editor for Spinetingler Magazine, one of the internet's oldest websites for noir, crime, and horror short stories.

If you like long sentences and flowery language, skip Jack's novels. As a former newsman, and a fan of Hammett, Cain, Chandler, and MacDonald, Jack likes short and punchy. You should probably also leave Jack's work alone if you've had any recent operations. Not everybody laughs at his sense of humor, but ... well, try a free sample at his character's website, www.austincarrscrimediary.blogspot.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Big Money has Big Upside, April 6, 2008

By 

Carrie J. Bylina "Rick Bylina" (Apex, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Big Money (Paperback)

Austin Carr gets into more trouble than Dennis the Menace, and Getze's latest novel has more twists than a pretzel factory. It all makes for one great read for those who like wise-cracking protagonists, a slew of beautiful and deadly women, and more bad guys at the Jersey shore than in Rahway Prison. Carr is left in charge of his investment firm. Immediately, he becomes the booby prize for a plethora of bad guys as they stake their claim to the firm hoping to be rewarded with financial rainbows. Getze has improved over the first Carr novel, "Big Numbers," with more cliff hangers than a 1930's serial while Austin escapes one tight situation after another with his gift of gab or famous grin. Getze gives us more of Jersey, more unique characters, and a bit more character depth. And he saves the best twist, like all classic mystery writers, for the very end of the story. Getze didn't pay me big money for this review, but I'll give him a big number for the novel. How about a 5.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laughing out loud..., March 22, 2008

By 

Liz at reviewedbyliz.com "Because life is too... (Cedar Springs, Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Money (Hardcover)

Austin Carr returns in Jack Getze's second book, BIG MONEY. Our favorite stockbroker has lost his securities license, but this doesn't keep his boss, Vick Bonacelli, from leaving him in charge of the store while Vick takes a long vacation. Vick also makes Carr promise to watch over his adult daughter Carmela and his mother, Mama Bones. As soon as Vick's boat sails, Carmela's ex-husband shows up, Mama Bones is arrested, the regulatory audit turns up some potentially disastrous transactions in the company's books, and the local mob boss politely requests that Shore Securities launder some money for him. Well, perhaps not so politely...

Yes, it is a typical day in the life of Austin Carr. Carr is the everyman who lives his entire life caught between a rock and a hard place - and watching him try to wiggle out is a delight. A despised ex-husband but devoted father, Carr is motivated to protect his small ownership stake in the securities company so he can provide for his children. But Carr is out of his league when it comes to the machinations of the local mafia and has to rely on the more worldly assistance of his favorite bartender, Luis, and the surprising Mama Bones.

I love it when an author's second book surpasses a good debut, and Getze achieves this with BIG MONEY. Getze hits his stride in this book and tips us the wink on Carr's true character. For all his posturing, Carr is always the most naïve person in the room (even when his children are present) and you end up both laughing out loud at his view of the world and rolling your eyes at his sexual impulses, which he has as much control over as your average 14 year-old male of the species. But because he is obviously the innocent in the piece, you end up cheering for him, as well. BIG MONEY becomes a real page turner as you find yourself desperately hoping that everything will turn out all right for Austin Carr in the end.

Favorite character? The Creeper has some wonderful and bizarre appearances in this book, but I have to go with Austin Carr. Did I guess it? Some of it. Will I read another? Absolutely.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Humorous Sequel, March 17, 2009

By 

Cindy Chow (Kaneohe, Hawaii) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Money (Paperback)

Things had been going well for Austin Carr right up until the naked woman pulled a gun on him. Once living in a truck camper, drowning in debt, and prevented by a restraining order from seeing his kids, Carr now has an apartment, sees his children regularly, and even with a suspended stockbroker's license is working as a consultant for a New Jersey investment company. However, things started to go downhill fast when the head of the firm departed for Tuscany, leaving Carr with instructions to watch over the man's daughter and keep her from her psychotic ex. Carr has definite reservations, which prove legitimate when Ragsdale takes the woman hostage at gunpoint and Carr has to resort to calling Tony, a man with lots of muscle and even darker ties. He's also the one thing standing between Carr's company and a bookie who wants Carr to launder money or risk the lives of his friends. A scary Mama, gunplay, and three women who are as attractive as they are deadly all lead up to a confrontation with a gun-wielding vixen clad only in his socks.

This fast read has enough complications for a novel twice its size, and its humor balances out the potential for serious bloodshed. Over-the-top characters make this a lively read for lovers of caper comedies. Carr tends to be motivated more by his libido than his brains, yet his affability and smart mouth has the reader cheering for him. This is an enjoyable read that is both satisfying and entertaining.