Big Town [Hardcover]

Doug J. Swanson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1994

Down-and-out private investigator Jack Flippo falls for a woman at the center of a web of blackmail and murder and finds himself implicated in the very case he has been hired to solve. A first novel.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In his fiction debut, newspaper reporter Swanson introduces a retro Dallas PI in a complex blackmail scam that gets out of hand. Jack Flippo, who slept his way (with a drug dealer's wife) out of his job in the DA's office, is reduced to spying for a sleazoid lawyer named Hal. A woman named Paula hires Hal to get the dirt on Buddy George, a smooth-talking motivational speaker with a taste for flesh. Paula sets Buddy up for a hot night with sweet manicurist Sharronda, with Jack in the next room to take pictures. When Buddy gets tough, Jack rescues Sharronda. The ensuing complications, involving Sharronda's boyfriend and Hal's psychotic muscleman, result in murder as well as blackmail and entanglements of the heart: Jack, not known for smart thinking around the fairer sex, falls for Paula, whose greed has jump-started the entire caper. The local color is fairly muted--the tale could be taking place in any city with a hot summer and a motel strip--and the plotting doesn't spring enough surprises to satisfy. Jack, who has lousy sleeping and eating habits, eventually contrives a clever fate for the unjust, but he stays a small-time PI, despite his Big D setting.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Jack Flippo, on the fast track at the Dallas DA's office, unwittingly beds the wife of a drug kingpin. By the time Jack's realized his egregious error, he's out on his ear, divorced, depressed, and broke. Reduced to taking odd jobs, he obliges a detective friend who asks him to photograph the infidelities of sleazy entrepreneur Buddy George. Jack, with his unerring nose for trouble, gets more than the picture he bargained for when his photographic snoopfest reveals Buddy's penchant for weird sex. Soon Jack finds himself involved with blackmail, murder, and a cast of unforgettable characters including Teddy Deuce, a moronic, muscle-flexing thug whose dearest ambition is to have his own game show, and icily gorgeous Paula Fontaine, Buddy's shrewd, sexy, sans-scruples assistant. First-time author Swanson has written a wonderfully offbeat story that's darkly sinister, terrifically funny, and oddly touching. Jack Flippo's head is screwed on straight, his heart's in the right place (despite his efforts to make us believe otherwise), and he's exactly the kind of guy we want on our side. Emily Melton

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 293 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins; 1st edition (February 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060177497
• ISBN-13: 978-0060177492
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 1.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,355,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sharp, Teasing but nothing special, October 17, 2002

By 

Shai guy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Town (Hardcover)

There's a laid-back mood that characterises this book and courtesy Swanson's unique style ,it's quite infectious.

Although it was a tad bit exaggerated, I absolutely loved the character of Teddy Deuce.But this book never hit the heights of being "thoroughly enjoyable" or absorbing and it was dissapointingly easy to put it down to do something else whenever I felt like it.

It also ended a bit abruptly- i'm not quite sure whether or not that was the idea- and that didn't rub off right on me.

Ultimately it was better than mediocre but WAY off excellent.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad for a first book.. but with holes, July 17, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Big Town (Paperback)

I met the author at a local library in Dallas and gave his book a try.

It's a fast-paced book that I finished in one sitting. The characters are somewhat well defined, and the language is good. The book is enjoyable.

The big hole in this book is locale. The title, the cover and the cover-notes make a big deal about the story being based in Dallas. In my opinion, as someone living in Dallas, there is nothing in the story that precludes it from being placed in any city, or even any small town. Sure, there are a few Dallas references thrown around, but one doesn't get a feel for the city. The author doesn't linger on anything. No descriptions of places, or of people living in this city. No local issues talked about. Its a book without local flavor.

Another peeve.. the chapters are too short.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for fans of Carl Hiaasen, February 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Big Town (Hardcover)

This book is great, even better when you consider it is the author's 1st published work. Like my title states, fans of Carl Hiassen will probably like this book. Further proof is that Hiaasen himself compliments the book on the front cover.

"Big Town" shares Hiaasen trademarks: eccentric but believable characters, a brisk pace, snappy dialogue, and more twists than a pretzel factory. To my astonishment, I may even like this Swanson book BETTER than most of Hiaasen's work for one main reason: ambiguity. In most Hiaasen books, the good guys and bad guys are pretty clear cut while in Big Town I did not know literally until the last page who was zooming who.

It is a real shame Swanson's earlier books are out of print. As I have discovered, they are definitely worth seeking out.