Bird Dog (A Car Noir Thriller) [Mass Market Paperback]

Philip Reed (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1998

With more twists than an L.A. freeway, Philip Reed guides you on a lethal joyride you won't forget....

Harold Dodge, pushing fifty, is a good man. But in a less-than-perfect world -- that is, Los Angeles -- good men sometimes have to do bad things. Just about everyone in the City of Angels has a hard luck story, but when it comes to bad breaks, Harold is rewriting the book.

Now he's in a friend's car -- and in a spot. A pair of hired repo men in a stolen Buick are trying to run him off the freeway and into an early grave. But the cops pull him over first -- a blessing, except for one little thing. Harold's got a dead body in the trunk. That's when his luck takes a turn...for the worse.

It all started because Harold has a weakness for killer legs. And when Marianna Perado in her spike heels asks him to help her "unwind" a rip-off deal at Joe Covo's dealership, where Harold once bird-dogged suckers into buying used cars, he jumps...and lands in a cesspool of corruption.

Harold lives for women and cars -- he just never figured on dying for them. Now he has to add up a pack of lies and hope a scrap of truth comes out in the equation. But Harold lives in a city where everyone's working a hustle, where the only question is who's hustling you. The Santa Ana winds are blowing, and Harold Dodge is feeling the heat.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Harold Dodge, overweight and pushing 50 hard, loves woman and cars. So when the extremely striking Marianna Perado interrupts his acquisition of a real cream puff--an '86 Maxima that he knows he can slap a $100 detail job on, then resell for an extra $1000--and asks for his help in getting her trade-in back from the hotshot dealer he used to work for, Harold just can't say no. Within minutes, he's up to his ears in dangerous deals and scams that escalate into a carnival of terror. If Florida's Carl Hiassen moved to the seamier side of Los Angeles, this first novel might well be the kind of thing he'd come up with. But former journalist and television writer Philip Reed has already claimed the territory, and is at work on his second mystery about Harold Dodge. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This jaunty, humorous, and captivating first novel features a cast of quirky California characters and their misadventures. Lush-bodied Marianna picks on middle-aged co-worker Harold?who wrote a tell-all book about used cars?for help when a car salesman cheats her. Thus begins an itinerant tale of scam and counterscam, car distribution corruption, tender-hearted strippers, attempted murder, accidental murder, car chases, outwitted hoodlums, vituperative ex-wives, pot-smoking brothers, and incipient love. Quick shifts of scene steadily increase the suspense, but this is one of those books that ends too soon.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Star (July 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671001655
• ISBN-13: 978-0671001650
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,001,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The car lover's crime novel., November 10, 2000

By 

burglar "burglar" (Newport Beach, Ca. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bird Dog (A Car Noir Thriller) (Mass Market Paperback)

The book jacket on this little gem describes it as a "car noir thriller", and this is one of those rare instances when the cover blurb nails it. If you want cars, this story is dripping with Mercedes and Maximas and Fords and GMC's and Integra's, even an Escort (!?). If you're into noir, you'll love the seedy downtown LA settings, the bodies in the trunk, the femme fatale seeking revenge -- and an ending that does the genre justice. Finally, it is a non-stop thrill ride through wrecked lives and double-dealing and the law on your tail no matter which way you turn. The hero (always a relative term in noir) is Harold Dodge, who falls hard for a babe in spike heels who's been hoodwinked on an automobile transaction and wants him to "unwind the deal" for her. Unable to resist those killer legs, he agrees. Before Dodge knows it, he's in trouble up to his neck, winds up in jail, almost gets himself killed and manages to get laid like he's never been before, though not necessarily in that order. If you like Elmore Leonard and Jim Thompson, you'll like Phil Reed, too.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'll never enter a car dealership again!, October 20, 1998

By 

Jacob Dickinson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bird Dog (Hardcover)

I'm not used to the thriller genre. The book was emotionally draining. It reminded me of a friend's comment about the movie "Blue Velvet": "Some of the characters are such scum you don't want to be on the same planet with them." Whew. I don't know how I'll ever be able to buy a car again! At least they by and large eliminated each other, eventually, but not as painlessly as one might wish. When it's over, how does the occasionally introspective, moralizing hero, Harold figure he stands with God? He's quite a mensch, hard not to like. No wonder his magnetism affects enough women to complicate things for him. Great job setting up for a sequel, too. It 's just that "Bird Dog" leaves so much scorched earth that I can't imagine how Harold can possibly set foot anywhere near LA ever again. Which is perfect, of course, because I have to read the next book to find out. Something tells me that glowering cop Gammon was just warming up in "Bird Dog." Harold had better stay under his radar. Note on irritating speech mannerisms mentioned in previous review: Harold's the only character in the book who peppers his conversation with "i.e." I've known people with at least equally irritating tics, and my impression was that that's all it is: i.e., characterization.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Meet Harold Dodge, a.k.a. Bird Dog, December 6, 2000

By 

Georgine G. Kabler (Los Angles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bird Dog (A Car Noir Thriller) (Mass Market Paperback)

"Bird Dog" opens with a glimpse of killer-Mex, Mariana, a raven-haired beauty with red lips and flashing teeth, in stiletto heels. She's out to buy a car, a simple task that leads to mayhem when she is taken advantage of by an unscrupulous car dealer. Enter Harold Dodge, a work mate of Mariana's at an aerospace company. It turns out that Harold has written a book on how to buy a used car, which is based on his previous life as a car salesman, a.k.a. "bird dog," for the car lot where Mariana purchased her car. The fun begins when Harold accompanies Mariana back to the car dealership, then back into the maze of the LA underbelly of chop shops, corruption and greed.

Harold, a quirky but loveable, bear of a man, with fifty in his rear view mirror, can't say no to a beautiful woman. Through tough negotiation, fast action, and sometimes just dumb luck, Harold manages to extricate himself and Mariana from some very hairy situations.

Reed brings his offbeat characters to life and makes the reader a part of their hapless ride through danger. He has a knack for showing the best and worst of his characters, making them real and sometimes tragically funny. Believe me, you'll never look at that nondescript man at the office in the same way again, after you've met Harold Dodge.

"Bird Dog," Reed's first book, is a fast read about a fast ride. If you liked "Bird Dog," read on. The chronicle of Harold Dodge continues in "Low Rider." Don't miss the fun.