The Cadillac Cowboy [Hardcover]

Michael Collins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 1995

An Edgar Award-winning author follows occasional private eye Langford "Ford" Morgan as he tangles with his ex-wife, who will stop at nothing to clear her son's name from the taint of a murder. By the author of Cassandra in Red. 15,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This weak effort from the author of Red Rosa and Cassandra in Red features Ford Morgan, who is hired by his former wife when her son is accused of shooting his father, ruthless and powerful Ralph Baliol. Drawn from his current home in Costa Rica, Ford travels to Montecito, Calif., where his investigation leads him deep into the affairs (mostly sexual, and graphic) of the extended Baliol clan. This is a generic, noirish thriller, with a flaccid attempted murder scene, a sleazy victim with a sleazy, wastrel son and a hero whose lifestyle is so finely detailed that we even know the name of the microbrewery whose product he imbibes. Collins is usually a million times better than evidenced here, so skip this one and hold out instead for his next book with red in the title.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ford Morgan is a former CIA operative living the good--if somewhat dull--life in Costa Rica. His ex-wife needs help. Rachel Baliol--married to tycoon Ralph Baliol--says her son Johnny has been charged in the attempted murder of Ralph. Ford soon clears Johnny but stays on in Santa Barbara to find out who did try to kill Ralph. There are plenty of suspects, since Ralph makes a habit of screwing everyone with whom he works. Currently, he's acquired a logging company and, needing cash, has decided to clear-cut the land, making him a target for both his soon-to-be-unemployed workers and the local environmentalists. Author Collins is best known as the creator of Dan Fortune, the gloomy, one-armed private eye. Morgan is whole physically, but like Fortune, he fills his spiritual void with work. Collins is an Edgar winner and the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Private Eye Writers of America. He continues his good work in this complex and rewarding mystery. Wes Lukowsky

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult; First Edition edition (October 30, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556114613
• ISBN-13: 978-1556114618
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,803,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Old Warrior Gets Back in the Saddle Again, October 25, 2005

By 

Zachary Hackett (Reno, Nevada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cadillac Cowboy (Hardcover)

Langford "Ford" Morgan has a nice life in Costa Rica. He's got the perfect girl, good bank account, healthy business. The perfect retirement. He's ex-CIA, perfectly happy to be out of the wars, perfectly content. Then he gets word from his ex-wife that her son by her first marriage is in jail for shooting his father. The man isn't dead, but the son is being held without bail. She wants Ford to come back to the States and prove her son is innocent.

He's not back in Santa Barbara long before he's in bed with the ex. But he quickly realizes it's a mistake when he meets the first hubby's mistress, she could be the love of his life, of course he's still got the current girl and the mistress is married and doesn't want anything to do with him.

Someone takes another shot at first hubby and is killed by a stranger in a cowboy hat who drives a Cadillac with a steer's horns on the hood. However the cops now let the son out of the can, as he couldn't have been involved in the second shooting. Mommy wants Ford to go home now, but he's got the mistress on the mind, along with a feeling of unease about a job not finished.

He finds out first hubby bought a lumber mill and is clear cutting the red woods. He believes there is a connection, meets a beautiful tree hugger, who wants to stop the raping and pillaging of the forest. The mistress spurns him again, but there is that tree hugger and of course the perfect Costa Rican girl and enough bad guys to shake a stick at.

Michael Collins has written still another mystery that will have you burning the midnight oil. It's just too gosh darned bad that they are so hard to get now. Somebody really out to make his books available again.