Drawing Dead [Mass Market Paperback]

Pete Hautman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1997

Joe Crow thinks he's one hell of a poker player. An ex-cop who dresses halfway between a slob and a nerd and looks a little like Wayne Newton when he's surprised, Crow has almost forgotten what it feels like to lose. But then he lets Laura Debrowski - a spike-haired, leather-clad burst of rock'n'roll in a Muzak world - play a few hands with his stack. The next thing he knows, a drug-addled stockbroker named Dickie Wicky is holding an IOU with Crow's name - followed by too many zeros. Crow figures he can pay off the marker eventually, but Dickie has another idea. He wants Crow to tail his sexy wife, Catfish, find out who she's been shacking up with, and then get rid of him. That is, pay the guy to go away - not kill him. But some other people have different ideas. Freddy Wisnesky, a mildly retarded, oversized thug with a face like a pot roast and a passion for floral neckties, is also looking for Catfish's lover. Two con artists named Tom Jefferson and Ben Franklin - or is it Tom Paine and Ben Cartwright? Thomas Aquinas and Benjamin Disraeli? - also find their way into Crow's neighborhood, peddling shares in a $12 million rare comic book collection that just might not exist. A small-time Mafioso/car dealer/poker player, who calls himself Joey Cadillac ("new or used, cash or stash"), is on Tom and Ben's trail, looking for revenge. And when Catfish shows up one night and invites herself into Crow's bed, Crow finds himself sucked into the underbelly of Minneapolis, where card hustlers, con men, comic books, and cocaine combine in a crazy comic caper. Crow thinks he can rise above all this, live right, and leave all these unpleasant people behind. But then he has a better idea. Drawing Deadis a zany, fast-paced thriller by a wickedly clever first novelist who combines the outrageous wit of Donald E. Westlake and the comic suspense of Elmore Leonard.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A prolific children's nonfiction author (under the pseudonym Peter Murray) turns to adult fiction in this first-class caper novel, which involves a truly unique scam and enough memorably shady characters to fill several volumes by Elmore Leonard. Tom and Ben are fast-traveling con artists who prey on novice collectors in the comic book collectibles market. When they make the mistake of selling a bogus Batman #3 to smalltime Chicago hood Joey Cadillac, they're forced to flee to Minneapolis, where they set up another scam in cahoots with questionable investment counselor Dickie Wick and his oversexed wife Catfish. Former cop and ex-cokehead Joe Crow, in debt to Wick after a bad round of poker, gets caught up in their shenanigans, much to his regret. When his gal pal, the very punk Laura Debrowski, is beaten up while trying to help him, Crow gets mad and decides to con the con men. How it all turns out makes a wonderful story, tartly told. Hautman's knowledge of the comics field and its collectors' manias gives verisimilitude to the goings-on; his two legitimate dealers, Fatman and Natch, will prompt a smile of recognition from anyone who's ever visited a comics shop.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Ex-cop and ex-druggie Joe Crow is forced into using his investigative skills to pay off a gambling debt owed to a stockbroker of dubious reputation. Teaming up with his neighbor Laura Debrowski, Crow takes on the underworld of Minneapolis card hustlers and the lucrative genre of comic-book trading. Along the way, we are introduced to a variety of strange and interesting characters, relationships, and high-finance scams. In both characterization and plot intricacies, this novel strongly resembles the high comedic novels of Donald Westlake. Written in a breezy style, with broad strokes of understated humor, it becomes a fast-paced suspense thriller with a satisfying ending. One hopes that this novel is the start of a series of equally outrageous adventures played out against the background of Minneapolis and vicinity. Recommended for general fiction and browsing collections.
- Erna Chamberlain, SUNY-Binghamton
Copyright 1993 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: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (April 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067100302X
• ISBN-13: 978-0671003029
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,953,891 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Okay, here's some miscellaneous personal info. I'll try to be as brief as possible. I was born in 1952 in Berkeley, California, or so I am told (I don't really remember). At age five I moved to St. Louis Park, Minnesota where I went to Cedar Manor Elementary School (also the alma mater of Al Franken and the Coen brothers, and no, they are not close personal friends of mine) and eventually graduated honor-free from St. Louis Park High School. This is so tedious. Why do you keep reading? For the next seven years I attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the University of Minnesota. Contrary to recent news reports, I did not graduate from either institution. After college I worked various jobs for which I was ill-suited, including sign painter, graphic artist, marketing executive, pineapple slicer, etc. Eventually, having exhausted other options, I decided to write. My first novel, Drawing Dead, was published in 1993. Today, I live with mystery writer and poet Mary Logue in Golden Valley, Minnesota and Stockholm, Wisconsin. We have two small dogs (are you still reading?) named Rene and Jacques. There you have it. Fifty-plus years compressed into a few short paragraphs. Feel free to copy and paste for your book report, but don't tell anybody I suggested it. Need to know more? Check out the FAQs page on my website at http://www.petehautman.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one of the best comic capers of the 90's, August 11, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Drawing Dead (Mass Market Paperback)

Take a cast of characters, including Joe Crow, Rich "Dickie" Wick, Joey Cadillac, Freddy "dumb as a stump" Wisnesky, and the gorgeous Catfish, mix in comic book collectors, used car dealers, cutthroat poker, and the Mob, and set it in the wacky work of Minnesota and you get the perfect mix of scam and comedy that is Pete Hautman's stunning Drawing Dead. I'm a big fan of Hautman's work, and am delighted that his first adult caper is finally out in paperback. Don't miss this one--of the the best of the '90s

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great cast of characters - but not a kid's book!, June 18, 2001

By 

D. Smith (Winchester, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Drawing Dead (Mass Market Paperback)

If you've run out of South Florida hijinks, try Pete Hautman's nutty northern neighbors. "Drawing Dead" is a sequel to "Short Money," even though it was written EARLIER, so try "Short Money" first to make the most of the plotline.

Joe Crow stars as a down-on-his-luck policeman with more than his share of losers in his life. How he comes to grips with his own character flaws and manages to do some good in the process makes for fast, funny reading. Hautman has a way of keep things just preposterous enough to make them amusing, but still close enough to reality to make them believable (for an example of the opposite, try "Florida Roadkill.")

Pete Hautman deserves to be more well-known. His work is far superior to some of the Hiaasen wannabes currently on the market. Since he also writes young adult fiction, be forewarned that "Drawing Dead" is not one of them. The language and sexual situations are better suited to mature readers. If you're in that category, give him a shot!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun Fun EZ Reading, May 11, 2000

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Drawing Dead (Mass Market Paperback)

An impressive debut comic crime caper featuring oddball characters and situations set in Minnesota. The story centers on ex-cop Joe Crow who gets caught up in the shady shenanigans of a couple of con-artists and a couple of high-rollers. Poker, and all its subtleties, is central to the plot, as are comic books--so it will especially appeal to aficionados of either of those hobbies/obsessions. This is a book that is a bit hard to put down as I kept wanting to see how all the quirky characters would keep bouncing off each other and how the multiple plot threads would culminate. There aren't any profound truths here, just a good fun story.