Drawing Dead [Hardcover]

Pete Hautman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 1993

In a fast-paced comic thriller set in Minneapolis, ex-cop Jim Crow finds himself in over his head in a scheme replete with poker-playing hustlers, cocaine, and two con artists selling shares of a rare comic book collection. A first novel.

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.

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.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1st edition (October 13, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671793748
• ISBN-13: 978-0671793746
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,759,694 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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Amazon Verified Purchase

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.