Customer Reviews

Drawing Dead

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
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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

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!

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.

If Tom Sawyer was in Minnisota and instead of getting his friends to paint a picket fence for him, he sold them what they thought were collectible comic books, but were just covers with blank paper inside a plastic shield, Tom could have been a character in this story.
"Drawing Dead" by Pete Hautman has two conn men scheming to sell comic books covered with a Stasis Shield.

However, when they trade a number of these comics to Joey C. ie Joey Cadallic, i.e. Joseph Battagno and Joey lets his 22 year old girlfriend open one and find blank paper, Joey C. sends his thug, Freddy Wishesky after the two, Tom and Ben. Joey wants them punished in a way that they won't be coming back from.

The story moves to Minnesota where Tom and Ben went to hide from Freddy.
Joe Crow is a former cop, recovering cocaine addict and card player. Fellow player, Rich "Dickie" Wicky hires Joe to find out whom his wife is having an affair with and buy them off. Joe does his work but Dickie avoids paying him.

Hautman does a fine job in describing his characters, the dialogue and bizzare situations they get themselves into. Joe's friend Laura Debrowski is a character the reader would like to know more about. She is also a recovering cocaine addict, having met Joe in Cocaine Anonymous.

When Laura meets wit Joey C. and bad things happen, Joe and Laura decide to turn their own scheme on the conn men.
The results are wonderful. I see a resemblance in Elmore Leonard's writing and Dickie Wicky is easily pictured as Danny De Vito.

Well done and full of humor.

Smooth and slick writing by a born-story teller. So funny that actually made me laugh so many times. Full of lowlives and miserable characters that in the very beginning might confuse you a bit. Pete Hautman is an enjoyable new find that replaced a lesser Carl Hiassen. Mr. Hautman should quit smoking his beloved cigar to prolong his lifespan for all the readers who could appreciate him but not wanting to inhale his second cigar smoke; just joking.

Enter Joe Crow, an ex-cop in Minneapolis -- all he wants to do is cover is living expenses with his poker winnings. Sounds fairly simple until he gets involved with Dickie Wicky (a sleazy stockbroker who lives on booze and drugs), Catfish Wicky (his over-sexed wife from somewhere and/or everywhere), Joey Cadillac (a questionable Chicago car dealer and underworld don wannabee), Freddie Wisnesky (Joey C's hitman and I do mean hit) and Tomas Campo (a.k.a. Thomas Jefferson and Tom Aquinas, a comic book con man on the run who will probably tell you that he really wrote this book). And this is just the start of the wild and wacky cast of characters and the multiple plots and subplots thatJoe runs into in this very funny novel.

If you love playing poker, reading comic books or just taking part in a who's conning who con game this is the book for you! This book was my first expirence with Pete Hautman's writing, and now I've had to go out and buy the rest of his books. Once you read it, you'll probably have to do the same!