The Empress File [Hardcover]

John Camp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1991

Kidd and LuEllen, a wining pair of lovers and liars, get embroiled in a deadly con involving false identities, small-town scandals, and big-time murder.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Camp's witty, engrossing sequel to The Fool's Run brings back artist/narrator Kidd, who makes the most of his skills as a kind of computer-mercenary. A beautiful black activist wants Kidd to help her oust the "respectable" people who are running the small Mississippi delta city of Longstreet, in the process lining their pockets. Kidd and friend/lover/burglar Luellen pose as arty tourists on a houseboat in a plan to flimflam the greedy gang and dig into their hidden bank accounts and stashes of diamonds, stamps, coins, etc. But the caper turns murderous as they run up against a sadistic chief of the department of "animal control." Playing the good guys off the bad, who are led by ditzy, dangerous Mayor Chenille Dessusdelit,sp ok Kidd and Luellen wonder if they'll escape with their skins, and the loot, as events sweep them to a gory climax and bittersweet ending. This is a fast-moving, stylish delight, with dialogue that crackles. Camp also writes as John Sanford ( Shadow Prey ) .
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Kidd, the rogue Tarot-reading computer-whiz-for-hire introduced in Fool's Run ( LJ 9/1/89) is back in another well-written suspense yarn. When good citizens of a small Mississippi town enlist his talents to clean up their corrupt local government, Kidd and a lovely cat-burglar cohort set up a scam operation designed to force the politicians' resignations. Cards and computers are important to the plot again, but more action and violence makes this a much livelier story than Fool's Run . The imaginative con scheme is clever yet believable, but the biggest thrills occur when events don't go as planned. Top-drawer escapist fare. Highly recommended for public libraries. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/90; as John Sandford, Camp is also the author of the forthcoming Eyes of Prey, Putnam, April, previewed in Prepub Alert LJ 1/91)-- Will Hepfer, SUNY at Buffalo Libs.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 231 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Co; 1st edition (April 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805015450
• ISBN-13: 978-0805015454
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #391,543 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing thriller, July 28, 2003

By 

Louise (Copenhagen V, Denmark) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Empress File (Kidd) (Mass Market Paperback)

I love John Sandford's Prey-series, and thought I would also check out the Kidd-series. The Empress File is the second in this series, but the first one I've read.

The computer-expert/artist/con-man Kidd receives a call late at night from his online friend Bobby, asking him to go to the town of Longstreet, where a black kid has been shot by the cops. The town is covering up this shooting, as it was the wrong boy who got shot.

The town's underground hard-core black politicians are mad, about the killing of the black boy which is just the latest thing in a row of injustices, redneck racism and corruption in this small Southern town.
Kidd is asked to help developing a scheme, making the current city council fall. His on and off lover, the burglar LuEllen, is brought in as his sidekick, and the story takes off.
There were some intrigues in this story concerning political stuff and computer technicalities that I couldn't quite figure out, but the story moves quickly along, and it is overall a fast and easy read. Some of the rednecks and their methods stand out as particular bad, and the freaky new-age mayor is also a good character.
Though I am not rating this story a 5 star read, I am sure I will read the other Kidd-novels by John Sandford.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another good Kidd/LuEllen novel., June 30, 2001

By 

Old Fisherman "Jim" (Orange, California USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Empress File (Kidd) (Mass Market Paperback)

Kidd, master computer hacker, and LuEllen, master burglar are hired by a local action committee to discredit the mayor of a small Mississippi town. The mayor is corrupt, along with the group of selectmen who govern with her and the honest people in town want to take their town back. Kidd and LuEllen swing into action but things go wrong and two of the honest folk are murdered. And then Kidd himself is captured. Will he die in the dreaded vacuum chamber or will LuEllen be able to rescue him before it's too late.

The Kidd and LuEllen novels were originally written by John Sandford under his own name, John Camp, and as such pre-date his more successful "Prey" novels. The Kidd novels are just as good if you can overlook the outdated computer technology Kidd uses (that was cutting edge when the novels were written). The writing is great, characterization is right on and the dialog sparkles. As others have suggested read "The Fools Run" first to get a little background on both Kidd and LuEllen. I'd recommend this book.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great novel., August 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Empress File (Kidd) (Mass Market Paperback)

This author is very talented. Kidd and LuEllen are back in the saddle again (read The Fool's Run first). The plot was well thought out and consistent. The action keeps drawing the reader along. Hopefully, there will be more of this series (can two books make a series?). More of a con game than a mystery thriller, this book and the Fool's Run are just as good as the Prey series. Encore.