Fast Lane (A Willy Hanson Novel) [Hardcover]

Ralph Arnote (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Willy Hanson Novel | Publication Date: October 15, 1998

Fast Lane continues the saga of Willy Hanson, that publisher with a heart of gold who threw it all away for a life of adventure and a woman. Willy's now a gentleman detective: an amateur Sam Spade who would love to solve a riddle like the Maltese Falcon ... but winds up with matrimonial work. And this latest case just seems like more of the same. When the pregnant wife of a philandering executive asks Willy to get the dirt on her husband so that she can start a new life, he reluctantly takes the case. But the man has been doing more than leading a double life, and his actions have started a chain of events that will end in an encounter with a psychopath of sickening proportions.

And in which a little boy's life hangs in the balance.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Though there are quirks aplenty, Arnote's sixth Willy Hanson escapade is a mechanical exercise that just goes to prove that all the clever plotting in the world doesn't necessarily make characters come to life. The thoroughly unadmirable Jason Granger has a road rage run-in with the equally unadmirable Sonny Houston, who trails Jason to a rest area and beats him up in the men's room. Sonny also likes to beat up on his son Tad, and when the boy goes missing after a ride through some Jersey rapids, he ends up in New York City in the care of a hooker who calls herself Empress Carlotta. Everything comes to a head when Jason's wife, Amanda, hires Willy Hanson and his partner, Coley Doctor, to get the goods on her husband, who's having a torrid affair with the?yes?unadmirable Blair Lawton. The various plot strands converge in predictable fashion: Arnote knows all the right moves, but they're jerky and mechanical. It seems as if he picked up the latest Carl Hiaasen and said to himself, "I can do that." Judging by this effort, he can't.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Ralph Arnote is the author of several Willy Hanson novels, including A Rage in Paradise, Evil's Fancy, and False Promises, as well as the mainstream thriller Hong Kong, China. He recently passed away.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (October 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312865333
• ISBN-13: 978-0312865337
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 3.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,395,649 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hanson and Doctor are noted for their return, December 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Fast Lane (A Willy Hanson Novel) (Hardcover)

Amanda Granger pleads with her spouse Jason to listen to her as she tries to explain that she is pregnant. Jason shrugs her condition off by saying pregnancy is not on their current agenda and begins to drive to a business meeting in another city. While driving in his fancy Corvette, Jason angers another driver, Sonny Houston, who beats him up in a nearby rest stop, sending him to a hospital. While still recuperating in the hospital, Jason soon learns that his mistress Blair Lawton is pregnant too.

Meanwhile, Amanda does not like the way Jason has recently behaved even before the accident. She hires Willy Hanson, who loves being a private investigator, even if most of his work involves matrimonial cheating. She wants him to catch her spouse (what else would she hire a Willy for) cheating. This seems to be an easy case to accomplish since Jason does have a mistress. However, Willy's simple case becomes complicated when Sonny cannot release his road rage, planning to make Jason his personal tackling dummy.

FAST LANE, the sixth Hanson mysteries, is a 90 MPH plot that stars a likable lead protagonist (and his equally enjoyable partner). The story line moves at the pace of a SST. Though most of the cast offers no redeeming values, leaving little reader empathy for any of them, Hanson remains a character of note whom readers will still adore. Not quite at the level of some of his previous novels, Ralph Arnote still writes an original, non-stop thriller.

Harriet Klausner

4.0 out of 5 stars very well done!, August 24, 2008

By 

Nancy O (hobe sound fl) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Fast Lane (A Willy Hanson novel) (Mass Market Paperback)

I read a LOT of mystery novels and I'm very particular about them. I don't remember when I got this book, but I saw it on my shelf today and picked it up, and I'm glad I did. I love this kind of mystery ... solid plot, good action, no overuse of sex to keep people reading (which I HATE -- stick with the storylines, authors!) -- just a good old-fashioned mystery that kept me reading throughout the day. I think anyone who enjoys a well-written mystery novel would enjoy this one -- maybe I'll exclude those who solely read cozies, because this is anything but. Basic plot outline (no spoilers) The detective agency owned by Willy Hansen and Coley Doctor takes on a case of a woman who wants a divorce from her husband. Amanda Granger is the wife of Jason, a high-level exec at an insurance company, and after telling him of her pregnancy, discovers that he is fooling around with another woman from his firm. She hires Hansen's agency to get any evidence the PIs can dig up on Jason so that she can divorce him and start a new life. However, Jason is too busy trying to get even with a psycho who went after him after Jason cut him off driving. His efforts at revenge lead to tragic consequences & even death. Very good, very fun novel to read. It reminds me a lot of the older mysteries featuring private eyes -- I wish there were more like this. I'm now going to have to track down everything by this author and read them as soon as the books come in!