Fiddle Game (A Herman Jackson Mystery)(Library Edition) [Audio CD]

Richard A. Thompson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2008

Herman Jackson has chosen St. Paul as his place of permanent exile from Detroit, where his former life as a bookie got too hot to hold. Now he leads a respectable life as a bail bondsman, while looking over his shoulder. When a young woman leaves him an antique violin as security for her brother s bail bond, it s really the beginning of an elaborate con game. The game is barely underway when the young woman is murdered and, for reasons that make no sense, the police say Herman is the prime suspect that is, unless he gives them the violin as evidence. Jackson can t afford to be a suspect even for jaywalking, but neither is he going to give in to extortion. Soon he s on the run, trying to solve the murder while pursued by cops and a band of Gypsies. Suddenly, life back in Detroit doesn t look so bad after all.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Dean s voice, rich with character and mystery, gives the sense of a man with his fair share of secrets to tell. --AudioFile

Like music, author Richard A. Thompson has layered beautiful language, charismatic characters, and witty dialogue to create a symphony of a mystery. --ForeWord

About the Author

Richard Thompson's professional education is as a civil engineer, and he has recently retired from a 45-year career in construction, including 12 years as the Senior Building Inspector for the City of St. Paul. He is a certified Minnesota Building Official and a registered professional engineer. Oddly enough, his earliest ambition was to be a comic book artist, later a sculptor. At various times he has been a carpenter, a short-order cook, an apprentice surveyor, a folksinger and part-time maker of stringed instruments, a member of the U. S. Coast Guard, a general contractor, and a boat-builder. He lives in St. Paul, MN.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.; Unabridged library edition (February 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1433211432
• ISBN-13: 978-1433211430
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,388,571 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Richard A. Thompson is a civil engineer who traded in his hard hat for a laptop and now spends his time writing mysteries and science fiction. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota with his wife of 48 years (as of 2011) and two neurotic cats. His debut novel, Fiddle Game, about a bail bondsman with a shady past, a priceless antique violin, and a band of modern urban Gypsies, was short-listed for a CWA Debut Dagger Award. His second novel in the series, Frag Box, was a finalist in the Minnesota Book Awards. Big Wheat is his third novel, and is a stand-alone historical. Read the first chapters of all three at www.fiddlegame.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Con Artist, February 27, 2008

By 

Ted Feit (Long Beach, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Fiddle Game (Hardcover)

For a first novel, "Fiddle Game" is quite an accomplishment. The author has led quite a varied career, including a 45-year stint in construction. He is a civil engineer, a certified Minnesota Building Official and a registered professional engineer. But nothing in his biography indicates he has ever written anything prior to this novel.

An Amati violin plays a central role in a con game conducted by a gypsy family and going on since World War II. Herman Jackson is a bail bondsman in St. Paul who becomes the latest victim of the con. A woman enters his office offering the valuable fiddle as security for a bond for her brother. Unfortunately she is soon the victim of a hit-and-run and dies. The killer escapes with the violin. Herman quickly attracts the interest of the police as the possible perpetrator. The plot then has Herman attempting to solve the murder and retrieve the fiddle.

The story is extremely well-told, moving to a most unexpected conclusion. It is a surprisingly welcome debut, and we hope it is not a one-shot from this author.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very entertaining throwback gumshoe noir, December 10, 2009

By 

clifford "akitonmyers" (Portland, OR, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fiddle Game (Hardcover)

This is a very entertaining tongue in cheek bit of noir fiction. Its contemporary, so you wont imagine Bogart running around in an old Packard. But it has the feel of one of those old hollywood black and white masterpieces.

The "Fiddle Game" works well on several levels as long as you dont try to puzzle out the plot. The banter is first class. It was a joy to read the back and forth between Herman Jacson and his cronies. Jackson is a throwback bail bondsman who is maybe sucked into a Gypsie scam when a young lady comes in with a violin she uses as colateral. Following the story itself as you read is entertaining. The author, Richard Thompson pulls you this way and that, keeping you off balance and introducing sporadic characters at unique variables throughout the telling.

Now that I am finished reading, I can look back and see that a 'time-line' got sort of messed up early in the first chapters of the book. By this I mean that the hours seem to jump forwards and back, leaving the reader a little confused. Also, the plot either relies waaaayyyyy too much on happenstance. I am not a huge fan of when authors cut corners by introducing elements that allow for the story to reach a satisfactory conclusion... acting like crutches.

I am really looking forwards to reading more by this author and would enjoy reading more in this series as well.

5.0 out of 5 stars Old school--in the very best way, March 6, 2008

By 

Margaret Yang - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fiddle Game (Hardcover)

Fiddle Game by Richard A. Thompson is a debut novel, but Thompson writes like an old pro. His protagonist, Herman Jackson, has been in the bail bonds business a long time, long enough to have seen it all. Or, nearly all, as he is flummoxed by a Gypsy woman trying to pay for her brother's bond with an antique violin. Even as Jackson suspects he's the victim of a con, he goes along with the proposal, hoping to work a few angles of his own. But although Jackson is an extremely savvy player, nobody has been running cons longer than the Gypsies. In fact, the mystery and intrigue of the violin goes back fifty years, to World War II Europe.

Herman Jackson is only 43, but seems older, not so much old fashioned as old school. And I mean that in the best sense of the word. Jackson has a sense of justice, a knowledge of the right way to do things, a low-key manner, and a healthy amount of chivalry that gets him into trouble as much as it endears him to the reader.

Jackson is soon on the run from both the gypsies and the law, which brings me to my only quibble about this fine novel. Jackson's allies in St. Paul---Agnes, Wide Track Wilke, and the Prof---are so wonderful that I wanted to see more of them, and was a bit sorry when Herman Jackson's adventures took him away from St. Paul, to Skokie, Illinois, home of the largest community of gypsies in North America. I just hope that these fun minor characters appear in a sequel!