House of Corrections: A Jack Flippo Mystery (Jack Flippo Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Doug Swanson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 2000 | Series: Jack Flippo Mysteries

A late-night call from a friend in trouble sends hapless P.I. Jack Flippo into a whirlwind of trouble and a circle of wackos.

Jack Flippo stays true to his hopelessly troubled form in this dark and slyly amusing fifth novel in Doug Swanson's acclaimed series.

Out of loyalty to a former pal who once got him out of a bind, Flippo finds himself in Gavascon, involved in a perplexing investigation and becomes mixed-up with a series of shady characters he knows he can't trust. Dodging crooked ex-prosecutors, washed-up reporters, psychotic ex-wives, and flaming yachts, he must dispose of a quarter of a million dollars in drug money--while keeping his hands clean, his conscience clear, and his bed warm.

"For a Texan who isn't me, Doug Swanson can really write." --Kinky Friedman

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Jack Flippo's biggest claim to fame is his loyalty. That's what lures author Doug Swanson's series hero into a hare-brained scheme to help an old friend and mentor, attorney Wesley Joy, who's landed in jail. Wesley was stopped while driving a car in which someone made a getaway after killing two drug dealers in a Texas motel. But he has an alibi, and he wants Flippo to track her down: the beautiful Angelique, who's sunning herself on the deck of Joy's boat somewhere off Galveston. Jack has his own reasons for wanting to find Angelique, and it's guilt over his earlier affair with her rather than fealty to Wesley that sends him in search of her. But there's plenty of double-dealing here, apparent to the reader when Joy busts out of jail and teams up with an ex-con he once defended, even though it takes Flippo several more chapters to figure out that his old friend isn't who he thought he was. The pacing isn't quite as slow as the hero, who hangs out looking up old girlfriends and nursing hangovers in Galveston for so long that you're glad no one's paying him by the hour. Add an ex-prosecutor, a washed-up reporter, and a psychotic ex-wife into the mix, and you end up with a million-dollar yacht in flames, a missing bag of drug money, and a mildly amusing romp through the seedier shores of the Gulf Coast. -- Jane Adams

From Publishers Weekly

If Florida is home to the most offbeat sleuthing characters, Texas must run a close second. And Jack Flippo, with his tarnished-knight ethics and delightfully wry, caustic take on the hands life deals, moves to the very top of the Lone Star State's offerings in this fifth outing from Golden Dagger winner and Edgar nominee Swanson (Big Town, 96 Tears, etc.). When lawyer Wesley Joy calls from a small-town jail, where he's incarcerated on a drug charge, to plead with his old pal Jack to come immediately, well, Jack just has to. He figures to return the favors Wesley did him when they were both prosecutors in the Dallas County DA's office, as well as the sexual favors conferred on him by Wesley's wife, Angelique. Soon after Jack agrees to find Angelique, who's cruising somewhere on shark-infested Galveston Bay in her and Wesley's 32-foot sloop, the fun and the mayhem begin. Wesley makes an improbable jailbreak, an ambitious reporter chases Wesley's story, an embarrassed deputy plots his revenge and all of them try to locate a cache of missing drug money. Flippo embodies an appealing blend of middle-aged angst, lust-addled principles and faded idealism. Swanson's mix of crudity and wit, humor and crime, sex and murder works to keep the smiles coming and the pages turning as Flippo romps through the action to a wild finish. Agent, Janet Wilkens Manus.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult (August 3, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399146156
• ISBN-13: 978-0399146152
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,141,832 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dark side of Texas with a confused hero, October 29, 2000

By 

booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: House of Corrections: A Jack Flippo Mystery (Jack Flippo Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Jack Flippo owes his mentor Wesley Joy and when Wesley asks for his help, Jack has to respond. Except Wesley is in jail and suspected of murder--and Jack isn't quite sure whether Wesley is really as innocent as he claims. Wesley claims his wife, Angelique, can provide an alibi, and Jack sets off to find her-- with a bit of self-interest in mind.

Jack's confusion only gets worse when he poisons himself on raw oysters. This food poisoning limits Jack for half the book and puts a bit of a damper on the entire novel. Throughout, Jack seems more driven by others than driving the story himself. The rain of murdered bodies that seem to crop up wherever Jack goes mystifies him, but never really drives him to wonder what is going on.

Doug Swanson is a good writer and moves the story forward. Despite Jack's anti-heroics, the reader will still want to find out what is going on and will find themselves, like Jack, wavering on who, if anyone, really is innocent.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good ending to a great series, August 4, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: House of Corrections: A Jack Flippo Mystery (Jack Flippo Mysteries) (Hardcover)

In Galveston, Wesley Joy calls his old protégé Jack Flippo for help. The police busted Wesley in a drug bust that went bad with two dealers dead. Wesley insists he is innocent, as he was the stool pigeon to the cops. He swears his missing wife Angelique knows he is not guilty.

For old time sake, Jack leaves Dallas to try to find Angelique. He starts by looking into Wesley's life only to find a worse cesspool than his own. The straightforward case turns twisted as Jack soon finds a shaky Fed and a washed up reporter hoping to further their career off of Wesley's back.

HOUSE OF CORRECTIONS is the typical insane Jack Flippo novel that brings joy to his fans. The story line is a wild ride into the underbelly of East Texas wrapped inside a not so simple mystery. Jack remains a miserable anti-hero who the audience will relish for his humorous look at the dregs of society. The support cast add depth to the fifth tale, especially Jack's mentor Wesley. Doug Swanson has written another jocular frantic tale that turns the Lone Star State into Flippo,s personal asylum.

Harriet Klausner

5.0 out of 5 stars The Mystery of Swanson, November 29, 2005

By 

D. P. Birkett (Suffern, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: House of Corrections: A Jack Flippo Mystery (Jack Flippo Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Flippo, the middle-aged ex-lawyer, tries to help an old friend prove he is innocent, though he may not be innocent, of a murder that may have been committed by the old friend's ex-wife who is Flippo's ex-lover, and is being chased by a DEA agent who may not be a real DEA agent and who wants to be a standup comic. No I have to stop there - this is a plot that defies summary.
It's set mostly in Galveston with wonderful dense Texas atmosphere. Swanson shares the Elmore Leonard gift for setting a scene in half a sentence such as a "gray metal table that was loaded with an unsteady stack of papers." Minor characters are nailed in a phrase. In a jail cell one of the warders is "a bucktoothed pale man who looked to be a corpse-in-training" and another inmate is "a truck mechanic charged with raping his fourteen year old cousin."
Ultimately the twists and turns of the plot and the breakneck action lose believability, but by then the pages are turning themselves.
For some reason there are no more Flippos. Swanson looks young and healthy enough in his jacket photos. Qu'est-ce que se passe?