LOW RIDER (Car Noir Thrillers) [Hardcover]

Philip Reed (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1998 | Series: Car Noir Thrillers

"Defined by a brilliant economy of style, a no-nonsense world view, and a lack of cliché....This bleak, funny...tale of used-car corruption, murder, and sex in a seamy, unremitting L.A. combines unlikely, grittily real characters with tough, clean prose," raved The Boston Book Review of the author's debut thriller, Bird Dog. Now, Reed brings back hardluck L.A. hero Harold Dodge in the eagerly awaited sequel to his "savage but jovial black comedy...[and] formidable set of wheels" (Literary Review).

Life continues to throw Harold Dodge some wicked curves. But sometimes, the more wicked the curve the better. Take Vikki Covo, widow of Harold's former boss at the Joe Covo car dealership. She's a blonde, she's beautiful, and she's angling for a million-dollar settlement on her husband's life insurance policy. Vikki's a curve in the shape of a dollar sign, a woman Harold could learn to love almost as much as he loves his '64 Chevy Impala. If only she handled as well....

The deal: if Harold negotiates the insurance settlement, he'll get ten percent, plus Vikki's everlasting gratitude and affection. The problem: the police are treating Joe Covo's death as a suicide, meaning no payout on the insurance. And when Harold suggests the cops rule it a homicide instead, they're all too willing to oblige, figuring him as their number-one suspect. Staring a murder rap in the face, Harold must descend into a rogue's gallery of low-riding gangbangers, car thieves, chop-shop operators, and collection agents.

Mixing business with pleasure is always a risky affair, and in this case Harold's in so deep he's getting the bends. From cowboy cops to jealous lovers, just about everybody wants a piece of him. Worst of all, the bad guys have sunk to a new low: they've stolen his Impala and stripped it for parts. Harold's going to find his Chevy and put it back together...even if it means going to hell and back in Vikki's four-cylinder rice-burner.

From the moment the key is turned in its ignition, Low Rider takes off on a supercharged, high-speed adventure you'll wish would never end. "Reed does for low-life L.A. what Hiaasen does for Florida -- turns it into a seriocomic carnival of suspense" (Publishers Weekly).

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Philip Reed doesn't waste any time getting down to business in his second book about a slightly bent but basically good-hearted Los Angeles car dealer named Harold Dodge. On page one, right after a bunch of gangbangers on the 405 freeway give thumbs-up approval to his lime green '64 Chevy Impala SS with 300-horsepower engine, Harold begins to muse: "He had lived here his whole life until he was forced to leave the country last year because of a couple of murders he didn't commit. Now, he was back to straighten things out. Repair the damage he had done to Vikki's life, and his own, and--who knows?--make some nice money in the process." As readers of Reed's Edgar-nominated debut novel, Bird Dog, know, Vikki is the widow of Dodge's former employer, a man killed because of a crooked car deal by the woman who became Harold's lover. Reed's second outing is as complicated, colorful, and full of great cars as his first--and judging by the tire tracks left at the end, there's a good chance that Mark III will soon be in your showrooms. --Dick Adler

From Publishers Weekly

The Edgar- and Anthony-nominated author of Bird Dog (1997) returns with a slick sequel that will make readers leery of car salesmen for life. Harold Dodge leaves his lover, Marianna Perado, recovering from gunshot wounds in Chile and heads back to L.A. in hopes of scoring the money needed for the operation that will help her walk again. Dodge seeks out Vikki Covo, widow of his former boss, Joe, whom Marianna killed in a rage over a raw deal in the series debut. Dodge has the key piece of information that Vikki needs: the whereabouts of her husband's body. With a body, Vikki can claim the insurance and maybe get back her share of his car dealership, and Dodge can get the money he needs for Marianna. The policy won't pay off if Covo's death is ruled a suicide, but if Dodge tells the truthAthat Covo was murderedAhe could be charged. Mix in a handsome, sleazy insurance agent who can't afford to pay the claim, a nasty chop-shop owner and his opera-singing goon of a brother, and the stage is set for a rollicking bumper-car ride to see whose scheme will pay off first. Reed makes the ins and outs of the car business and insurance scams into a high horse-powered tale loaded with dark-humor extras. The ending leaves room for further adventures of Dodge in Reed's inimitable "car noir" series. (July) FYI: Simultaneous release of Bird Dog in Pocket mass market paperback.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Atria; First edition. edition (July 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671001663
• ISBN-13: 978-0671001667
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,075,028 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:

5.0 out of 5 stars A top notch mystery, May 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: LOW RIDER (Car Noir Thrillers) (Hardcover)

Vikki Covo offers car dealer Harold Dodge a substantial amount of money if he can get the cause of her spouse's death changed from suicide to homicide so that the widow can collect on the deceased's multi-million dollar life insurance. Seeing an opportunity to make a substantial killing, Harold travels to Santa Barbara to convince the local police department that his former boss Joe was a murder victim.

To his surprise, the police buy Harold's theory. To his chagrin, they name him as the prime suspect as he had the means, the motive, and the opportunity. In addition to his problems with the local officials, Harold soon realizes that Joe's many cronies are coming out of the Southern California smog to claim partnerships with the victim, thereby making it even more difficult to determine who, in fact, actually killed the man. Still, Joe with the help of his paramour, begins his own investigation if only to prove that he is innocent.

Though not quite on the BMW level of his debut novel BIRD DOG), the second appearance of Harold Dodge is clearly a top of the line read. The characters are all fun, especially Harold, who seems to find a way to not only get in trouble but to condemn occupational groups (from car salespersons to insurance agents). The who-done-it is interesting with non-stop action scenes. Philip Reed sinks the winning FREE THROW with this classy amateur sleuth series.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A winner., September 26, 2001

By 

C. Jordan "Bibliobsessive" (chicago, il USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Low Rider (Paperback)

Author Phil Reed has come up with a loveable protagonist in Harold Dodge. He's rough around the edges, knows it, struggles with it, never gives in or gives up. He's much like Odysseus (sorry for the metaphor!) in that the winds of the world buffet the heck out of him, but with wiles and a gimlet eye, he keeps battling. It's nice to have a noir-type character who is willing to take burdens on his shoulders, and still dream of finding a perfect life for himself, his Dad and his girl. I look forward to the further adventures of the scraggy-edged charmer, Harold Dodge.

5.0 out of 5 stars Underated, February 10, 2007

By 

John L. Stacy (Long Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Low Rider (Paperback)

I don't know why Phil Reed has not garnerd more accalim or commrcial success. I would like to see a half-dozen more books in this series. His non-hero anti-hero rumple-suited car expert and unlikely knight in rusted armor makes for a page-turner.

I still want to know what happened after this book. I even wrote the author. He needs to write another book.