The Lion's Share (Jimmy Flannery Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Robert Wright Campbell (Author)

Book Description

Series: Jimmy Flannery Mysteries | Publication Date: May 1996

Democratic committeeman, sewer inspector, and amateur sleuth Jimmy Flannery goes into action to expose a complex frame-up after a prostitute shows up dead in the bed of a Chicago politician and former congressman accused of corruption.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Every cloud seems to have a silver lining in the tenth Jimmy Flannery mystery (following Sauce for the Goose). The rise of sewer inspector Flannery through Chicago's political ranks might be expected to stall with the death of his longtime mentor, Chips Devlin. The old man goes gently, in his bed, with a smile on his old Irish face and possibly after some paid female company; he has bequeathed his Bridgeport house to Flannery, his wife and their baby daughter. The political vacuum left by Devlin's passing is one that disgraced congressman Leo Lundatos would cheerfully fill, with Flannery's help. Meanwhile, two ex-cops, one a recent sex change, are fighting over a prostitution franchise. One of their contested employees, very possibly Devlin's last angel of mercy, dies in a house owned by Lundatos's wife, a perky redhead with an unsettling effect on Flannery. Although Campbell doesn't provide a great deal of narrative firepower here, he musters all the romantic urban crime elements that have garnered this series its deserved heap of praise: the ever noble Flannery; the anachronistic Chicago neighborhood settings; and a forgiving approach to those, such as a good woman who turns to prostitution for a host of noble reasons, who fail to be saints in the city. Flannery's grammar might stumble on occasion, but his Hibernian heart is always in the right place.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Powerful ex-congressman Leo "the Lion" Lundatos wants to run for office, with sleuthing Chicago sewer inspector Jimmy Flannery as running-mate. While making up his mind, Flannery discovers a naked dead woman in Leo's apartment. Sex scandal, politics, and mobsters intertwine.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 246 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Press; First Edition edition (May 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892966092
• ISBN-13: 978-0892966097
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,723,785 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Compromising Offers, July 2, 2003

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This review is from: The Lion's Share (Jimmy Flannery Mysteries) (Hardcover)

The Lion's Share begins with the death of Jimmy Flannery's long-time political sponsor (his "Chinaman"), Chips Devlin. Jimmy is in for a surprise when he learns that he has inherited the Devlin house just so long as he lives in it. Soon his wife, Mary, is sorting out all of Devlin's belongings and picking out wallpaper. Friends begin pitching in to do the hard work of restoring the house.

Jimmy finds himself without a political mentor for the first time in his adult life. He's surprised to find ex-congressman Leo Lundatos at the wake for Chips. Lundatos soon issues an invitation for Jimmy to join the team as his right-hand man while Lundatos tries to make a fresh start by running for local office as alderman from the 11th ward. This seems like the big time to Jimmy, but there are a few things bothering him. First, Lundatos lost his job in Congress for being caught at minor thievery. Jimmy is all for doing the right thing. Second, can the two men actually work together? Third, can Lundatos be trusted?

The offer quickly gets around, and Jimmy receives a surprise telephone call telling him to come to a building if he wants to know whether or not to take the offer. When he gets there, the caller disappears without being seen . . . but Jimmy does find a beautiful woman dead in a bath tub. This is a woman Jimmy had met at the wake who chose to call herself Fay Wray, and earned her living by pleasing men.

Jimmy calls the police, and stays involved to be sure that the murder doesn't get swept under the rug. In the process of finding out who killed Fay Wray, he learns a lot about Lundatos and his wife. By the time the story's over, it's an easy decision for Jimmy to make.

The theme of this story is that you don't know how sound your principles are until you've been tempted to abandon them. Naturally, powerful politicians receive all kinds of favors and may come to expect special treatment. As Jimmy moves up the political ladder, he will find himself mixing with those who have been compromised by that access.

I like this series very much, but I did not enjoy the ugly material in here about paid sex. For that reason, this is one of my least favorite Jimmy Flannery books.

For those who remember who Dan Rostenkowski was, the Lundatos character seems loosely based on the former House Speaker's Congressional career.

After you finish this story, think about what principles you believe in that you would not usually compromise. What temptations might you have to overcome in order to hold to those principles? How can you prepare to resist the most challenging temptations?