The Man Who Risked His Partner [Hardcover]

Reed Stephens (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 12, 1984

Mick 'Brew' Axbrewder is an ex-alcoholic private investigator who lost his licence after he accidentally shot his brother, and now works in partnership with Ginny Fistoulari. His on-off relationship with Ginny used to involve her trying to keep him sober, but since she lost her hand in an explosion, when they were on a case hunting for Brew's missing niece, Ginny has changed. And Brew is desperate to help her put her life back together again. Ginny and Brew are hired to protect a Mr Haskell, who is convinced his life is in danger. Ginny didn't want to take the case, but Brew forced her to, determined to re-awaken the old Ginny, the Ginny who would never turn down a case, no matter how messy it might get ...

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With 2001's The Man Who Fought Alone, Donaldson picked up the story line of an earlier series of original paperbacks (The Man Who Killed His Brother; The Man Who Risked His Partner; The Man Who Tried to Get Away) he wrote in the mid-'80s under the pseudonym Reed Stephens. They starred an unlikely pair of private eyes, Mick Axbrewder and Ginny Fistoulari, and in this, the second of the paperbacks to be "expanded" and reissued as a hardcover, Mick-after mortally wounding his cop brother in a shooting accident-is struggling to stay sober while Ginny, his partner and sometime lover, is adjusting to the loss of her left hand in an act of heroism, while wrestling with bouts of self-loathing. Following the murders of two minor mob hoods in their small southwestern city, Gin and Brew are hired to protect Reg Haskell, a bank executive, from an alleged death threat by the reigning crime boss, el Senor. The crotchety protagonists find that their client's story is chock full of lies, however. Among other problems, the charismatic (but married) Haskell is a "sexual buccaneer" with a long trail of winsome, brokenhearted bank employees in his wake. Haskell's incessant lying means an ever-changing explanation of his quandary before Gin and Brew-after a couple of near-miss assassination attempts-are finally able to get down to the real facts. Although fans of Donaldson's Thomas Covenant fantasy series should provide a ready readership base, this attempt at hard-boiled, Chandleresque gumshoeing feels a bit dated and flat.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Popular fantasy author Donaldson wrote three paperback private-eye novels in the 1980s under the pseudonym Reed Stephens. Now he is revising the novels and reissuing them in hardcover; this is book 2 in the series. Donaldson, whose fantasies often star flawed characters who struggle to overcome infirmities, uses the same formula here: private eye Ginny Fistoulari has one hand (the other was blown off by a bomb), and her partner Mick Axbrewder is an alcoholic who accidentally killed his own brother. The reader gets beat over the head with the angst of the protagonists a few more times than necessary, but Donaldson keeps the story moving nicely. The PIs, hired to protect an accountant who apparently is on someone's hit list, soon find themselves in a string of confrontations with bad cops, a well-armed wacko, and gangsters preying on L.A.'s Latino community. The setting rings true, and the characters have depth. This straightforward hard-boiled mystery, written in the classic first-person style, will attract both fans of the genre and crossover readers drawn by the Donaldson name. Elliott Swanson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 282 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1st edition (September 12, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 034531803X
• ISBN-13: 978-0345318039
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,815,025 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent mystery, with involving characters, May 25, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (adelaide, australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Man Who Risked His Partner (Mass Market Paperback)

i would expect no less from Stephen Donaldson writing under an asumed name, author of the Gap series, a brilliant mystery novel if you like them this is a good one

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Man Who Risked His Partner, April 26, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Man Who Risked His Partner (Mass Market Paperback)

The 2nd book in a 3 book series by Reed Stephens. Brew, feeling responsible for Ginny's disabliity, forces Ginny to take a job as body guards. They almost end up the targets of a mob hit. A great follow up to The Man Who Killed His Brother

3.0 out of 5 stars similar to The Man Who Killed His Brother, August 10, 2007

By 

Nim Sudo - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Man Who Risked His Partner (Donaldson, Stephen R.) (Hardcover)

This is the second in a series of mystery novels written by Donaldson in between larger writing projects. In this episode, Axbrewder and Fistoulari are hired to protect a bank executive whose life is threatened, but their client tells so many lies that they spend half the book trying to figure out what he is actually up to, while the goons come after them and all hell breaks loose, etc. It's not very deep, but makes fun vacation reading. This novel is very similar to its predecessor, "The Man Who Killed His Brother", although a bit slower and more angst-ridden. In fact it is perhaps a bit too similar in structure. In any case, if you are going to read both books, it is preferable, though not essential, to read TMWKHB first.