No Man's Dog: A Detective Sergeant Mulheisen Mystery (Detective Sergeant Mulheisen Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Jon A. Jackson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Detective Sergeant Mulheisen Mysteries | Publication Date: June 8, 2004

In No Man's Dog Jon A. Jackson's longtime hero "Fang" Mulheisen is back for a volatile confrontation with his old nemesis, Joe Service. Add to the mix drug dealers, international terrorists, federal agents acting outside the law, and the hellish fury of crime-babe Helen Sedlacek, and you have a Molotov cocktail. The novel opens with Mulheisen's aged mother nearly slain by an incomprehensible bombing at an orderly environmental protest. Mulheisen resigns from the force to nurse her, but as she recovers he turns his implacable attention to the bombers. The Task Force can't decide if it's anti-environmentalists, international terrorists, or a drug cartel's attempt to quiet a witness or spring him-but Mulheisen quickly notices what the Feds haven't: a gun-happy survivalist on the scene. Some dogs prefer to hunt on their own, and in Badger Games readers saw that Joe Service would run the most vicious beast to earth. Now Mulheisen reminds us he's the old dog in this hunt. Will this fight bring Service and Mulheisen together, at risk of losing the prey?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The 10th installment in Jackson's series to feature Detective Sergeant Mulheisen (after 2002's Badger Games) delivers sturdy entertainment, though the post-9/11 plot hinges on the sometimes confusing interactions among Mulheisen, criminal Joe Service and FBI operative Colonel Vern Tucker. The bombing of a municipal building that nearly kills Mulheisen's mother leads the detective to the backwoods of Michigan, where he's threatened by militias and the enigmatic M.P. Luck, who's perhaps the book's most intriguing character. Meanwhile, Service, after settling down into a new life with his common-law wife Helen Sedlacek, finds himself in danger from unknown parties. He seeks out Mulheisen, and together they work to untangle a mystery that involves Luck, various governmental agencies and an old nemesis. Inevitably, they fall in with Tucker, who likes to play factions in the intelligence community against each other while advancing his own shadowy aims. Fortunately for our heroes, the bad guys are often ineffectual and less than bright. Despite what seem like high stakes, no one ever really suffers because of those stakes—everyone's just a little too nice. A subplot in which Sedlacek searches for her missing previous husband feels like padding. The ending neither disappoints nor rises above reader expectations; it could easily be the climax of a solid action film.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

With La Donna Detroit (2000) and Badger Games (2002), the focus of Jackson's superb series has been more on Mob fixer Joe Service and his lover, former Mafia princess Helen Sedlacek, and less on the nominal series hero, Detroit cop Fang Mulheisen. Fang returns this time, although now as an ex-cop, having retired to nurse his mother after she was injured in an apparent terrorist bombing of a suburban Detroit courthouse. That bombing has the curious effect of making partners of former antagonists Service and Mulheisen. Joining forces for different reasons to track down the bombers, these strange bedfellows--two of the most appealing, well-grounded characters in the genre--traipse about in the woods near Traverse City, sparring with a local militia roughneck. Jackson tackles the whole Patriot Act mess from an engaging everyman point of view, showing how "homeland security" offers a convenient umbrella under which cammo-wearing crackpots can raise havoc. Crackpots notwithstanding, this installment offers a thoroughly entertaining, if rather light interlude in a usually quite dark series. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press; First Edition edition (June 8, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871139200
• ISBN-13: 978-0871139207
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,710,201 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fine thriller, March 13, 2005

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Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
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This review is from: No Man's Dog: A Detective Sergeant Mulheisen Mystery (Detective Sergeant Mulheisen Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Octogenarian Cora Mulheisen and others protest an environmental outrage outside a Detroit suburban courthouse when a bomb explodes. Cora is unconscious and taken to the hospital. Her son, Detroit Police department Detective Sergeant Fang Mulheisen retires to care for his mother. Homeland Security Task Force Lieutenant Colonel Vernon Tucker tries to recruit him to join his team looking into the bombing, but Fang says no though once his mom heals he has plans to learn the truth.

In Montana, Joe Service, retired from the mob, plans to lead a simple life with his lover Helen Sedlacek. However, his domestic tranquility is interrupted when he learns that an informer he failed to kill is coming for him and his beloved.

Cora begins to recuperate, but remembers little from that day. Still, Fang realizes she could be a target since she witnessed much of the tragedy. He decides to go after who he believes is his mom's enemy. To keep Helen safe, Joe decides to confront the informer away from her. While Tucker manipulates people including Joe and Fang, they converge on terrorist Martin Parvis Luck, their apparent mutual enemy.

The latest Mulheisen mystery is an action-packed, often humorous antiterrorism tale. The fast-paced story line contains intriguing heroes battling with one another as much as with their common foes. The skirmishes between Fang and Joe are delightful as both needs the other to succeed yet neither can trust a person from the opposite side of the law. Though the villains seem more suited for the Keystone Cops, Jon A. Jackson joyfully jolts his audience with this fine thriller.

Harriet Klausner

4.0 out of 5 stars I like, August 9, 2010

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Michael Moore (Statesboro,, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: No Man's Dog: A Detective Sergeant Mulheisen Mystery (Detective Sergeant Mulheisen Mysteries) (Hardcover)

the whole series and all the riffs in the series that Jackson takes. Jackson is not Elmore Leonard, but they share the common trait of making even minor characters memorable and Jackson always keeps the dialog fresh.