Customer Reviews

Mrs. Million

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3 star:		(4)
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If you've read your way through Carl Hiaissen, Elmore Leonard, and James W. Hall but haven't discovered Pete Hautman, "Mrs. Million" is a great place to start. Reviewers who were expecting big action or complex plotting in this book were probably disappointed, but only because they missed the point. Hautman's work is very easy to escape into because it IS odd-ball. It doesn't have to make sense!

The characters in this book, like in those in "Short Money," are very offbeat, but immensely likeable. Except for the villains, of course, who are equally offbeat but easy to despise. But like Hiaissen's villains, they always get what's coming to them.

I've only read two of Hautman's books, but I'm using an Amazon gift certificate to stock up (and then fortify my local library). Keep up the good work, Mr. Hautman.

The first few pages drew me into this book very quickly. The cast of quirky characters makes this a funny story. Barbarannette, (nicknamed Barbie) whose husband, Bobby Quinn, had run off 6 years ago. Now that Barbie has won the lottery and her winnings totaled 8.9 million dollars. She decides to put up a million dollars reward for the safe return of her husband Bobby. Big mistake. At the same time that Barbie was on TV putting up the reward, Bobby is sitting in Tucson AZ watching TV with his girl friend. They decide to pack their bags and go claim the reward for themselves. There are 2 other people who also want the money, Bobby's greedy girlfriend and a crazy bounty hunter. The book goes through their misadventures, in the attempt to try and claim the million dollars for themselves. Barbie's family is a wee bit wacky but they have Barbie's best interest at heart. Be prepared for a surprise end. I found it to be a well, written, lighthearted read that held my attention. A good read for a lazy day.

This was the first time I've read Peter Hautman, but it certainly won't be the last. Very funny and entertaining characters make this a must read for anyone who wants a good laugh. Fans of Mr. Hautman should definitely check out all books written by Peter Lefcourt. I couldn't help from noticing the similarities in style between the two authors. Both are very funny and write with tongue firmly planted in cheek.

The more I read this story, the more I thought of the movie, Fargo. The plots are similar only in that a lot of unintended things occur to some very interesting characters, but it had the same feeling.

Barbaraannette Quinn is Mrs. Million. In fact, as the newest winner of the Minnesota Powerball lottery she is nearly Mrs. Ten Million. One of three sisters, all of whom live in Cold Rock, Minnesota, B.A has decided to use some of the winnings from the lottery to find her missing husband. He departed town on a sudden fishing trip six years ago with some money he had taken from two friends who expected him to use it in a real estate deal. For some reason Barbaraannette cannot shake his memory and offers a reward of one million dollars to whomever can bring her husband home.

That's when the fun begins. Bobby has found his way to Tucson selling cowboy boots at Wally Wenger's Westernwear Warehouse and has set up housekeeping with Phlox, a dealer at the Desert Diamond Casino. They see the news story of B.A. making the offer and before too much dust settles they are on their way to Minnesota with plans to acccept the reward.

A million gets everyone's attention in Cold Rock and as Phlox and Bobby arrive there, other forces enter the story and Bobby is kidnapped by a very odd couple who plan to claim the reward. Those whom he swindled six years before are aware of his presense and have their own ideas about the matter. B.A. oldest sister, Mary Beth thinks the whole idea is ridiculous and is trying to cancel the whole reward idea. Add to that B.A.'s Alzheimer afflicted mother who keeps escaping from her nursing home, a local banker who has loved B.A. since high school and a few other assorted folks from Cold Rock and you have one heckuva entertaining book.

Hauptman has a way with words and descriptions and he brings it all to bear in Mrs. Million. It would make a fun movie.

Sam O'Gara appears in most of Hautman's novels. In this one he gets a bare mention. He's the father of Barbaraannette Quinn, who wins the lottery and decides to spend a million of it trying to win her husband Bobby back. He absconded six years before and she's never gotten over the good-looking devil.
Bobby, along with his girlfriend, Phlox, sees her offer on TV. They decide to claim the reward and then split, which strains credulity because people are looking for Bobby in Cold Rock, Minnesota. You see, before he left, he conned these two guys out of money to start a dude ranch, and he runs into them as soon as he sets foot in Cold Rock. Suddenly everybody wants the million dollars and Bobby changes hands more often than the Hope diamond.
There are a lot of quirky characters in MRS. MILLION, but probably the most interesting one is the college professor, Andre Gideon, who just happens to be in the right place (or wrong, depending upon how you look at it). He's more interested in JJ Morrow, another con man, who sends letters to celebrities to mooch money off of them. Gideon is unique because Hautman is working against type. Gideon looks about as violent as Shirley Temple, but he's got a mean streak as long as the English Chunnel.
There's a lot of internal monologue in this novel, which slows down the pace, but it speeds up when Barbaraanette collects the million in cash from her marathon-running banker, who just happens to have loved her forever. The funniest part is how often the money changes hands. You'll start counting heads when the money disappears. Everybody seems to be accounted for.
The eventual resolution is sidesplitting.

As in his previous books, Drawing Dead and the excellent The Mortal Nuts, Hautman brings Carl Hiassan's tradition of wild and wacky characters to small-town Minnesota. When a 30ish single woman wins the Powerball lottery, she offers $1,000,000 for the return of her missing no-good husband, who disappeared six years ago. This is catalyst for shady shenanigans as he and his girlfriend head back to collect the money. Of course there are other people seeking to claim the reward themselves, etc... Everything ends true to formula, and it doesn't have quite the sharp bite that his other books do.

It was the first book of his I've read. I can't wait to read more of his stories. A nice light romp, espically after a difficult read.

What a hoot! Pete Hautman has assembled a crazy cast of characters and the result is a fun story, full of entertainment and surprises. When a lucky lady named Barbaraannette wins 9 million bucks in the Powerball lottery, she goes a bit overboard and offers a mil to get her wayward husband, Bobby, back. Greed does strange things to people and her offer sets these unique, well-developed characters in motion. There's never a dull moment. It would make a great movie!

I have read all of Pete Hautman's suspense books and enjoyed them very much, but Mrs. Million surpasses them all. It is very funny and suspenseful, but what I love most about it is how every character, no matter how small, is a fully developed person, usually quirky but still very real.

A brilliant and very funny crime caper about money and love. Pete Hautman just keeps getting better. This novel circles around Barbarannette and her mother and two sisters and the way Hautman handles his women characters is absolutely delicious. They are flawed and funny, sexy and sincere, and completely and warmly human. If you have not read Hautman yet, you are in for a real treat. Many missteps in this book, but not a false note among them. You'll be cheering by the end!