Customer Reviews

Saint Mudd: A Novel of Gangsters and Saints

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There are not many writers out there these days that can write a good solid gangster novel. Steve Thayer shows that the gangster novel genre is not dead. Thayer has woven all the elements together to make the reader not want to put this book down.

The story revolves around Grover Mudd, a World War I vet, and now journalist in St. Paul Minnesota. The era is the depression and Al Capone is not the only gangster in the nation. Just up the river from Chicago in St. Paul a new syndicate selling opium is on the rise. Mudd uses his column too expose the mob, and in turn gets himself in trouble with these bad guys.

Mixing in real life mobsters like John Dillinger and Babyface Nelson, Thayer takes the reader on a real joyride through one of this countries more interesting eras. Strongly recommend

Thayer's Saint Mudd immediately catches your attention. He drops the "efenheimer" in the very first sentence. He manages to continue the pace and hold your attention throughout the book. What I found pleasantly surprising was the depth of historical research on gangsters and the city of St. Paul, MN and his ability to weave it into the story and make it interesting. I've lived most of my life within 20 miles of St. Paul, and never knew one tenth of the history that Thayer reanimates in this novel. While a fine tale well-written, it is the professional rendering of the history aspect that elevates the book from middle-pack to 4-star fiction.

I would add that Saint Mudd is not a book I would put in my 10-year-old's Xmas stocking. Thayer writes about a time in America when violent death, easy sex, drugs and corruption were commonplace. He uses appropriate language to accomplish this. There's plenty of profanity, sex, and violence. I like that; the PTA might not. --Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of Wake Up Dead

Steve Thayer authored the best-seller THE WEATHERMAN. Wasn't all that thrilled with the book, hated the ending. It was as if he'd written himself into a corner and settled for the easy way out.
But then I read SAINT MUDD. Thayer really knows depression-era St. Paul, Minnesota: the river caves, the trolley cars, the gangsters. There's a quote from Alvin "Creepy" Karpis before Book One. "But, of all the Midwest cities, the one that I knew best was St. Paul, and it was a crook's haven..."
The lead character, Grover Mudd, WWI veteran and reporter for the St. Paul Frontier News, has that FRONT PAGE kind of newspaper-reporter angst. He smokes Lucky Strikes, drinks Stearns County 13, refers to his ex-wife as that "lousy bitch". There's lots of Minnesota flavor in the book: St. Paul Cathedral, South St. Paul stockyards, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Floyd B. Olson, Cass Gilbert, and the beginnings of 3M, a small sandpaper company.
Two little boys are murdered, hog-tied at the ankles, one a mongoloid, their bodies in the water for a week before being discovered, one with broken legs, and Grover sets out to find the sick-o who did it. Fourteen unsolved murders in the last eighteen months. Twenty-four police chiefs in the last twenty-one years and they can't be fired, only demoted. Along the way, Grover falls in love again, with a colored maid. With Grover's penchant for trouble, you'll worry about her. Although I loved Grover and would just about excuse anything Thayer does because of him, some of the characters, such as Big Holy Spook and Gunderson the cop, are a bit over the top.

Thayer does an excellent job of combinging the true, compelling mob stories in Saint Paul with his well developed charachter Grover Mudd. I would recomend this to anyone who likes historical fiction and a good crime story.

Growing up in St. Paul, I always heard the stories and whispers: St. Paul was rich in gangster history in the '20's and '30's. My parents next door neighbor delivered illegal liquor to the gangster bars etc. etc. for instance. But I won't bore you with the stories.

It's too bad this book hasn't raised more interest than it has. I've read this book several times and have recommended it to all my friends and relatives. All have read it and loved it.

And you don't have to be a St. Paul native to appreciate it. This book has it all. Wonderful story telling with a wide variety of real and fictional characters, who you get to know. It's very historical and you learn a few things about US history, not just Minnesota in general. Well known gangsters hung out here, and important arrests took place in the area. I've read plenty of mystery novels and I have never been a big fan of gangster stories, but this was one of the best books I ever read.

If you are from the area, after reading this book you won't be able to see the Cathedral, drive down Warner/Shepard Road, drive by the entrance of Swede Hollow on Payne Ave or see the bluffs of Mounds Park without thinking of this wonderful story. I promise you that.

It has it all. Sex, crime, compassion, good guys, bad guys,excellent story telling, and Grover Mudd, who is one of the most fascinating characters there is in any book out there. It's a fun, fast paced book.

You will read this book in an easy chair. You will read it in the car. You will read it when you're in the air, And maybe in a bar...

At stop lights you can't resist-- The suspense is thick and strong... "Please let the red light persist!" With this book you can't go wrong.

This was an intriguing story. You have to know what happens. I couldn't put it down. It is based in St Paul, so the landmark references made me feel like I was in the story. The story seems so real, because the legacy of St Paul during this time was all about gangsters, law enforcements lack of authority. The newspaper aspect creates a feel of old radio mysteries. You have to read this one. The Weather Man is also a good read by this author.

I have read this book in the past and greatly enjoyed it. When I bought it again to re-read on my Kindle I was extremely disappointed at the sloppy to non-existent formatting for the Kindle. It looks like one of the free public domain offerings.

If you like gangster novels... this is a Must Read! Takes place in the 1930's when Saint Paul, MN was thought to be a safe bed for criminals who were run out of Chicago due to the upstart organization soon to be called the FBI.
Steeped in Minnesota history, real characters and real events accompany Thayer's Grover Mudd in his attempt to clean up the streets via his column in the local paper.
Couldn't put this one down... Born in St. Paul? Read this book!

As a huge fan of Steven Thayer, this book was the second of his I read. It is truly unique and original. Rich in history and character. One very good book!