Short Money [Mass Market Paperback]

Pete Hautman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1997

Ex-cop Joe Crow thinks he hits rock bottom when he humbly accepts a job as a bodyguard for a plastic surgeon with unsavory proclivities. Crow soon discovers Dr. Bellweather has some nasty enemies, and is swept into a fetid cesspool of misunderstanding, avarice, and deception--and an exotic brand of big game hunting that may prove deadly for more than an unfortunate zebra.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This exhilarating prequel to Drawing Dead is by turns funny and soulful and always unpredictable. Joe Crow has scraped bottom: he's lost his job as a cop for handcuffing the chief's troublesome nephew to his truck; he's got a cocaine problem; his marriage is on the rocks; his loathsome brother-in-law has just set him up as a bodyguard for Dr. Nelson Bellweather, the town liposuctionist; and it's a particularly grim winter in Minnesota. Bellweather feels threatened by the sociopathic Murphy clan, three dysfunctional generations of hunters and their matriarch who run a game preserve where, for the right price, they will procure any animal a client wants to shoot. Crow, suspecting that Bellweather himself isn't entirely innocent, finds himself entangled in a web of misunderstandings, crimes, near-crimes, lapses in judgment and inspired slapstick as each set of bumbling crooks tries to outmaneuver the others. Hautman's dialogue sparkles, his plot hums, he's got a nicely complex sense of morality and he's a virtuoso when it comes to describing what it feels like to get punched. Best of all is Joe Crow: moving among nuts and crazies; comparing Alcoholics Anonymous and Cocaine Anonymous meetings (the coke addicts are funnier); breaking heads when necessary; and bonding with Milo, his cat. May he never learn that discretion is the better part of valor.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Pete Hautman is the author of Godless, which won the National Book Award, and many other critically acclaimed books for teens and adults, including Blank Confession, All-In, Rash, No Limit, and Invisible. Mr. Was was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America. Pete lives in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Visit him at petehautman.com.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books (July 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671003038
• ISBN-13: 978-0671003036
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,009,362 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Okay, here's some miscellaneous personal info. I'll try to be as brief as possible. I was born in 1952 in Berkeley, California, or so I am told (I don't really remember). At age five I moved to St. Louis Park, Minnesota where I went to Cedar Manor Elementary School (also the alma mater of Al Franken and the Coen brothers, and no, they are not close personal friends of mine) and eventually graduated honor-free from St. Louis Park High School. This is so tedious. Why do you keep reading? For the next seven years I attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the University of Minnesota. Contrary to recent news reports, I did not graduate from either institution. After college I worked various jobs for which I was ill-suited, including sign painter, graphic artist, marketing executive, pineapple slicer, etc. Eventually, having exhausted other options, I decided to write. My first novel, Drawing Dead, was published in 1993. Today, I live with mystery writer and poet Mary Logue in Golden Valley, Minnesota and Stockholm, Wisconsin. We have two small dogs (are you still reading?) named Rene and Jacques. There you have it. Fifty-plus years compressed into a few short paragraphs. Feel free to copy and paste for your book report, but don't tell anybody I suggested it. Need to know more? Check out the FAQs page on my website at http://www.petehautman.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Prequel to Drawing Dead, October 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Short Money (Mass Market Paperback)

Fans of Pete who love Joe Crow, will get a good laugh, and a great story in this "prequel" to "Drawing Dead". Unsavory characters, good twists and turns, and of course, Joe. This was my favorite of all his books, and it had the most laughs as well. Get a copy and dig in.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you like Hiaason, you'll love Hautman!, March 12, 2004

By 

Cynthia K. Robertson (beverly, new jersey USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Short Money (Hardcover)

Pete Hautman's Short Money is a delightfully charming, outrageously funny mystery along the lines of Carl Hiaason. Hartman takes us on a runaway roller coaster ride with policeman, Joe Crow. Crow's life is out of control, and he has drug problems, marriage problems and job problems. Of course, most of his problems are of his own making.

Joe takes a new job that seems rather simple, and things are never as simple as they first appear. The plot is hysterically funny and without giving too much away, Joe has to deal with a sleazy brother-in-law lawyer, a runaway kid, a missing cat, two crazy brothers (one downright psychopathic), a scheming plastic surgeon, a druggie wife, a farm for canned hunts, and several wild animals. There are more than a few belly laughs, and I actually had tears rolling down my cheeks from laughing so hard in several spots.

I have been told that Short Money is not Hautman's best effort. If this is the case, I can't wait to read more.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast, Funny Read - Delightful!, October 11, 2000

By 

D. Smith (Winchester, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Short Money (Mass Market Paperback)

I purposely waited to read "Drawing Dead" until after I finished this prequel, so I can attest to its merits as a standalone book.

Pete Hautman's prose is lean, mean and hilarious. The action occurs almost without warning and the nutty bad guys always get what's coming a la Carl Hiassen and James W. Hall.

If you're looking for a quick, refreshing read, look no further.