No Special Hurry (Atlantic Large Print Series) [Large Print] [Paperback]

James Colbert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1990 | Series: Atlantic Large Print Series

Tony Curbel is a currency trader who suspects his father is responsible for framing him for a crime he didn't commit. Enter Skinny, a mercenary cop who knows the Curbel family business. He offers Tony a choice: Tony can stay in prison for another few years, or he can spy on his own family.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With his second novel, Colbert fulfills the promise of his praised debut in Profit and Sheen. This impeccably written mystery is enhanced by the ambience of New Orleans, exotic characters and the strange experiences affecting the protagonist Tony Curbel. Formerly Antonio Curbelo from Honduras, Curbel's effective first-person narration intensifies the injustice of his imprisonment on false charges. Curbel is freed when a mocking, outre figure known only as Skinny arrives with orders that make him an undercover agent (a euphemism for informant) investigating his own family. Skinny declares that Tony's father and uncle operate a scam that brings illegal aliens from Central America and steers them into jobs in slavery-like conditions. Tony, as their accountant, has been unwittingly laundering the profits from the dirty business. When Tony meets Stacey Veldran, a longtime Curbelo employee, he feels more like a staked goat than Skinny's secret ally, escaping narrowly from repeated attacks on his life. The story unfolds gradually while Tony learns secrets about his heritage and the imminent danger to his father, whom Tony resolves to save, despite the deep gulf between them. Readers will be stunned by the power of this provocative novel.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Low dealings and violent acts abound in this crisp thriller about the murky underside of New Orleans. 'You know what a shit your father is. . . . He's the one who put you in jail." Thus Skinny, the ex-addict undercover cop, introduces himself to Tony Curbel. Curbel has gone to jail rather than implicate his family in drug smuggling; now he has second thoughts about the bargain he has made. The only way out is to spy on his father and uncle, who are suspected of "buying" children in Central America and setting them up in menial jobs here in return for wages. Tony's trust in his family evaporates as he learns of their dealings. This novel, ending on a curiously unresolved note, nevertheless projects an intensity of atmosphere that sweeps the reader along. David Keymer, SUNY Coll. of Technology, Utica
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: John Curley & Assoc (August 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0792702654
• ISBN-13: 978-0792702658
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,990,760 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Storyline ...., July 15, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: No Special Hurry (Penguin Crime Fiction) (Mass Market Paperback)

"Jail doesn't agree with Tony Curbel. That's not surprising: he used to be a proper businessman, a currency trader. It also happens that he's innocent of any crime. Worse still. Tony was framed, and he suspects that his father is responsible. Enter Skinny, a mercenary cop who know that the Curbel familu business is something less than respectable. He presents Tony with a wrenching choice: Tony can stay in prison for another few years, or he can spy on his own family. Working udnercover for Skinny sounds like the better bet, and Tony has some investigating of his own to do anyway. Then he discovers that his family's "employment agency" isn't all that it seems. There's a reason his father and uncle can provide New Orleans with an endless supply of cheap labor: they buy children. They buy them in Central America, set them up in menial jobs in the United States, and get rich skimming their wages. But then Tony's father disappears, and only by digging up long-buried secrets can Tony prevent his family from tearing itself apart."