When Pigs Fly [Paperback]

Bob Sanchez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 9, 2006

Retired cop Mack Durgin used to bust perpetrators in Massachusetts, but now he’s widowed and living in Arizona. When a FedEx driver drops off an urn filled with his friend’s ashes at his front door, Mack reluctantly knows he must fulfill George Ashe’s final wish: to have his remains spread over the Grand Canyon. But Mack has no clue what lies hidden within the urn besides his friend’s ashes. On his journey through the desert, Mack meets the entrancing Calliope Vrattos, a former waitress in a bar that holds Elvis impersonation contests. Diet Cola is an ex-con who loves greasy food, but more than anything else, he desperately wants what he hid in the urn. Cola hooks up with a pair of loony housebreakers, a bald Elvis impersonator, and a dopehead with an outline of his brain tattooed on his skull. With a bit of luck and a lot of junk food, they trace Mack to the little town of Pincushion, Arizona. George Ashe may not be alive, but his remains are having the adventure of a lifetime. As Mack encounters one crazed character after another in his quest to fulfill his friend’s last wish, he realizes that life is a gamble and that pigs really do fly.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bob Sanchez recently retired in Las Cruces, New Mexico, after working in New England as a senior technical writer, producing countless manuals and bulletins. Now he writes fiction and explores the desert with his wife. His published work includes short stories, book reviews, and magazine articles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 307 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (November 9, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595407706
• ISBN-13: 978-0595407705
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #235,633 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bob Sanchez was born in New Orleans, grew up and worked in Massachusetts, and lives with his wife and two cats in New Mexico. Bob has published three novels: When Pigs Fly, Getting Lucky, and Little Mountain. He actively participates in several writers' groups, edits nonfiction reviews for The Internet Review of Books, and maintains or contributes to several blogs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I don't usually like this kind of book, January 1, 2007

By 

K. Duckett "K. Duckett" (Townsend, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When Pigs Fly (Paperback)

Imagine my surprise when a book about a retired cop showed up under my tree -- me a devout "cozy" reader. At first I was skeptical --"Oh no, not another hard boiled cop story", but it was fun and funny. I laughed out loud at Ace and Frosty, and even sort of fell for Mac, that not-so-hard boiled retired cop. And when the Pig flew...! Hope a sequel is in the works -- this is one cop I want to see again.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I do believe..., January 29, 2007

By 

Kathryn Mackel "avid writer/reader" (Boston) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When Pigs Fly (Paperback)

...pigs can fly. And that's only the beginning! I believe that Diet Cola could kill a guy with one squeeze of the [...]-cheeks, that a fool named Zippy would think it an honor to tattoo his brain on his scalp (too bad that's the only place it appears within 20 feet of the guy's body), that an elderly couple named Carrick and Brodie could love each other more than even a hundred million dollars, and that Ace and Frosty are the dumbest crooks this side of Lowell, Massachusetts. I also believe I'd marry Mack Durgin if I wasn't already happily married and he wasn't in a (chaste) twosome with his dead wife and his maybe-someday girlfriend Calliope Vrattos.

Most of all, I believe that you will bust your ribs laughing and only ask for more. Sequel, please, and fast! (When Cows Jump Over the Moon, perhaps?)

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Enjoyable Tale, January 20, 2007

By 

George Bibler (Billerica, Ma) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When Pigs Fly (Paperback)

Bob Sanchez has created a very humorous tale of mis-adventure, sparkling with unique and believeable characters. I didn't want to come to the end of the book but I was finished all too soon. It is packed with plot twists,humor and a picture of the great Southwest which beckoned me to go for a visit. I recommend this book highly. George Bibler