When Lawrence Block, the grand poobah of American crime fiction, praises you in a blurb for your book jacket, you know you've done something right, as Pete Hautman has here. A hell of a story, very well written. What more can a reader ask for?

A good story but not as engaging as I might have hoped. The characterizations were terrific, but the plot had holes in it. Still I might be inclined to try another of his books because I saw a lot of promise in his writing. Joe Crow, the protagonist, was probably one of the weakest characters. I'll have to see if Hautman has other "heroes" that may appeal to me moreso. ( )

Con men Tommy Campo and Ben Fink operate the Tom and Ben Show specializing in comic books. They profess to sell collectible comics with one buyer the mobster, Joey C (Joseph Battagno). The comics are enclosed in a Stasis Shield and aren't supposed to be opened because it would diminish their value.

This works fine until Joey lets his girlfriend open one of the comics and when she sees blank pages inside, Joey becomes incensed. He sends his henchman Freddy Wisnesky after the perpetrators of the fraud to teach them a lesson.

The trail goes to Minnesota where we meet Joe Crowe a former cop and cocaine addict who enjoys gambling. He's hired by stockbroker Dicky Wicky to find the man having an affair with his wife and try to buy the man off.

Dickie becomes connected to the scheme to sell the comic books and the result is one humorous moment after another.

The author does a good job in describing the characters and making them interesting. I enjoyed comparing Dickie Wicky to the character in Get Shorty and thinking of Danny DeVito.

Well written and a good reading experience. ( )