The Ring Game

This is my third Joe Crow novel by Pete Hautman. I thought "Short Money" and "Drawing Dead" were hilarious and I would give them both five stars.This one borders on the cloyingly stupid, while "Drawing Dead" and "Short Money" are over the top in "funny stupid". There is a difference (if you know what I mean <G>).In other words there are times when this crazed plot simply isn't funny. The plot is basically a plan of revenge by an idiot former coke dealer and now counterfeit Evian distributor to destroy a silly Aramanthine religious cult whose leaders are playing a con on innocent believers/contributors that you can live forever. This revenge plan, concocted by Hiatt Hilton, is because he was "kicked out" of the cult he helped start in a health food store. Therefore he dreams up a fake wedding in which he and his "bride not to really be" are fake kidnapped before the wedding in an effort to pin the blame on these crazed cultists. As an aside, Hilton presumably plans to make some money by selling his story of the kidnapping/foiled wedding to news media.Joe Crow is drawn into this simply because he has nothing else to do while is girlfriend is spending time in Paris, and becuase Sam O'Gara's friend Axel wants him to investigate his future pseudo son in law's background because Joe was somehow involved in the pseudo son in law and daughter in law meeting.Joe does nothing to save the day in this plot other than make a lucky cell phone call, but he manages to nearly get himself killed by two muggings in the process.OK....so the plot perhaps sounds terrible. (It really is.) But Hautman has a way with characters and words that will still amuse you, so I still had fun with this nutty book. But I'd certainly not recommend this book as your first taste of either Joe Crow or Pete Hautman. Try "Short Money" or "Drawing Dead" first.

This is my third Hautman. The previous two Joe Crow ones were 5 stars for me. This one is not not quite scary enough for a comic thriller. Drawing Dead had menacing characters to sharpen the edges. The central plot is that Hyatt Hilton is supposed to be thinking up a scheme connected with his wedding and the fraudulent Amaranthine cult, but that didn't keep me on the edge of my seat. Crow's depression is well described, and so is life as an American in Paris, and all sorts of other good stuff and comic incidents that have nothing to do with the main plot.

I like all of Hautman's Joe Crow books. He's funny, humble, and tough. Ring Game has a good plot without any real serious violence.