Fun & Games

Apr 02, 2013 Lou rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-thriller, june-read

This story contains a high octane charged sequence of events that grip you from the very first page and does not let down in momentum. The story has a great plot and some good old hard boiled characters, elements that pan out into a solid thriller. There is loads of tension and intrigue, the writer displays craftsmanship in weaving this story together.
One actress finds herself the target of a hot pursuit and to be cleaned, eradicated. A house-sitter, fixer kind of guy who has connections with FB...more

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Aug 28, 2011 Kemper rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, crime-mystery, vast-conspiracy, thriller, bouchercon, signed-by-author

One reason I never bought into any of the conspiracy theories that swirl around celebrity deaths like Princess Di or Marilyn Monroe is that they always seem to be based on the notion that there are these shadowy figures that can orchestrate murder on demand and cover it up without leaving a trace. Hell, when Nixon wanted the Watergate black bagged, he had to use incompetent bastards like G. Gordon Liddy and a ragtag group of Cuban exiles, and he was president of the United States. If there reall...more One reason I never bought into any of the conspiracy theories that swirl around celebrity deaths like Princess Di or Marilyn Monroe is that they always seem to be based on the notion that there are these shadowy figures that can orchestrate murder on demand and cover it up without leaving a trace. Hell, when Nixon wanted the Watergate black bagged, he had to use incompetent bastards like G. Gordon Liddy and a ragtag group of Cuban exiles, and he was president of the United States. If there really was a network of efficient criminals to do some dirty deeds, you’d think Nixon would have had them on speed dial.

However, while I don’t believe in the idea of vast conspiracies with armies of hired killers, that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy stories about them. Duane Swierczynski (And I won’t be typing that again.) has come up with a highly entertaining twist on the whole conspiracy theory thriller genre.

Charlie Hardie used to work for the cops but these days he’s a professional house sitter. The job lets him indulge in his hobby, binge drinking. When Charlie shows up for a gig in LA, he doesn’t even get his bottle of bourbon open when he’s attacked by a woman hiding in the house. Even more shocking is that she is Lane Madden, a B list actress who frantically claims that people are trying to kill her. Charlie thinks he’s just dealing with another drugged out celebrity until some very bizarre and dangerous shit starts to happen very quickly. It turns out that Charlie has interrupted the Accident People as they were in the midst of their latest project, killing Lane Madden.

The Accident People are a group that specialize in killing high profile targets and providing an air tight cover story so that no questions will be asked. In Lane’s case, their plan to off her via a car accident went off the rails when Lane managed to escape and hide.

Duane S. put a unique twist on the shadowy conspiracy operatives in this with the Accident People. They are made up of a lot of former film people with a ’director’ coming up with the narrative about how they want the death to play out, and then using actors and technical people to make it happen. They’ve also got access to a variety of lethal weapons like poison gas and drugs that induce heart attacks. It’s a little over the top (What conspiracy thriller isn’t?) but it at least puts a thin layer of plausibility and explanation as to just where the hell one would an obtain a covert network of people able to get away with murder.

Fast, dark and fun, this was some high octane reading. Duane S. springs some big surprises in this, and it keeps you guessing throughout. This is the first part of a trilogy so there’s a bit of a cliffhanger at the end. If you’re in the mood for a crime thriller that reads like a good action movie, this fits the bill. (less)

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Mar 26, 2013 Robert rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Meet Charlie Hardie, former cop, resident badass, coming to housesit in a neighborhood near you. He gets drunk and watches old movies as often as Congress runs a budget deficit, before he meets Lane Madden, a chick with more attitude and gumption and fighting ability than the top UFC contender, and gets tossed in the middle of the ring with a group of coldblooded killers. Lane’s tough, and she’s not about to take attitude from anyone, including a group of hit men and one woman who want nothing m...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Gef rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-books, arc, personal-favorites, crime

Hollywood has its own mythology, or maybe it's just really good at revamping the mythologies of other places with a lot of glitz. In either case, Duane Swierczynski has concocted a novel, the first of a trilogy it turns out, that taps into the kind of conspiracy-laden thrill rides only Hollywood could call its own.

Take a washed-out Hollywood starlet, Lane Madden, and put her behind the wheel of a fast car in one of the richer sections of L.A., then have a crew of killers try to run her off the r...more Hollywood has its own mythology, or maybe it's just really good at revamping the mythologies of other places with a lot of glitz. In either case, Duane Swierczynski has concocted a novel, the first of a trilogy it turns out, that taps into the kind of conspiracy-laden thrill rides only Hollywood could call its own.

Take a washed-out Hollywood starlet, Lane Madden, and put her behind the wheel of a fast car in one of the richer sections of L.A., then have a crew of killers try to run her off the road to make it look like an accident. The killers: a fabled organization called "The Accident People." They're the people who are offing politicians and celebrities in such a way to appear accidental, but still leave a few onlookers wondering if maybe something else is at play.

On the other side of the coin is Charlie Hardie, a retired cop-of-sorts turned house-sitter to the wealthy. The biggest thing on his plate is pitching his tent at his next gig, watching old movies, and getting shitfaced. So when he gets to L.A. on the same day Lane Madden breaks into the house he's hired to look after, inadvertently putting him between her and her would-be assassins, sufficed to say everyone's day is ruined.

The sheer amount of ass this novel kicked cannot be measured. When I started into this book, I was in the mood for a hard-boiled, relentless piece of pulp. I'd been getting a good dose of it this spring from the likes of Jeff Strand, Lee Goldberg, and Joe R. Lansdale, but Swierczynski managed to up the ante with this one. The pace is quick, and punctuated by shifting points of view between Charlie, Lane, as well as a gorgeous ringleader named Mann and her gang of techno-savvy thugs. A scene barely has time to end before a twist is thrown in and the characters are scrambling to recover and start the cat-and-mouse all over again. Well, "cat-and-mouse" might be too delicate a term for the kind of utter torture Charlie and other characters are put through in the course of this novel. Maybe "profanity-laden meatgrinder" would be apt.

The layers of mystery within the story is surprising, as certain things are held back from you as the reader for the sake of intrigue and suspense, and once certain details are revealed, some new question is raised that has you wondering how far down the rabbit hole this thing goes. While the book can be accused of being convoluted, it's done in such a way that it's hard not to appreciate the lengths to which it has been laid out for your enjoyment.

There was only one niggling detail concerning the climax of the story that irked me. I won't go into details, because I don't want to spoil anything for folks tempted to read this book, but there is something about how the book plays out in the end that sucked me out of the story immediately and threatened to ruin the entire experience. Fortunately, it didn't become an overriding factor, and I still walked away from this book utterly satisfied and salivating at the chance to read its sequel, Hell and Gone. This just might be my new favorite novel of the year.(less)

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May 21, 2013 Josh rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, pulp, read_2011

House Sitter with a difference Charlie Hardie thought he'd left the world of bloodshed and mayhem behind after leaving Philadelphia along with his former occupation as police consultant. What seems as another cushy detail sitting for an out of town Hollywood type quickly turns red with the encounter of movie starlet (albeit B-Movie starlet) Lane Madden imposing as a squatter and demanding he leaver her alone while being fixated on a collective 'them' trying to kill her. Soon enough, Hardie's got...more

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Jul 21, 2011 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was pretty sweet. I've been bored while reading lately (shocking, I know) and I would say it is impossible to be bored while reading this. I downgraded from 4 stars since I didn't like a few plot elements from the last third. I'll definitely be reading the next in the trilogy though.

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Apr 28, 2013 james rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After chapter 4 I really couldn't put the book down. This is a true straightforward thriller. I really enjoyed how Swiercynski writes from almost every characters' POV - if only for a short paragraph. Each character that has dialogue has some level of depth, and experiences the situation from their own unique position. Each chapter ends in a cliffhanger to keep you going and guessing how they're going to get out of this new godawful situation. Also - though it is not technically a mystery, it ha...more

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Jan 22, 2013 Curtis rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fun & Games, like all of Swierczynki's work, is a wild, over-the top thrill ride with colorful (and often broken) characters. If you like crazy, sureal crime fiction akin to Tarantino's film work, then I suspect you would enjoy Fun & Games.
The main character is a likeable loser who just wants to waste away the rest of his life watching old movies and getting drunk. Some dark moment from his past haunts him and he has by and large given up on life. Yes, this sounds kind of cliche, but th...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Carl Brookins rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: funny-outrageous-tight-excellent

Accurately titled, this breathless thriller is a laugh a minute, a gunshot or an assault every other minute, and an unerring logic that ties the whole thing together as tight as can be and that will leave most readers smiling and satisfied.

Protagonist Charlie Hardie is an itinerant house sitter. You go away for a time but you want somebody to keep the castle from harm, you call Charlie. Turns out there are subterranean reasons why Charlie does this all over the country and you’ll learn about the...more

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Dec 05, 2012 James Thane rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-fiction

Charlie Hardie was once a secret weapon in the Philadelphia PD. But he blames himself for a tragedy that occurred three years earlier. He has left the force and slowly faded away into his own personal oblivion. He now "works" as a house sitter, and passes his time watching DVDs of classic movies and drinking heavily. This is all he wants out of life.

He takes a job sitting a house in Hollywood. He arrives and is checking the place out when he's attacked by an apparently deranged woman who has bee...more

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Nov 20, 2012 ABC Group rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fun and Games is a rare treat. For Noir/crime fans this book hits many of the high water marks needed for a fast paced action flick. I had a hard time turning away from this book. I was consumed for about 4 days. When I wasn't reading it, I was fantasizing about sitting on my couch, crapper, kitchen floor, or walking in circles with this book in my hand.

Duane Swierczynski has created the loveable (yet angry) Charlie Hardie, uber house sitter, general fuck up and former police consultant. Hardie...more

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Aug 17, 2012 Adam rated it 4 of 5 stars

Blecch*, I appear to have started my last two reviews with "Highly Engaging" Sorry about that.
It turns out Fun and Games is also highly engaging, but I won't dwell on that.

What I will focus on is that Fun and Games is really fun! The characters are great. Both the heros and villains are interesting and imperfect and I wanted to learn more about them. I loved the superhero dynamic and I sincerely appreciated the fact that the same "How are you possibly still alive" superpower dynamic was applie...more

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Aug 09, 2012 Roy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Duane Swierczynski is one of my favorite contemporary authors. His books are full of memorable characters and break-neck plots (in which necks are broken as the plots race). Fun & Games is no exception. Madden, an actress less at her peak than in the valley, has a terrifying encounter that leaves her with no doubt that They are after her runs into a former cop, Charles Hardie, turned house sitter who just wants to kick his feet up and get his drink on watching old movies. Swierczynski keeps...more

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May 17, 2012 Literary Feline rated it 4 of 5 stars

And I thought The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes was high octane. Wow. Fun & Games is even more so. And like Sakey's book, Fun and Games is also movie perfect--plenty of action with high suspense.

My husband was excited to see this title among the Independent Literary Award short-listed nominees for the Mystery category. He is familiar with the author in his capacity as a comic book writer. That made me even more curious, although I really had no idea what to expect. From page one, I had trouble...more And I thought The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes was high octane. Wow. Fun & Games is even more so. And like Sakey's book, Fun and Games is also movie perfect--plenty of action with high suspense.

My husband was excited to see this title among the Independent Literary Award short-listed nominees for the Mystery category. He is familiar with the author in his capacity as a comic book writer. That made me even more curious, although I really had no idea what to expect. From page one, I had trouble tearing myself away from the book when I had to. It didn't help that the chapters often ended with little teasers leading me straight into the next chapter. I have a love/hate relationship with those types of chapter breaks. I tend to read on, not even noticing I'm going from one chapter to the next--something that hampers finding a good stopping point. Of course, with chapter endings like that there is no good stopping point, is there? The author really knows how to build on suspense, creating an intense read.

I was caught up in the Hollywood landscape. Swierczynski did a good job of setting up his characters and the story as well as in creating his version of L.A. I love it when an author researches the area he writes about, adding in a little history here and there. It ties me a little closer to the setting, making the story more real.

I really am not sure what else to say about this novel in terms of content, frankly. As cliche as it sounds, with every new chapter, it was like peeling back the layers of an onion. To say much at all about the content of the story or the characters would be to give too much away.

I will say that I really liked Hardie. He comes across as a nice guy trying to do the right thing. He is very hard on himself, especially because of his past. It colors just about everything he does. He is up against some very deadly people who are not only cunning but smart. I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like in Hollywood if The Accident People truly did exist. Parts of the book seemed to be taken straight from the headlines, including the B-rated actress, Lane, who reminded me a lot of Lindsay Lohan.

Believability? With books like this, who cares? I had no trouble losing myself in the story and setting aside my disbelief. Swierczynski proved he is a talented writer who can take me out of my own life for awhile and transport me into the pages of his book.

The book did slow down for me a little towards the end, but just a tad. The climax was well worth the wait. I can't wait to get my hands on the second book in the trilogy.

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May 08, 2012 Rob Kitchin rated it 4 of 5 stars

The premise of Fun and Games is a great one – that for a price there are a bunch of Hollywood directors who script ‘accidents’, creating deaths which are accompanied by a plausible narrative. The accidents are then played out by a group of unscrupulous actors and professional hitmen using a van load of tricks. For me this was a book of two halves. In the first half, the book felt like this was Swierczynski’s attempt to cross-over into the mainstream. It lacked the edge and other-worldliness of h...more

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May 07, 2012 Slackjaw rated it 3 of 5 stars

Not bad at all! I wasn't expecting a whole lot from this novel, and to be honest, the first two acts were fast-paced but ultimately predictable. But around about the end of the 2nd act, all the way to the finale, everything shifted into high gear, and the fabulous sense of tension that I wasn't even aware of suddenly came to the fore - and as things finally fell into place, I found myself developinging a quiet affection for the protagonist - at first he seems a bit too much like a movie-nerd Joh...more

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Jan 05, 2012 Radcliff Lance rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm a huge Swierczy fan! It started with Severance Package, and then The Blonde, and finally The Wheelman. I realize I read his works in reverse. By far my two favorite are Severance Package and The Blonde. They are the novels by which i measure all his work against.

That said, I didn't feel that Fun and Games lived up to either one of those titles. This novel had his trademarks, thrills, action galore, violence, and perfectly placed crude humor. I love the way this guy writes. I think what I di...more

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Nov 05, 2011 Skott Klebe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Most of Swiercynski's books don't fit well into established categories. The Wheelman seemed like a novel about a caper gone wrong, but its sequels The Blonde and Severance Package verge on science fiction with their shadowy underground organizations full of implausible tech, and felt weaker for doing so.
In Fun and Games, though, Swierczynski has created a modern world in which all of the crazy things he loves fit together into a disturbing, plausible present. The mysterious Accident People kill...more

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Aug 19, 2011 Deborah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: american-life, favorite-male-authors, latest-reads, men-would-enjoy, new-author-for-me, paperback-i-own, reviewer-book

The Bookish Dame Reviews :

Talk about fun and games! Take a wild ride with Duane Swierczynski (czyn=sin). If he's driving you're being slammed left and right, high and low and you're scared to death. He writes like a heart attack on wheels, and you'll have to tear yourself away from his book before your ride is over.

Oh, this is good writing...fast and furious, and peppered with reckless people who riddle the book throughout making you hold your breath while they find a way through impossible sit...more The Bookish Dame Reviews :

Talk about fun and games! Take a wild ride with Duane Swierczynski (czyn=sin). If he's driving you're being slammed left and right, high and low and you're scared to death. He writes like a heart attack on wheels, and you'll have to tear yourself away from his book before your ride is over.

Oh, this is good writing...fast and furious, and peppered with reckless people who riddle the book throughout making you hold your breath while they find a way through impossible situations. Did this book fire me up? Yep. I loved the action. Duane doesn't let up on us...once engaged he simply takes us for a spin like it's real life and we're going down with his characters.

Speaking of his characters: Lane, his primary female protagonist, is a feisty, smart and beautiful girl who is nobody's fool. I loved that about her. She could easily have been a wimpy movie star mowed over by his other characters, but Duane made her worthy of a respectable battle. Nice! She was tough and tender, making her a character women can identify with and follow with enjoyment.

Charlie Hardie is a complex character. Swierczynski keeps referring to his "lizard brain" and I'm not too sure I understand that. Did he mean that he was a guy who just reacted instead of thinking a situation out? I suppose that was it but when he had to, he planned and executed along with the best of them. It seemed to me he was fast thinking and not afraid to act in a tough spot which made the action twice as interesting.

"They" were despicable. The people out to kill Lane and others were so skillfully drawn that I actually hated the leader and found myself fighting against them in my mind. This is significant because it shows how involved the reader becomes in Duane's book! I can't remember being so tied up in knots about a thriller scene such as he describes it. Not just one, but one after another after another hard-hitting engagement comes at the reader and we're just incapable of putting this book down for hours.

I was happy to know at the end it seemed we weren't going to see the last of Charlie. I'm now pretty attached to him. "Fun & Games" is, happily, the first in a series with the newest book "Hell & Gone" being released in October.

I highly recommend "Fun & Games" because it's a wild ride of excitement and suspense. Welcome to the world of Charlie Hardie... Duane Swierczynski is a crime writer extraordinaire!

5 well-deserved stars

Deborah/TheBookishDame
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Aug 06, 2011 Miles rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviews

I must confess until Mulholland Books sent me an advanced copy of Duane Swierczynski’s Fun & Games a few weeks ago I‘d never heard of the author. No stranger to the US, Swierczynski has written several thrillers, written for Marvel Comics and has also collaborated with CSI creator Anthony E Zuiker – a great pedigree – but until now he hasn’t released anything in the UK.

On the strength of this, the first title in a Charlie Hardie trilogy - and second title to be published by Mulholland follow...more

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Jun 01, 2011 Katherine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Two people in search of redemption take on a group of killers whose murderous plots are simply “narratives” in their minds, bizarre movies made for a very select audience.

If you can get past the unlikely contrivances that set up this story at the beginning and then drive it through to its conclusion, this is a very entertaining story with characters that seem real—paging Lindsay Lohan for the role of Lane—and sympathetic. The mystery about what sent Charlie fleeing from Philadelphia interests us...more Two people in search of redemption take on a group of killers whose murderous plots are simply “narratives” in their minds, bizarre movies made for a very select audience.

If you can get past the unlikely contrivances that set up this story at the beginning and then drive it through to its conclusion, this is a very entertaining story with characters that seem real—paging Lindsay Lohan for the role of Lane—and sympathetic. The mystery about what sent Charlie fleeing from Philadelphia interests us but so does the question of who wants Lane dead and why. It’s frustrating that the writer cuts out of the story on a cliffhanger—this is meant to be the first in a trilogy of books about Charlie Hardie—but it could easily be filmed as a stand-alone.

A lot of the fun of the story—at least for people who actually live in Los Angeles—is the sense of authenticity. The plot plays out like a mash-up of John Ridley’s EVERYBODY SMOKES IN HELL and Elmore Leonard’s GET SHORTY. The characters have history and context and their lives are complicated. Sometimes this is tragic—as with Charlie—and sometimes it’s hilarious, with the suburban dad who calls himself FACTBOY having to seclude himself in public bathrooms to stay in contact with Mann—while his wife and children get antsy.

Mann herself is an intriguing character. We know absolutely nothing about her but it’s fascinating to watch her unravel as she has to invent more and more narratives to cover the scenarios that unfold when her plan goes FUBAR. We’re not the only one horrified by her total lack of compassion—even O’Neal, her “assistant director”—can’t believe she’s so cold-blooded.

Both Lane and Charlie are terrifically damaged people. The writer gives us their internal dialogue so that we are invested in their survival. It’s funny that most of Lane’s survival skills were learned while making various cheap action movies. We can’t quite believe that Lane actually dies, but when she does, this story takes a full-on turn into noir. The landscape is so bleak that Charlie considers death a welcome change.

Charlie is almost ridiculously resilient but at the end, he’s still standing. We don’t know exactly what’s going to happen to him when he wakes up from the sedative the EMT administers at the end, but since we know that there are two more books in the series, we can only assume he survives and thrives in some way.

The cliffhanger has a couple of interesting angles. Who is the person that Gedney and Doyle think might be good for their “project?” Is it Charlie or is it the only man he trusts in the world, Deke? The minute we hear Charlie’s insistence that Deke can’t be co-opted, we begin to suspect that he has been, so it would make perfect sense for HIM to be the one being picked up.

Lane and Charlie have a good run of it, and the writer makes their survival pretty plausible just as he makes the bad guys’ ability to track them seem pretty likely. It’s a little too fortunate that Charlie has the skillset he does (and his backstory is actually kind of murky—the writer should have just made him an ex-cop instead of some sort of consultant whose role was violent but nebulous).

Charlie is a good man who lives with a terrible burden of guilt. He and Lane are a lot alike and he realizes it. When she confesses her own guilt (as she has to her secret boyfriend), he doesn’t offer absolution but he can offer understanding.

There’s some good action and the finale in the Hunter house is a particularly strong setpiece. The novel is steeped in noir tropes (and great quotes from movies ranging from COBRA to KISS KISS BANG BANG).
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May 25, 2011 Mary Gramlich rated it 5 of 5 stars

FUN & GAMES written by Duane Swierczynski
Book #1 in the Charlie Hardie Trilogy
06/11 - Little, Brown & Company - Paperback, 304 pages

There is an end to every nightmare right?

Charlie Hardie has lived the hard life and was now drinking himself in oblivion one house sitting job at a time. He was a reliable source to stay put, water your plants, and make sure no one breaks into your house. Therefore, what a surprise for Charlie when he arrives at his latest job someone has gotten there before...more

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Feb 07, 2012 Monica rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-and-or-evil

Maybe 3.5 stars - it was just so darned much fun. Charlie Hardie is an ex-police consultant turned house sitter to the wealthy. He arrives at his latest assignment in Hollywood to discover a terrified woman hiding in the house. And she stabs him with a mike stand. For starters.

She's convinced that They are out to get her, and she's right. "They" are The Accident People, a small group of film industry folk whose job is to eliminate problems (and the people who cause them)by creating airtight Dea...more

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Nov 16, 2011 Kelly Hager rated it 5 of 5 stars

Charlie Hardie used to be a cop but after his partner was murdered (along with the partner's entire family), he's opted for a less dangerous line of work. Now he house-sits. He's pretty in demand, too, and travels all over the country to take care of people's houses. (No pets or plants, though. He has limits.) So anyway, he heads to this house in LA and it all falls apart. He finds this woman living in the house, a woman who should NOT be there. Then he realizes that it's a famous actress. And t...more Charlie Hardie used to be a cop but after his partner was murdered (along with the partner's entire family), he's opted for a less dangerous line of work. Now he house-sits. He's pretty in demand, too, and travels all over the country to take care of people's houses. (No pets or plants, though. He has limits.) So anyway, he heads to this house in LA and it all falls apart. He finds this woman living in the house, a woman who should NOT be there. Then he realizes that it's a famous actress. And then he realizes that she's probably crazy. She's ranting about these people who are trying to kill her and how they'll make it look like an accident because that's what they do. She says they're sort of like an urban legend in Hollywood, the Accident People...except it's true.

And it turns out that it IS true. And they ARE after her.

This book is ridiculously, insanely fun. It's also seriously next to impossible to put down* so I would advise starting it when you have enough time to read 283 pages in a row.

I was reading this book and seriously, the Accident People are like Terminators. They can't be killed. But then, so is Charlie. It's insane. Maybe in LA, the smog protects you from things.

My favorite part though is the idea that these people are sort of like a Hollywood urban legend. I picture these stars at parties and then it turns into sort of a "by the campfire" atmosphere and someone starts talking about them and then everyone piles in. "I heard they killed Belushi." "I heard that's what really happened to Brittany Murphy." And with my love of spooky stories, it's not surprising that that appeals to me, right? And the Accident People are SCARY.

But more than anything else, this book is the pure definition of "action-packed thriller." It's so much fun, I can't even tell you. It ends on a cliffhanger (a really mean one) but fortunately, book two is already out.

* = AND I HAD TO! There was this insane plot twist and I had to stop reading and go to work! It was cruel, you guys. Cruel.
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Apr 13, 2011 Jeff James rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, review-copies

Full disclosure: I received a copy of this book as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

Duane Swierczynski is a name I’ve come across several times before. It’s a hard one to forget, even though I probably couldn’t spell it if my life depended on it. Amazon has been quite sure that I would enjoy his work, and has recommended him many times over. Swierczynski seems to write the kind of genre fiction I find myself enjoying lately, intense crime thrillers that occasionally edge into mor...more Full disclosure: I received a copy of this book as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

Duane Swierczynski is a name I’ve come across several times before. It’s a hard one to forget, even though I probably couldn’t spell it if my life depended on it. Amazon has been quite sure that I would enjoy his work, and has recommended him many times over. Swierczynski seems to write the kind of genre fiction I find myself enjoying lately, intense crime thrillers that occasionally edge into more speculative territories.

The first book I picked up by Swierczynski was his fourth, Severance Package… and I couldn’t get into it. Not sure why, it just didn’t click. I made it a few chapters in and took it back to the library. I wasn’t so sure that Amazon knew what it was talking about. Even still, every new book of his that I came across had an intriguing description. Sometimes I’m just not in the right mood to read a particular book, and I figured I might just need to give Swierczynski another shot.

And what a shot it was. The kind that picks you up off your feet and tosses you across the room. Little blue birdies dancing in your vision the whole way down. I don’t know what kept me from getting into Severance Package, but there was no such hesitation when I started reading Fun and Games today over my lunch break. Within 20 pages I knew I was going to finish it this evening, and within a few short hours I’d torn through the rest in a mad rush. In my considered opinion, Duane Swierczynski has arrived, and just careened right up my list of Must Read Authors.

Fun and Games is the first in a trilogy, which, thankfully, will be completed promptly over the next two years (book two this winter, book three in 2012). The main character, Charlie Hardie, is a former police consultant whose life was ruined in a tragedy three years earlier. Ever since then, he’s drifted through life in an alcoholic haze, making ends meet by house-sitting for the rich and absent. He wants nothing more than to drink himself into a stupor while watching old movies and forgetting that his life ever happened.

However, he gets more than he bargained for when he starts a job housesitting for a movie composer who lives in the Hollywood Hills. On his first day, Charlie is assaulted by a crazed woman who is squatting in the composer’s bathroom. The woman, Lane Madden, wallops him with a microphone stand and then starts babbling about a mysterious “them” who are trying to kill her and make it look like an accident. At first Charlie thinks she’s just a washed-up drug addict, but then he realizes that Lane is Somebody Famous, and that she may actually be telling the truth.

Charlie gets all the proof he needs when “they” – sometimes referred to as “The Guild” or “The Accident People” – try to kill him. Once The Accident People make their move, Fun and Games sets off at breakneck speed and only slows down long enough to let you catch your breath before the next white-knuckle action scene. Most of the action takes place in a very short amount of time, maybe 24 or 48 hours, as the protagonists are cornered, escape, and then get cornered again. The story is full of twists and turns, misdirections and reveals, all neatly doled out with masterful pacing that kept me glued to the page.

One of the great things about Fun and Games is that it’s very much a Hollywood thriller that could only be set in Hollywood. There’s a generous dose of satire layered over the proceedings; The Accident People are exactly the sort of assassins that someone would dream up for a movie, but they’re also the sort of the assassins that people who make movies might use to knock each other off. They are always concerned with the “narrative” of their kills, wanting to ensure that no hint of the true story peeks through. That Charlie Hardie will not die does not fit into their neat little storyline.

It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed a book this much, and it’s certainly been a few months since I’ve read something in one sitting. I’m definitely sold on Swierczynski now, and can’t wait to get my hands on the rest of this trilogy, not to mention his earlier books. Mulholland Books just added another one of my favorite authors to their roster.(less)

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Sep 27, 2012 Andrew Miller rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is a little bit batshit. It took a look at sanity, turned around, and walked away.

A lot here is owed to old noir films and the book goes out of its way to talk about them. Cinema and the Hollywood lifestyle get poked at quite a bit. It's all pretty ridiculous and funny. Intentionally ridiculous and funny.

Some pretty dark stuff in here to balance out the fun. I don't want to give anything away but the female lead has a big dark secret, obviously, and the payoff on that reveal felt ver...more

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Nov 12, 2011 David Ketelsen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I bought this in the Kindle edition during one of Amazon's $1.99 specials. The book was certainly worth that price. I doubt I'd want to pay full price though.

In the afterword Swierczynski mentions that his literary influences are Michael Connelly and George Pelecanos. I don't think Swierczynski quite measures up but his writing is quite approachable and the action is engaging. I found the plot a little hard to believe but it's the kind of book that tries to skirt right on the edge of believabili...more

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Jun 26, 2011 Joe Robles rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'm a huge fan of Duane Swierczynski and this book did not disappoint. I read it in two sitting (I had to eat). The book is fast paced and even though sometimes there will be unbelievable things, you still believe them. I'm a POV nerd, and Duane makes excellent use of 3rd person limited. What I find fascinating is that he switches between the characters, even in the same chapter. It's an interesting choice because he could, as a third person omniscient narrator, simply tell the story and give us...more

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Jan 15, 2013 Col rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, s

Blurb.........
Mulholland Books presents... FUN AND GAMES

NUMBER OF ACCIDENTAL DEATHS PER YEAR
By suffocation: 3,300
By poisoning: 8,600

STAGED BY PROFESSIONALS: You have no idea.

Ex-cop Charlie Hardie's latest job is guarding an isolated mansion in LA's Hollywood Hills. But it comes with an unwanted guest - a D-list actress who says she's being hunted by professional hitmen.

Charlie thinks she's just high and paranoid.

But he's wrong.

The killers are real.
They've tracked her to the house.
And they're no...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Kyle rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People who like action movies

Recommended to Kyle by: Kelly Leigh

Shelves: adult, awesome-cover, awesome-writing-style, evil-cliffhanger, mild-dissapointment, need-the-sequel-to-live, really-excited, violence-galore, what-did-i-just-read

The world is divided into three classes of people:
a very small group that makes things happen
a somewhat larger group that watches things happen
and the great multitude which never knows what happened.
-Nicholas Murray Butler

That beginning-of-chapter quote perfectly describes the premise of this book - and plus it sounds cool. Charlie Hardie (I know, I hate names that rythme) is an ex-cop from Philidelphia, who hasn't been the same for three years, and is now a simple house sitter going around t...more

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Fun & Games (Charlie Hardie #1)

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