Pigeon Pie

Jimmy Flannery #11

by Robert Wright Campbell

Unflagging Chicago politician, sewer inspector, and sleuth Jimmy Flannery ascends a notch up the political ladder and finds himself with an alluring but scheming congressman's wife and a vicious kiler on his trail

Genres: Mystery

296 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1998

About the author

A screenwriter who turned to writing novels. Many of his earlier books were published as by R. Wright Campbell but later works were credited to Robert W. Campbell or simply Robert Campbell. He also published one book as F.G. Clinton. For more, see his obituary in the Los Angeles Times.

Reviews

[Canavan]

✭✭✭½

[Dave]

Pigeon Pie is the final chapter in the eleven book Jimmy Flannery saga which combines detective fiction with Chicago favor for favor politics. One of the great things about this series is the narrator's voice which takes you into a world of old neighborhoods and complicated political relationships. Over the last few books of the series, Flannery is slowly moved out of his old precinct and his old advisors and the old guard pass on. This book completes that part of the saga with Flannery making a complete switch from being Warlord of the 27th to a promise of the mayors ward and an alderman's seat.

This is probably not the best chapter to begin the series as it is light on mystery and focuses mainly on politics and conniving and influence. It also refers quite a bit to the previous book in the series, Lion's Share, and it is almost a sequel to that one.

It is peopled with street thugs, transgender ex-cops, book banners, sexy political ladies, and more, and, of course, a murder. It is perhaps all part of the changing world Flannery finds himself in and in which some folks are not quite comfortable with yet.

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov]

Robert Campbell has nailed Chicago. He understands the neighborhoods and the political wards. He gives us Jimmy Flannery, the guy Diogenes was looking for. Jimmy has been around for about a dozen books and has risen in local politics more by timing and luck than by clout or craftiness. He just wants to help people and that includes solving a mystery or two in each book.

This book is one of the last and it takes up some significant political issues including banned book lists and gender politics while giving us a fast moving plot. I liked what I learned.

[Hans]

Consider this final book to be the second half of the story started in The Lion's Share. Jimmy's political career is on the rise, but as his friends gather, some old enemies also reappear. Deadly trouble follows.

This is a good closing book to the series. You can tell a lot of what will follow from the final scene, but it would have been nice to have a final coda with Jimmy's friends and family. Perhaps even just a paragraph or two that calls back to the end of the story (which is covered in the first pages of the book).

It was a fun surprise to see computers and the internet appear in this final book. I'm glad it doesn't play a larger role, but simply is another marker that life is changing all around...at the same time Jimmy's life has major changes.

One last bit of wisdom from Jimmy:

I'm ready to walk out of there but I learned long ago that walking away from ignorant bigots don't do anybody any good. Neither does arguing with them. You change the minds of bigots by putting them in a position where they want something so much that they'll sit down with the people they hate and maybe find out they're all human beings after all.

[Mrs.]

A final visit with Jimmy Flannery...bittersweet and glorious. I loved it!

[Emily Kestrel]

Not bad as a novel about Chicago politics. It's a rather lackluster mystery, though. Nothing mysterious happens until two-thirds of the way through, and then it's resolved quickly and with a minimum of fanfare. This is the only book I've read by the author, so I'm not sure if this is typical of the series, or if this one is not up to standard.

[Carol]

More fun with Jimmy. Is this the end? His stories are quick easy reads with wonderful dialoge and much to say about people who are "different"