No Free Lunch

Jack Hagee

by C.J. Henderson

When Carl Miller's fiance disappears he follows her trail to New York City, eventually finding himself in the office of Jack Hagee, Private Investigator. Taking the case against his better judgement, Hagee quickly finds himself in the center of a circle of blood with the corpses piling up fast, the police leaning on him and killers on his trail. It soon becomes all too obvious that Hagee's only chance is to find poor little runaway Mara Phillips before he ends up in the slaughter pit like every other man on her trail.

Genres: Mystery

220 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1992

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

CJ Henderson is the creator of both the Jack Hagee hardboiled PI series and the Teddy London supernatural detective series. He is also the author of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Movies, several score novels, plus hundreds of short stories and thousands of non-fiction pieces. In the wonderful world of comics he has written everything from Batman and the Punisher to Archie and Cherry Poptart.

He also writes under the name Robert Morgan.

Reviews

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

PROTAGONIST: PI Jack Hagee
SETTING: New York
SERIES: #1 of 3
RATING: 3.25
WHY: PI Jack Hagee is hired by schlubby Carl Miller to find his "fiancée", Mara Phillips. Miller is besotted and doesn't seem to mind that Mara has taken him to the cleaners, slept with all his friends, and the like. Henderson writes very well and doesn't glamorize the PI experience at all. Unfortunately, the book fell apart at the end in a whirlwind of complicated plot points, sexual sadism and a fight scene that lasted until next week. I'll try the second in the series, hoping that the conclusion was a result of over ambition on the author's part.

[Chris Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

dark, nothing happy anywhere in this book.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only read the first 38 pages of this book, which is why I'm giving it three stars rather than two; maybe it gets better. For me, this book is just too unpleasant. While Raymond Chandler liked to portray a seamy underworld full of lies and deceit, Philip Marlowe was a good guy who was never completely jaded, someone who still felt compassion and still believed in honor. But Henderson's protagonist just seems like someone who hates the world. I have a friend who has to take medication to avoid psychosis, and if she misses a pill she says she feels as though the entire world and everything in it is rotting. Henderson seems to see the world the same way, and I find that no more enjoyable than my friend does. But the book is competently written and I was slightly curious as to how it would turn out, so if you don't mind the unpleasantness you might enjoy this.

[LJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

NO FREE LUNCH - NR
Henderson, C.J. (aka Robert Morgan) - 1st in Jeff Hagee series

When Carl Miller's fiance disappears he follows her trail to New York City, eventually finding himself in the office of Jack Hagee, Private Investigator. Taking the case against his better judgement, Hagee quickly finds himself in the center of a circle of blood with the corpses piling up fast, the police leaning on him and killers on his trail. It soon becomes all too obvious that Hagee's only chance is to find poor little runaway Mara Phillips before he ends up in the slaughter pit like every other man on her trail.

I just couldn't get into this.

[Kevin Findley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, but Henderson really went dark compared to some of the other Hagee stories. The payoff at the end made it worth it though. The final scene was worthy of the great Mickey Spillane and I'm glad I went the distance with Jack. If you love detective novels, pulp or mysteries, you should read it. Go get a copy now!