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Hard-Boiled Dudes
SOME LIKE IT HARD-BOILED – WITH A SIDE OF DANGER
A muscular anthology of best-selling mysteries, Hard-Boiled Dudes showcases gritty, edgy, unexpected sleuths—a car mechanic, an ex-journalist, a reluctant lawyer, an ex-cop, and a small-town Hawaiian cop with a research scientist sidekick. Whether amateur or pro, these dudes come out swinging. From the deadly silence of a snowy ski resort to the buzzing swamps on Kauai, these five action-packed thrillers by award-winning authors are guaranteed to chill and thrill!
Vol. 1: REPULSE MONKEY
A year following Alex Glauberman’s first brush with murder and mystery, he’s recovered from cancer and chemotherapy; he’s studying tai chi for its pleasures and therapeutic effects; life goes on. Then, in the space of a two-minute phone call, he’s ensnared in another mystery. His anniversary dinner with girlfriend Meredith comes to an abrupt halt when a quick check-in with the babysitter yields the news from Alex’s sleepy nine-year-old that the babysitter has “She said it was an emergency. She said the emergency was that somebody was dead.”
Now the babysitter is missing, and her boyfriend is dead.Vol. 2: TRUE LIFE ADVENTURE
Wise-cracking ex-journalist Paul Mcdonald’s main confidant is a cat named Spot; his best friend’s a burglar who’s trying to quit; his relationship status is commitment-phobic … so what makes this Great American Novelist-in-waiting think adding “P.I.” to his resume is a good idea? Well, his boss was just poisoned in Paul’s living room right in front of him, and then somebody broke into his apartment; now he thinks they’re trying to kill him. Finally Paul’s got a story he can sell, if he can catch the murderer before the murderer catches him.
Vol. 3: CRIME CZAR
Tubby Dubonnet can't forget the last words that escaped an old friend's lips, and he can't get out of the way of a political campaign that's turning rough. Obsessed with the idea that a shadowy crime boss may be pulling the strings that have cost good people their lives, Tubby is entering into a test of courage with the most violent men in New Orleans. And as if that weren't dangerous enough, he’s just picked up the worst ally he could ever a beautiful prostitute gunning for revenge.
Vol. 4: ROYAL FLUSH
Unlicensed PI Jake Samson is understandably nervous about infiltrating a local Marin County neo-Nazi group called the Aryan Command. After all, he is Jewish. But when the doe-eyed teenage goddaughter of his oldest friend begs him to help her boyfriend--harebrained, reformed skinhead Royal Subic--Jake finds he can't "just say no." Royal, who's too terrified to defect, is not only disenchanted with his recent brush with right-wing extremism (and a regrettable tattoo), he's afraid for his life--and he has the murder of a Command member-turned-defector to point to for proof. As Jake investigates, a complex conspiracy begins to unfold, including a plan to assassinate an outspoken talk-show host, a complicated web of local police and governmental infiltrators (some of them dirty themselves), and a possible international connection.
Vol. 5: VECTOR
Detective Cobb Takamura's idea of a busy night is a few drunken tourists and a jaywalker.
A muscular anthology of best-selling mysteries, Hard-Boiled Dudes showcases gritty, edgy, unexpected sleuths—a car mechanic, an ex-journalist, a reluctant lawyer, an ex-cop, and a small-town Hawaiian cop with a research scientist sidekick. Whether amateur or pro, these dudes come out swinging. From the deadly silence of a snowy ski resort to the buzzing swamps on Kauai, these five action-packed thrillers by award-winning authors are guaranteed to chill and thrill!
Vol. 1: REPULSE MONKEY
A year following Alex Glauberman’s first brush with murder and mystery, he’s recovered from cancer and chemotherapy; he’s studying tai chi for its pleasures and therapeutic effects; life goes on. Then, in the space of a two-minute phone call, he’s ensnared in another mystery. His anniversary dinner with girlfriend Meredith comes to an abrupt halt when a quick check-in with the babysitter yields the news from Alex’s sleepy nine-year-old that the babysitter has “She said it was an emergency. She said the emergency was that somebody was dead.”
Now the babysitter is missing, and her boyfriend is dead.Vol. 2: TRUE LIFE ADVENTURE
Wise-cracking ex-journalist Paul Mcdonald’s main confidant is a cat named Spot; his best friend’s a burglar who’s trying to quit; his relationship status is commitment-phobic … so what makes this Great American Novelist-in-waiting think adding “P.I.” to his resume is a good idea? Well, his boss was just poisoned in Paul’s living room right in front of him, and then somebody broke into his apartment; now he thinks they’re trying to kill him. Finally Paul’s got a story he can sell, if he can catch the murderer before the murderer catches him.
Vol. 3: CRIME CZAR
Tubby Dubonnet can't forget the last words that escaped an old friend's lips, and he can't get out of the way of a political campaign that's turning rough. Obsessed with the idea that a shadowy crime boss may be pulling the strings that have cost good people their lives, Tubby is entering into a test of courage with the most violent men in New Orleans. And as if that weren't dangerous enough, he’s just picked up the worst ally he could ever a beautiful prostitute gunning for revenge.
Vol. 4: ROYAL FLUSH
Unlicensed PI Jake Samson is understandably nervous about infiltrating a local Marin County neo-Nazi group called the Aryan Command. After all, he is Jewish. But when the doe-eyed teenage goddaughter of his oldest friend begs him to help her boyfriend--harebrained, reformed skinhead Royal Subic--Jake finds he can't "just say no." Royal, who's too terrified to defect, is not only disenchanted with his recent brush with right-wing extremism (and a regrettable tattoo), he's afraid for his life--and he has the murder of a Command member-turned-defector to point to for proof. As Jake investigates, a complex conspiracy begins to unfold, including a plan to assassinate an outspoken talk-show host, a complicated web of local police and governmental infiltrators (some of them dirty themselves), and a possible international connection.
Vol. 5: VECTOR
Detective Cobb Takamura's idea of a busy night is a few drunken tourists and a jaywalker.
1051 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 15, 2016
372 people are currently reading
188 people want to read
About the author
Dick Cluster
35 books9 followersWhat seems like mystery, says a reggae lyric by Jimmy Cliff, is only untold history. I've written both crime novels and history books, as well popular economics (another mystery, for sure). Some of these have been translated into Japanese, Danish, Hungarian, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Bulgarian.
Most recently, a few years living in Cuba led me to do translation myself, from Spanish to English, and to co-author a social history of Havana with a Cuban colleague. We tell what it's been like for people living in the Cuban capital over the past five centuries, and something about why.
You can find some of my translations linked via this author page; others won't show up here, because the industry is still ambivalent about translators, but if you search by my name you'll find them.
Most recently, a few years living in Cuba led me to do translation myself, from Spanish to English, and to co-author a social history of Havana with a Cuban colleague. We tell what it's been like for people living in the Cuban capital over the past five centuries, and something about why.
You can find some of my translations linked via this author page; others won't show up here, because the industry is still ambivalent about translators, but if you search by my name you'll find them.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
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July 12, 2019🎁 FREE on Amazon today (7/12/2019)! 🎁
February 22, 2022
I cant help but wonder if this Author gets paid by the word. Reading this book is like talking to a teenaged girl who cant stay focused on what she is saying, wondering all around and rarely getting to the main point of her story.
The story line its self is very interesting and compelling, i just wish it was written more simply, more directly to the point.
The story line its self is very interesting and compelling, i just wish it was written more simply, more directly to the point.
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October 10, 2019TheFussyLibrarian
March 8, 2019
I was surprised by this collection - from all the different directions the various authors approached the "PI mystery" genre. Furthermore, I had previously found 3 of these, and enjoyed them at the time, so was pleased to find them in this collection. Lots of action, quirky characters, sometimes improbably situations, but all very good specimens of this wide, wild genre.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews