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Phil Allman P.I. #1
Jesse Garon
As much of the world knows, Elvis Aron Presley was born on January 8, 1935. Also born that day was Jesse Garon Presley, Elvis's twin. The world has believed that Jesse Garon was born dead. Until now.... Jesse Garon is the story of Philadelphia Private Investigator Phil Allman's pursuit of Jesse, the first in a series featuring Allman, a P.I. with a hard-boiled yet modern sensibility, sensitivity, and sense of humor.
144 pages, Paperback
First published September 29, 2009
2 people are currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
Brett Wallach
17 books18 followersMy name is Brett Wallach, and I'm a father of two daughters from the Philadelphia area. The protagonist in my Phil Allman, P.I. series of mysteries is a misanthropic, sentimental, bitter, funny, romantic, lustful, tough, sometimes amoral, slightly (?) insane divorced father of two daughters from Philadelphia. Any resemblance to myself is highly coincidental. I've tried to create a character who often says and does the wrong things, after reading so many books in this genre where the main character, despite quirks, is usually unrealistically virtuous. Think Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver, only funnier. My favorite authors are John Steinbeck, Graham Greene, Raymond Chandler, Elmore Leonard, Dennis Lehane, and many others. I have no delusions that my novels are on that level, but as my reviews (please see them on Goodreads) show, most people seem to find them entertaining. After my former publisher recently went out of business, I decided to self-publish, and my six books (so far) in the series (Jesse Garon, And I Love Her, Young Blood, Freeze Out, Susceptible, and Torment) are all available on Amazon, and candid, objective reviews are always welcome. My seventh book, The Last MAN On Earth, is a sci-fi/social and sexual satire, and I hope you like that as well. My email address is wallachbrett@aol.com, and feedback is welcome.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 17, 2017
Phil Allman is a gumshoe in the Raymond Chandler tradition. He is contracted to find the missing twin brother of Elvis Presley who was mistakenly believed to have been stillborn when the legendary King of Rock and Roll was born in 1933.
At first I thought the plot implausible, but Presley did in fact have a twin named Jesse Garon Presley who did not survive when their mother gave birth so it is conceivable as he was born into an impoverished family he could have been given away at birth.
The story starts slowly with the detective narrator explaining that he was an Elvis fan and why the star's twin was adopted and registered as stillborn. Then as the tale progresses the characters take over and it becomes more interesting. Private Investigator, narrator and protagonist, Phil Allman, is well rounded, likable and struggling to come to terms with the separation from his wife and to maintain contact with his eleven year old daughter while at the same time unravelling the mystery surrounding Elvis's twin. Characters are expertly introduced and neatly described with amusing asides from Allman. His search for Jesse Garon is intriguing and is complicated by some murders he encounters along the way.
The novel is well crafted and absorbing and, because of my concern for the wellbeing of the central character, I was compelled to read on to the end. The author is a talented storyteller. His skill in this genre is clearly evident and he should be congratulated. I can thoroughly recommend this story to anyone who enjoys a good mystery.
At first I thought the plot implausible, but Presley did in fact have a twin named Jesse Garon Presley who did not survive when their mother gave birth so it is conceivable as he was born into an impoverished family he could have been given away at birth.
The story starts slowly with the detective narrator explaining that he was an Elvis fan and why the star's twin was adopted and registered as stillborn. Then as the tale progresses the characters take over and it becomes more interesting. Private Investigator, narrator and protagonist, Phil Allman, is well rounded, likable and struggling to come to terms with the separation from his wife and to maintain contact with his eleven year old daughter while at the same time unravelling the mystery surrounding Elvis's twin. Characters are expertly introduced and neatly described with amusing asides from Allman. His search for Jesse Garon is intriguing and is complicated by some murders he encounters along the way.
The novel is well crafted and absorbing and, because of my concern for the wellbeing of the central character, I was compelled to read on to the end. The author is a talented storyteller. His skill in this genre is clearly evident and he should be congratulated. I can thoroughly recommend this story to anyone who enjoys a good mystery.
September 26, 2016
Interesting premise
As someone who doesn't know much about elvis, I was pleasantly surprised by how I was pulled into the story. It's a cute private investigator story that serves as a great introduction to a series.
My only problem with it is the brevity of the story. The action at the end could have been expanded in a way that would have made it a five star story.
I recommend it for someone interested in following a good PI series.
As someone who doesn't know much about elvis, I was pleasantly surprised by how I was pulled into the story. It's a cute private investigator story that serves as a great introduction to a series.
My only problem with it is the brevity of the story. The action at the end could have been expanded in a way that would have made it a five star story.
I recommend it for someone interested in following a good PI series.
May 1, 2019
Jesse Garon: The Search For Elvis Presley's Twin Book 1, A Phil Allman P.I. Novel, is an intriguing mystery with many surprises, but also very good writing. Some lines came to mind that were unforgettable, a commentary on life, and its hardships, the ups and downs, especially when it comes to relationships. Phil Allman's relationship with his wife, Cheryl, is on a rocky road, being separated, with no possibility of reconciliation. Later on, though, the protagonist sees some hope, saying, "I looked into her eyes, and for the first time in a long time, I saw hope there. Guarded hope, but hope nonetheless. I felt a twinge of optimism, also guarded, shoot through me."
Jesse Garon: The Search For Elvis Presley's Twin Book 1 was a wonderful read, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery.
Jesse Garon: The Search For Elvis Presley's Twin Book 1 was a wonderful read, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery.
August 29, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What an intriguing premise! The synopsis alone grabbed my attention right away. The idea of Elvis’s supposedly stillborn twin actually surviving and a private investigator unraveling that mystery sounds both original and thrilling. I really like how the book promises a mix of history, mystery, and a touch of hard-boiled detective style, but with a modern twist and humor. Even without reading yet, I can already tell this will be a fascinating and entertaining story. Definitely worth picking up!
What an intriguing premise! The synopsis alone grabbed my attention right away. The idea of Elvis’s supposedly stillborn twin actually surviving and a private investigator unraveling that mystery sounds both original and thrilling. I really like how the book promises a mix of history, mystery, and a touch of hard-boiled detective style, but with a modern twist and humor. Even without reading yet, I can already tell this will be a fascinating and entertaining story. Definitely worth picking up!
July 7, 2017
What a great introduction to Phil Allman, the detective with a sarcastic attitude, brains, and a normal crappy life like the rest of us. This book had an interesting twist with Elvis's twin brother angle, which is the truth for those who don't know. The author always keeps the pace steady and tosses in some unseen turns that keep you on your toes. I love his writing style and I've read them all to date, so I am looking for more in the future.
June 16, 2017
Great premise for a mystery -- searching for Elvis's twin brother, instead of The King. (Spoiler alert: no 7-Elevens in Kalamazoo, Michigan figure in this story.) I liked the main character, Phil Allman, but, frankly, "Cinderella Story" endings ain't really a grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich for me, but, hey, I'm not a fascist or an antifa. Since there are no half stars, I rounded up.
January 8, 2026
Brilllllliant!
March 19, 2016
**A Relentless Garden of Thorns and Bogart Thinkalikes**
Even if you don't know who Jesse Garon was, you've probably heard of his twin brother. Elvis. Yes, that Elvis. Elvis is the reason why Jesse Garon: The Search for Elvis Presley's Twin opens with the ever loquacious Phil Allman, who is the star of Brett Wallach's noir novellas, giving a short speech in Shirley Marino's basement for 13 people attending the Philadelphia chapter of the “Elvis Forever” fan club. One of those attending is a stranger. A lawyer. He's looking for a missing man named Robert Zimmerman. He says that Elvis' brother didn't die at birth, as everyone thinks, but was immediately sold on the black market because his and Elvis' parents couldn't afford two new babies. He says Zimmerman is actually Elvis' twin brother. The lawyer wants Allman to find him.
A few more pages, and you that learn Zimmerman has a daughter, Rhonda. And that, astoundingly, Allman had gone to high school with her. In fact, he'd once sent her a song he'd written. After taking the lawyer's assignment, Phil calls Rhonda up. She remembers the song—and him. He learns she is separated and has a school-aged daughter. Phil is separated, too. Has a school-aged daughter, too. And with that, Mr. Wallach and his noir novella are off and running.
As someone who has just spent two years pouring over his own debut mystery, I'm pretty conversant with most of the sins that a new-to-the-fiction-craft writer is likely to commit. You don't have to read very much of Jesse Garon to realize that Wallach often appears to be a profligate sinner in that department. Jesse Garon is filled with clichés, for example. “Talk about reliving your youth.” “O brother, where art thou?” “Allman has left the building.” “When in Rome.” His descriptions can also have a caught-in-a-rut quality. No sooner has he given a character a nose that “spread across his face like an over easy egg” than (two sentences later), the character's touch “seemed as stringy and malleable as a piece of overcooked linguine.” Lazy writing? Maybe.
But after a while, I began to see that Wallach's “cheap” prose is an ingenious way of telling a certain kind of story. His prose is crazy-like-a-fox prose. The world he's describing is the way he makes it look and sound and smell because it doesn't have any airs. If in even a few instances, he had given it any, the whole thing would have seemed . . . precious. And good noirs aren't precious. Noirs worthy of the name are cynical, fatalistic and morally slipshod. Eventually, you realize that all those clichés and facile descriptions and dime-store dialogue instances and false big-deal declarations and arrivals of the obvious in Jesse Garon are doing you a favor. They are allowing you to sample a world occupied by characters so infected by unconscious desires to be Humphrey Bogart thinkalikes that they even have the author's prose in a death-grip of constant put-on.
I'm not going to tell you anymore about Jesse Garon: The Search for Elvis Presley's Twin other than that Allman's search for Elvis' brother ends up where it should end up. In Memphis. I like all of Wallach's noir novellas about P.I. Phil Allman (he has three out now, including a controversial one called Young Blood, which demonstrates anew just how gutsy Wallach is at pushing conventions, genres and plot lines to the max). Just understand that he doesn't promise you a well-tended garden of literary roses. Only a vivid, entertaining, fast-moving exploration of the thorns. As one of his characters in Jesse Garon might remind you, it is what it is. What you see is what you get. And, remember, F. Scott Fitzgerald has left the building.
Even if you don't know who Jesse Garon was, you've probably heard of his twin brother. Elvis. Yes, that Elvis. Elvis is the reason why Jesse Garon: The Search for Elvis Presley's Twin opens with the ever loquacious Phil Allman, who is the star of Brett Wallach's noir novellas, giving a short speech in Shirley Marino's basement for 13 people attending the Philadelphia chapter of the “Elvis Forever” fan club. One of those attending is a stranger. A lawyer. He's looking for a missing man named Robert Zimmerman. He says that Elvis' brother didn't die at birth, as everyone thinks, but was immediately sold on the black market because his and Elvis' parents couldn't afford two new babies. He says Zimmerman is actually Elvis' twin brother. The lawyer wants Allman to find him.
A few more pages, and you that learn Zimmerman has a daughter, Rhonda. And that, astoundingly, Allman had gone to high school with her. In fact, he'd once sent her a song he'd written. After taking the lawyer's assignment, Phil calls Rhonda up. She remembers the song—and him. He learns she is separated and has a school-aged daughter. Phil is separated, too. Has a school-aged daughter, too. And with that, Mr. Wallach and his noir novella are off and running.
As someone who has just spent two years pouring over his own debut mystery, I'm pretty conversant with most of the sins that a new-to-the-fiction-craft writer is likely to commit. You don't have to read very much of Jesse Garon to realize that Wallach often appears to be a profligate sinner in that department. Jesse Garon is filled with clichés, for example. “Talk about reliving your youth.” “O brother, where art thou?” “Allman has left the building.” “When in Rome.” His descriptions can also have a caught-in-a-rut quality. No sooner has he given a character a nose that “spread across his face like an over easy egg” than (two sentences later), the character's touch “seemed as stringy and malleable as a piece of overcooked linguine.” Lazy writing? Maybe.
But after a while, I began to see that Wallach's “cheap” prose is an ingenious way of telling a certain kind of story. His prose is crazy-like-a-fox prose. The world he's describing is the way he makes it look and sound and smell because it doesn't have any airs. If in even a few instances, he had given it any, the whole thing would have seemed . . . precious. And good noirs aren't precious. Noirs worthy of the name are cynical, fatalistic and morally slipshod. Eventually, you realize that all those clichés and facile descriptions and dime-store dialogue instances and false big-deal declarations and arrivals of the obvious in Jesse Garon are doing you a favor. They are allowing you to sample a world occupied by characters so infected by unconscious desires to be Humphrey Bogart thinkalikes that they even have the author's prose in a death-grip of constant put-on.
I'm not going to tell you anymore about Jesse Garon: The Search for Elvis Presley's Twin other than that Allman's search for Elvis' brother ends up where it should end up. In Memphis. I like all of Wallach's noir novellas about P.I. Phil Allman (he has three out now, including a controversial one called Young Blood, which demonstrates anew just how gutsy Wallach is at pushing conventions, genres and plot lines to the max). Just understand that he doesn't promise you a well-tended garden of literary roses. Only a vivid, entertaining, fast-moving exploration of the thorns. As one of his characters in Jesse Garon might remind you, it is what it is. What you see is what you get. And, remember, F. Scott Fitzgerald has left the building.
August 26, 2016
A crime thriller where a search for Elvis’ long-lost, previously believed to be deceased, brother is intertwined in a series of seemingly related murders breaks the typical “Murder-Mystery” mold. Jesse Garon is a story of love-lost, broken families, parenthood, and a first person look into the inner monologue of a private investigator. Phil Allman, a card-carrying member of the Elvis Fan Club, is approached by a lawyer who provides him with the shocking reality that Jesse Garon, Elvis’ twin brother who was believed to have died at birth, was alive and well in Philadelphia. It was Mr. Allman’s job to find him. The series of events that unfold in the hunt for Jesse Garon is fast-paced and riveting.
At times the first person monologue is vulgar in nature, but so too is P.I. Phil Allman. I didn’t necessarily fall in love with Mr. Allman, though I’m not sure that I was supposed to. His wit, confidence, and gloominess seemed to reflect what it truly must be like to live the life of a private investigator. While a multitude of characters can be at times overwhelming, their subtle inter-connectivity keeps the reader on their toes.
In all honesty, I found myself thinking about this story and the world which author, Brett Wallach, has created in Jesse Garon during the few times that I put the book down. Mr. Wallach is a gifted writer who puts the reader inside the book, and makes you feel as though you are there. It was a fun ride!
My biggest complaint falls at the close of the book, as it felt slightly rushed. In a way, however, my disappointment exemplifies my genuine joy in the rest of the book, and my desire for it to continue. I didn’t want it to end! I would definitely recommend this first of three P.I. Phil Allman books to any detective-buff.
At times the first person monologue is vulgar in nature, but so too is P.I. Phil Allman. I didn’t necessarily fall in love with Mr. Allman, though I’m not sure that I was supposed to. His wit, confidence, and gloominess seemed to reflect what it truly must be like to live the life of a private investigator. While a multitude of characters can be at times overwhelming, their subtle inter-connectivity keeps the reader on their toes.
In all honesty, I found myself thinking about this story and the world which author, Brett Wallach, has created in Jesse Garon during the few times that I put the book down. Mr. Wallach is a gifted writer who puts the reader inside the book, and makes you feel as though you are there. It was a fun ride!
My biggest complaint falls at the close of the book, as it felt slightly rushed. In a way, however, my disappointment exemplifies my genuine joy in the rest of the book, and my desire for it to continue. I didn’t want it to end! I would definitely recommend this first of three P.I. Phil Allman books to any detective-buff.
May 13, 2016
When I started to read Jesse Garon (Phil Allman P.I. Book 1) I didn’t know what to expect, but I couldn’t help myself to keep reading until the very end. It’s a real page-turner.
The story is about a Private Investigator, Phil Allman—and a big fan of Elvis Presley—who attended at the “Elvis Forever” fan club and after the meeting, a lawyer, Downes, approached Allman to hire him to find Elvis Presley’s twin brother, Jesse Garon.
Stunned by the fact that Elvis’ stillborn twin brother is alive after all—he didn’t die on January 8, 1935—and was brought up as Robert Zimmerman, Allman accepts the job offer.
He knew Zimmerman’s daughter, Rhonda, from high school and decides to talk to her about the sudden disappearance of Zimmerman. After he visits her abusive ex-husband, Rhonda is killed and Allman tries to solve the case while more people get killed.
Brett Wallach is a gifted writer, and I love to read more of his books. I give this book a five-star reading.
The story is about a Private Investigator, Phil Allman—and a big fan of Elvis Presley—who attended at the “Elvis Forever” fan club and after the meeting, a lawyer, Downes, approached Allman to hire him to find Elvis Presley’s twin brother, Jesse Garon.
Stunned by the fact that Elvis’ stillborn twin brother is alive after all—he didn’t die on January 8, 1935—and was brought up as Robert Zimmerman, Allman accepts the job offer.
He knew Zimmerman’s daughter, Rhonda, from high school and decides to talk to her about the sudden disappearance of Zimmerman. After he visits her abusive ex-husband, Rhonda is killed and Allman tries to solve the case while more people get killed.
Brett Wallach is a gifted writer, and I love to read more of his books. I give this book a five-star reading.
May 18, 2016
I started reading “A Phil Allman P.I. Novel, Jesse Garon, The search for Elvis Presley’s Twin” by Brett Wallach. By the end of chapter one I was completely hooked. I had just visited Graceland a year earlier with my parents and two children. To say I’m an Elvis fan would be a mild understatement. I found the characters and story line to be very intriguing. This is a fantastic book that I would recommend for anyone who loves mystery, romance and of course Elvis. Brett Wallach has two more Phil Allman P. I. books and I’m so excited to read them next. Thanks Brett for the good read.
April 18, 2017
If you like mysteries, you will enjoy this unique story. Based on the possibility that Elvis' twin brother may not have been stillborn, but may have ended up in the hands of adoptive parents, makes for an interesting read. Immersed in the lore of this legendary icon and the early days of rock and roll, we go on a quest for the truth, ultimately leading us to Memphis. Along the way, we discover this isn't just a simple search for answers about Elvis' lost brother, but since we are in the mind of Allman, the private investigator, we realize this is a metaphor for finding oneself. It's this personal plight of the investigator that makes the story come alive, grounding it in modern turmoil and real emotion. That contrasts with the seemingly romanticized past, which in reality wasn't all that romantic. Yet, past versus present begs to be contemplated, as does the life of a "regular Joe" versus a rock star. Also, the idea of where we come from and what experiences we have and how that makes us who were are--all of that is dredged up for us to think about. Great reading makes us look not only at the characters, but also ourselves, asking the bigger questions. I think this book does that for us.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews