Cons, Scams, and Grifts

DKA File #6

by Joe Gores

The likable pack of operatives for Daniel Kearny Associates of San Francisco return for a fun romp, working fast repos on a list of classic cars missing after a raid on a shady auto dealer. Told vignette-style, with a huge cast of characters and many subplots, this novel is anchored by the adventures of the beautiful Gypsy witch Yana.

Genres: Mystery, Crime

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Joe Gores (1931-2011) was the author of the acclaimed DKA series of street-level crime and detection, as well as the stunning suspense novels Dead Man and Menaced Assassin.

He served in the U.S. Army - writing biographies of generals at the Pentagon - was educated at the University of Notre Dame and Stanford, and spent twelve years as a San Francisco private investigator. The author of dozens of novels, screenplays, and television scripts, he won three Edgar Allan Poe Awards and Japan's Maltese Falcon Award.

Reviews

[Christopher Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

DKA works with the same band of gypsies that we met in 32 Cadillacs, including the alluring and mystical Yana. This time she's accused of murder, but there are other plots at play. As a repo operation, DKA is after a set of classic and premium cars scattered through the area by a crooked car salesman. And there's a treasure two powerful and wealthy men are fighting over acquiring.

The story weaves between multiple characters and the various plotlines continuously which can be a bit frustrating or confusing if you aren't paying close attention or want resolution. The Gypsy lore and language is deeper in this book than 32 Cadillacs and its obvious that Gores put a tremendous amount of research into this.

There is no small amount of mysticism in the story as well, and an implausibly intelligent and capable ape. Overall it feels a bit scattereshot and then a commando raid by the DKA guys who I think Gores has fallen in love with at this point and the story suffers for it.

[Stven · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked Gores' Sam Spade prequel Spade & Archer, but 40 pages of this book about gypsies, tramps, thieves, cops, Russians, and repo men did not hook me.

[Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Conclusion of the DKA series, centered on the gypsies, including Yama suspected of murder.

[Charles Moore · Rating 2 out of 5]

This particular jury of one is out on Joe Gores, still. That he can write in several different styles and can evolve complicated plots is a given and this he does well. But, I'm not sure what I read. Everyone cons everyone else. Only the handful of private eyes at the repo office seem the most honest with the reader. All the other characters seem on the sly and conning me, which Gores does quite well! It doesn't take much to fool me. Gores admits the novel is something of a collection of scams and cons he has witnessed. But then, maybe he also exaggerated a bit, too. Which is okay. I don't mind and don't complain but I do like to also not get lost nor do I like his bringing in more cons on top of cons as the story develops. There were many paths he could have taken instead of trying to take them all. Although some of it was fun at first, I began to wear a bit that each new person was less than honest and nobody makes a difference. Is Gores suggesting all is lost in this world? You can't trust anyone?

[Nadine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was what I call a "potato chip" book--not high literature, but fun, and you can't just read one page.

It had colorful characters--you can't get more colorful than gypsies!-and a great San Franciso locale for atmosphere.

And just as the title states, there are twists and turns in the plot, and it's sometimes hard to know who's the good guy/girl, and who's the bad. The ultimate cons and scams solved the mysteries--and there's more than one.

Bring this to the beach or the pool, and you won't be disappointed.

[Jeremy Hornik · Rating 3 out of 5]

It turns out I read a prequel to this book, like, twenty years ago. Both involve a group of repo men and a group of gypsies, both are heavily episodic, both have minimal character development, and both are kind of fun. The scams range from kind of dumb to kind of glorious. The author seems like he'd be really fun spinning these stories (some drawn from his own life, no doubt) in a bar.

My main complaint, I guess, would be that there are too many of the stories, and they don't really differentiate much from each other. But I like con stories, and I liked this.

[Mary Sue · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gypsys in California doing battle with a detective/repo agency and the cops. I liked some of the characters, learned a lot about the gypsy or Rom culture. However, I got hopelessly lost 2/3 of the way into the book and never got things traightened out.