Umbrella Man

by Doug J. Swanson

Book Overview

Jack Flippo has what might be called an anti-Midas touch: everything he puts his hands on turns to crap. Jack used to be an assistant district attorney in Dallas, but he screwed up so badly (as... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399145036
• ISBN13: 9780399145032
• Release Date: July 1999
• Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group
• Length: 273 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.8" x 8.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Ok...

I didn't know what I was buying when I got this book, I just read the back and it caught my eyes. So I took it home and ended up finishing it in less than a week. I'd get tired of reading, then something would happen that made me keep it in my hands. Pick this one up for sure.

If you like Kinky Friedman, you'll love Doug Swanson

Jack Flippo has seen better days, but he seems on his way back up when former cop Eddie "Bent" Nickles sends him in search of a missing piece of film. A film shot November 22, 1963 in Dallas. Soon Flippo is bounced from his new job with a tony law firm, leaving behind its plush carpets and mahogany credenzas.Sylvan Dufrain, the film's photographer was shot and then burned in his Cadillac a month after the Kennedy assassination...or was he? Dufrain's wife and brother are now operating a shop that specializes in whoopie cushions and fake vomit.Lola (aka Jennifer), Jack Flippos "artistician" girlfriend is putting together a show using blowup dolls from the local porn shop. Her plans are deflated by bullets shot through the living room window of the home she shares with Flippo.Weldon Chaney is a disabled hitman saddled with the sons-in-law from hell. His efforts to make competent criminals of them are doomed to failure.Treena Watts is a bail agent with a heart of gold. She is searching for answers about the death of her brother Mineola. She is leery of Jack Flippo's help since it was Jack who sent Mineola to prison.This loopy cast of characters collide in a wickedly funny morality tale. Swanson expertly juggles the subplots that come together to a satifying ending that leaves Jack back in his linoleum-floored office with its metal desk.Watch out Kinky Friedman, Doug Swanson's breathing down your neck!

It's two in the morning and I've just finished it.

If you like like them funny with lots of action with a macho male hero and convoluted double-double cross plots this is for you. Elmore Leonard comes to mind - although the dialog is not quite up to his standards. Flippo is not quite as rounded a character as Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, and the prose is not quite as good as Sue Grafton's but this is up there in that league. Kennedy assasination buffs might love it or hate it, but you don't have to be one to enjoy it. Dense Dallas atmosphere.

Fast and funny.

This one kept me up late, laughing and turning pages. It's full of dead-on dialog, and plenty of twists, turns and surprises. I hadn't read Swanson before, but now I'm a fan.

Humorous Flippo tale

All Dallas private investigator Jack Flippo wants is a chance to return to practicing law. However, as is his norm, when the opportunity arises for the former Assistant district Attorney to return to law, he fumbles it and soon is back working as a sleuth for a bunch of losers. Frustrated with life and himself as a screw-up, Jack accepts a mangy client interested in attaining the DuFrain film. Rumor has it that the black and white film proves that a second person, THE UMBRELLA MAN, was an active player in the Kennedy assassination. To obtain the film, Jack must confront a homicidal friend who will kill to make a buck and a dying retired killer who will gladly come out of retirement to kill for a buck. Anyone who enjoys an antihero loser as their sleuth will flip over Jack Flippo, who has flopped more than Fosbury. In his fourth outing, Jack remains a dreamboat of a dud who cannot do anything right. Though the support case never quite grips the audience, the story line of UMBRELLA MAN is entertaining and fun to read due to Jack who was burned when he jumped the candlestick. Doug Swanson continues to write humorous tales that fans will fully enjoy.Harriet Klausner