Cons, Scams & Grifts

Joe Gores does a tremendous job in "Cons, Scams & Grifts" of keeping the novel under control, a highly commendable achievement considering that the book has dozens of characters who play significant roles in the plot, as well as probably over a dozen separate storylines, most of which are interrelated in some way. The key storylines in the novel that all the others are spun off from are the repossession of 27 classic cars from a dealership who does everything it can to hide them, a Gypsy woman's apparent murder of her husband in Los Angeles, and the battle between an Italian zoo curator and a California millionaire for a rare orangutan I understand that this novel is a sequel of sorts to "32 Cadillac's", which I've never read, using many of the same characters. To Gores' credit, he gives you enough backhistory so that those of us who haven't read "32 Cadillac's" are able to read "Cons, Scams & Grifts" without feeling lost. I would say about 90-95% of the time Gores was successful in keeping all of the various characters and storylines clear, and there really was only a handful of times when the various intersecting plots and characters got a bit fuzzy.One of the strongest aspects of "Cons, Scams & Grifts" is the fact that Gores really was a private detective and repo man. Unlike many detective novels that pretty much require that you leave you brain and any sense of logic or reality at the door in order to enjoy them, the believability quotient seemed to me to be much higher in this novel than in similar books. I also enjoyed the obviously well researched insight into modern gypsy culture, which I really didn't know anything about previously. Half the fun of the book for me was reading a scene that I figured was being played straight, and then realizing later I had been conned myself (particularly the scenes with the overeager jewelery salesman whose free-spending customer and rare gem supplier are not exactly who they seem to be). Also, having grown up in the San Francisco Bay Area it was fun to see many familiar locations appear in the novel.

A roller coaster of a novel, dealing with a passel of repo men and women and a whole tribe of gypsies. A hilarious story of magnificent scams and cons. An in depth study on the repossession of cars for a bank that holds the defaulted loans. Of course, the two intertwine and the results are beautiful.Unfortunately, the author chose to write in very short chapters with constantly changing scenery. Add to that the ever changing names, and the result can become rather confusing.

This book was a little difficult to read because of all the different stories going on at once, but if you can get past that and I did, it is a fun read. This is the latest in Joe Gores Series with the DKA Repossessors. I had not read the previous books by Mr. Gores but will probably go back and start from the beginning. I was not lost in this book because I didn't read the rest of the series though. Each of the agents from the Agency have a story as well as the main murder plot. It is definitely a good guy, bad guy book. It also portrays the Gypsy way of life pretty well. The characters definitely come to life for you.

The latest in Gores's DKA series combines the Gypsy characters from 32 Cadillacs with the homicide cops Rosenkrantz & Guildenstern from Contract Null and Void, plus a delightful Dutch Rom zoologist and an orangutan named Freddie. Larry Ballard finds himself sweatily involved with the Japanese exchange student he lusted over in the last book and Trin Morales has to find his courage again after having been beaten to a pulp by the brother of one of his conquests. Yana, the beautiful (and nearly shape-changing) Gypsy is wanted for murder and the king of the Muchwaya tribe decides to hire Daniel Kearny to get her out of it; if Daniel Kearny Associates could successfully repo all those cars from Staley Zlachi and his people, he knows they're good! And then there are the seven outstanding classic cars from the dealer raid that opens the book: You know the guys are going to get them all, but how? Some of the plot points, especially those involving the ape, threw me a little -- and Gores obviously has a thing for Gypsy crime syndicates -- but it's still a good yarn. I've said it before -- any of the DKA series would make a terrific film (and I would cast Bob Hoskins as Kearny).

In Southern California, Ephrem Poteet inside a bear costume performs a dance routine while also pickpocketing his audience. However, someone must have hated his act because the gypsy performer is murdered. The police and the Muchwaya Nation of Gypsies believe that the victim's wife Yana killed him after the ugly incident in San Francisco, but she seems to have vanished. In San Francisco, the Dan Kearney Associates (DKA) are very busy in a street war with the owners of cars that need repossessing. In spite of the workload, the employer of this sleaze group Dan Kearney agrees to help the Muchwaya Nation locate Yana. Treating her like a classic car, DKA goes after her, but she proves much more slippery than 32 CADILLACS ever did. The latest DKA tale is an amusing romp that will delight fans of the comic caper sub-genre. The story line is all over the place, but Joe Gores has it under maniacal control so that the audience has quite a joy ride accompanying the DKA operatives. If you are going to San Francisco, no one provides a wilder tour than Joe Gores, who is at his most amusing and delightfully weird best with CONS, SCAMS, & GRIFTS. Just watch your wallet and make that car payment first.Harriet Klausner