The Crime Czar - A Tubby Dubonnet Mystery

THE CRIME CZAR Tony Dunbar Dell Books $5.99 230 pp.They put Tubby Dubonnet in a paperback novel.Actually, this New Orleans lawyer resided awkwardly within the high-rent confines of a hard-cover series. He spends more time in a bar than at the bar in most of his books, and he handles clients with names like Monster the Mudbug. Communing with low-lifes makes his move to low-rent reading more than reasonable.As long as he keeps eating in New Orleans restaurants, that is; Dubonnet is always a good bet for a good bite. Sure enough, Tubby takes us to four N'Awlins eateries, and mentions five others. Author Dunbar makes good eating come to life with good writing, treating us to lemon curd on a maple walnut scone at the Daily Grind on Magazine Street, and shrimp scampi at Uglesich's "unpretentious eatery" just past the Clio housing project.The plot? (You expect a story at these prices?)Well, Tubby believes that a lawyer has to eat, but he doesn't get excited about work-unless he senses injustice. This time he takes after a supposed "crime czar," behind the death of his best drinking buddy. In pursuit of this theory, he runs a scam on the parish sheriff, runs over a hit man, and runs away from a murder scene with a possible suspect.Needless to say the plot line is thinner than the fishing line Tubby tosses out at the end of the book, after he discovers a crime "committee," not a crime "czar." Of course, he has a videotape back home he hasn't looked at yet....Hmmm-wonder where we will eat while tracking down THE CRIME COMMITTEE?

During last year's Mardi Gras, attorney Tubby Dubonet was involved in an incident that included his best friend, Dan, being shot. This experience has left the lawyer filled with guilt as the bullet was intended for him. Though the gun did not kill Dan, a subsequent infection led to his final demise. Dan's final words to Tubby were "He's from the old neighborhood". Tubby figures that Dan was telling him that he knew his assailant. Since the shooting, Tubby has been in a state of semi-retirement as he drinks himself to death. This changes for Tubby when he accepts an offer to co-chair the reelection campaign of a judge. He also decides to find the person who killed his buddy and ultimately who is the kingpin controlling criminal activity in New Orleans. His obsession leads Tubby to the underbelly of the city, a place where he meets crooked politicians and graft seeking law enforcement officials, who will have no compulsion to reduce the Big Easy's legal population by one. The uniqueness and darkness of New Orleans is brought to stunning Technicolor in Tony Dunbar's latest Tubby Dubonet mystery, THE CRIME CZAR. The audience obtains a taste of the city's ambience, allowing them to understand that it's one of the most unique locales in the world. However, the lovable, bewildering, but honorable Tubby remains the focal point of this and the previous novels. Readers will admire his tenacity and reflect on his actions that make him a real hero. This is a great entry in what is a stupendous series.Harriet Klausner