The Ring Game

By Pete Hautman

Book Overview

Racing to save a friend's daughter from a threatening marriage, Joe Crow finds himself caught in the middle of a conflict between the would-be groom and a murderous cult as he faces cultists, carnies, and cocaine dealers. Poker-playing ex-cop Joe Crow has been dealt some rotten hands in his life, but he's been lucky enough to survive them all. But when Axel Speeter starts begging for help to save his girlfriend's daughter, Carmen, from a dangerous marriage, Crow suspects his luck is about to run out. Carmen has just gotten engaged to Hyatt Hilton, a onetime drug pusher who sells bootlegged Evian to pay his bills. When Speeter asks Crow to make sure Hilton is on the straight and narrow, it becomes evident that he is involved in something much more dangerous than fake designer water. As Hilton is dangerously close to becoming a member of a New Age cult convinced of having found the secret to immortality and not scared of killing to prove it, Crow finds himself in the middle of a dangerous fight as he struggles to bring Carmen to safety.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1476748608
• ISBN13: 9781476748603
• Release Date: April 2013
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

I miss Rich Wicky

This is my third Hautman. The previous two Joe Crow ones were 5 stars for me. This one is not not quite scary enough for a comic thriller. Drawing Dead had menacing characters to sharpen the edges. The central plot is that Hyatt Hilton is supposed to be thinking up a scheme connected with his wedding and the fraudulent Amaranthine cult, but that didn't keep me on the edge of my seat. Crow's depression is well described, and so is life as an American in Paris, and all sorts of other good stuff and comic incidents that have nothing to do with the main plot.

Hilarious and Perfect!

Funniest book I've read since Hiaasen's "Native Tongues", and that's saying a lot! Bizarre, but on target, and everything happens and works out with satisfaction more amazing than your best meal! Loved every minute of it! Wanted to find out what happened, but didn't want to go to fast, since the book would be "used up" too soon. I'm sure you know what I mean!Again, if your sense of humor doesn't include Hiaasen, and if you don't like Elmore Leonard, for example, you won't like this book. But if you do, you're going to cry when you finish, as it will again be a long time until we find another book like this.

I never knew what to expect.

I've read all Pete Hautman's books and look forward to each new one coming out. He doesn't fall into the typical formulas and devices of the genre, so the fresh take is refreshing.

Move over Hiaasan, Hauptman is on top

A very, very bright addition to the offbeat detective genre. Better than Shames, as good as Hiaason. Develops solid likable characters, great plot lines, and most importantly, a well written book. Keep them coming.