Synopses & Reviews
When it comes to sex, drugs, and rocknroll, Billy Glasheens always been in the vanguard, but as the swinging 60s turn into the 70s, hes living a quiet life. He has kids now, and hes in debt to the mob, so he keeps his head down, driving a cab, running some low-level rackets. He may as well have gone straight, its so boring. Then one day everything changes. He finds a trashy paperback in his cab whose plot seems weirdly familiar. Billy himself seems to be a major character in it. He cant think who couldve written it other than Max, his old partner in crime who double-crossed him and left him in the mess hes in. Only Max is dead. He went up in flames, along with lots of cash, after a bank heist. But if Max is alive, Billy has a score to settle. And if he didnt get fried to a crisp, maybe the money didnt either. Billy has to find out, by following clues planted in that strange little book. He soon discovers hes not the only one on Maxs trail, and has to deal with enemies old and new in his strangest adventure yet.
Review
"The Big Whatever can be read as a caper novel or a lament for the 60s and the way a few slimy characters sank the peace and love . . . Theres plenty of retro appeal here, harkening back to Newton Thornburgs 1976 cult classic Cutter and Bone.” — Booklist
Synopsis
When Billy Glasheen picks up a trashy paperback he finds in his cab, its plot seems weirdly familiar. One of the main characters is based on
him . . . Only one person knows enough about his past to have written itMax, his double-crossing ex-partner in crime. But Max is dead. He famously went up in flames, along with a fortune in cash, after a bank heist. If Max is somehow still alive, Billy has a score to settle. And if he
didnt get fried to a crisp, maybe the money didnt either. To find out, Billy has to follow the clues in the strange little bookand rapidly discovers hes not the only one on Maxs trail.
The Big Whatever is the fourth instalment of Peter Doyles acclaimed series, which has grown into an epic underground history of postwar Australia, where crooks, entertainers, scammers, corrupt cops and politicians all rub shoulders, chasing their big paydays.
About the Author
Peter Doyle is the author of the crime fiction series featuring Billy Glasheen, which brilliantly explore the criminal underworld, political corruption, and the postwar explosion of sex, drugs, and rock n roll in Australia. The series, which includes
Get Rich Quick and
The Devil's Jump, has won him three Ned Kelly Awards, including one for lifetime achievement. Doyle's other books include the highly acclaimed
City of Shadows: Sydney Police Photographs 1912-48 and its successor,
Crooks Like Us.Luc Santes books include Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York, Evidence, and Kill All Your Darlings. His lucid, authoritative introductions have graced the works of such seminal authors of crime fiction as Georges Simenon, Richard Stark, and Charles Willeford. Sante is a frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books and teaches at Bard College.