Bad Guys by Linwood Barclay

First Line: "So, what are you asking me?" Harley said.

To the profound relief of Zack Walker's family, they have moved out of the suburbs and back to the city. Not only that, but Zack is now working as a features writer for the city newspaper. No longer will he be able to hatch his paranoid protection plots from the comfort of his own home. But is that really going to stop him from driving his wife and children nuts?

Zack is researching his first feature article and finds himself riding along on stakeouts with a private detective. Someone is going around burglarizing high-end men's clothing stores. When Walker stumbles into a real-life hit-and-run crime scene, he finds himself heading straight for a confrontation with syndicate boss Barbie Bullock, a man known for his ruthlessness and his doll collection.

You'd think that Zack would have more than enough on his plate with that feature assignment, but wait-- there's more! His college student daughter has a strange boy following her around. His son's not acting right either. What's more important to a paranoid father-- a ruthless mob boss who's after him, or his two kids acting strangely? You know as well as I do-- Zack tries to do it all because he's Super Dad!

Zack Walker is the kind of guy who would undoubtedly drive me insane in real life. He spends way too much of his time "borrowing trouble." Fortunately I don't know anyone like him; therefore, I can laugh my way through his escapades in Linwood Barclay's wonderful books. There is indeed plenty of laugh-out-loud humor in Bad Guys, as there was in the first book in the series, Bad Move.

One of the things that makes us laugh the most when reading about Zack is that most of his problems are caused by his own paranoia. He does B to prevent A, which creates C. C collides with A, making all Hades break loose in D, with no one in Zack's family talking to him or even wanting to look at him. If he'd just left well enough alone... but no, he can't, and he should just save time and build himself a dog house out in the backyard, complete with heating, air conditioning, TV... the works. He'll be spending a lot of time there. He just can't help himself. If he weren't so good-hearted and well-intentioned, we wouldn't love him so much as we shake our heads and laugh.

Another fun thing to do is to pay attention to the things or the people Zack is introduced to and try to figure out how they're going to blend into the story a few chapters down the road. Because they will. Barclay has a very subtle way of shining a little spotlight on something that lets you know you need to pay attention. Whether it's a route to avoid paying parking fees, or a son who actually seems to like some creepy guy following his sister around, readers not only need to laugh when reading a Zack Walker book, they need to pay attention and to think ahead. Just think of yourselves as Sherlock Holmes to Zack's Dr. Watson.

Now that I've laughed (and gasped) my way through Bad Guys (because Barclay knows how to write first-rate action scenes that scare the pudding out of us), I have to get my hands on the third book in the series, Lone Wolf. Linwood Barclay's Zack Walker books should not be missed!
 

Bad Guys by Linwood Barclay

ISBN: 9780553587050

Bantam Books © 2006

Mass Market Paperback, 448 pages

Humorous Mystery, #2 Zack Walker mystery

Rating: A

Source: Paperback Swap


 

Bad Move by Linwood Barclay

First Line: For years, I envied my friend Jeff Conklin, who, at the age of eleven, found a dead guy.

Zack Walker is a worrier. He's also a bit of a control freak and lectures his family about being safety conscious. Just ask his wife Sarah and his two kids Paul and Angie about the lessons he's tried to teach them about leaving keys dangling from the lock in the front door or dumping their backpacks at the top of the stairs. Zack's even moved his family out to the suburbs because everyone knows the burbs are safer.

Being a science fiction writer, Zack likes to take walks along the nearby creek whenever he's suffering from a bit of writer's block, but the day he discovers a dead body in the creek marks the day his whole world starts turning upside down. He knows the victim-- and he even knows who might have wanted the man dead. With a killer roaming loose, Zack's imagination zooms off at warp nine, and when another local person is murdered, his paranoia implicates him in the crime. The only thing he can think to do in order to protect his family is to track down the killer himself. Heaven help them all.

How good is Bad Move? I took it out to the pool and didn't stop reading-- and laughing-- until I'd finished it. Zack Walker may be a self-professed jerk, but he's an endearing one. All he wants to do is keep his family safe. He thinks the exact same things I think-- when I see a woman walk off leaving her open purse in her shopping cart at the grocery store for example-- but he has the bravery (or perhaps stupidity) to follow through on those thoughts. Naturally every well-intentioned thing he does gets him in so much hot water he may as well rent space in the local hospital's burn unit.

Every character in the cast is a gem-- from his long-suffering (and loving) wife and kids to Housecoat Woman who constantly hoses down her driveway. Part of the charm of this book is watching Zack learn that the location of his new home is every bit as strange as the city-- even if you can't get good Chinese takeout in the burbs.

Sometimes a book is ruined when you read it and know what's going to happen every time. Although I did know what was going to happen in many instances, what kept me thoroughly engaged was seeing how Zack would react to each situation. Second guessing him wasn't always a sure thing.

If you're in the mood for something light and hilarious, by all means get your hands on a copy of Bad Move. I've already ordered Bad Guys, the second book in this series because I've fallen head over heels for Zack the lovable jerk.

Bad Move by Linwood Barclay

ISBN: 9780553587043

Bantam Books © 2005

Mass Market Paperback, 416 pages

Amateur Sleuth, Humorous Mystery, #1 Zack Walker mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Paperback Swap