Tony Dunbar

One of my favorite series because of the New Orleans settings, so lovingly depicted by an author who knows them very well. Here are my individual reviews:

Crooked Man (*** stars) - Solidly entertaining from start to finish, with a great New Orleans atmosphere, this book nevertheless suffers from a lack of tight plotting. The protagonist, lawyer Tubby Dubonnet, also does some pretty dumb things that, in a cynical reader's eye, might be considered mechanisms to just keep the story going along. All this is way too critical, however, because Dunbar's book is a quick, fun read and it makes you want to come back for more. The depictions of the band of people, some native, some not, who congregate in New Orleans are well done. The ending is a little too neat, but it is pretty satisfying. It will be interesting to see how many of these characters appear in the later books in the series.

City of Beads (**** stars) - The second entry in the Tubby Dubonnet series is just as flavorful and more entertaining than the first. Dubonnet is still rather lacking in the ethics department; in this case he ends up in possession of a large amount of money he shouldn't have. But the various plots, while still somewhat implausible and improbably connected, are better worked out than in the first book. It starts with the murder of an oil man (actually, peanut oil) and involves an environmental group, which includes one of Tubby's daughters, a casino, its shady boss, and a lady who frankly seems much too fond of Tubby to believe. Characterization is a real strength of this author, and combined with the fond depiction of the city of New Orleans, it makes for a very enjoyable read. At Kindle prices, don't even think of resisting!

Trick Question (**** stars) - The usual cast of recurring characters is back in this third entry in the series, and like the previous one, it is solidly entertaining. (So much so that I read the two back-to-back.) An improbable murder at a medical research facility is at the heart of this one, combined with the usual variety of subplots. Once again, the characters make this a good read. This time, we're introduced to Denise DiMaggio, a female boxer. The subplot involving Tubby's relationship with his ex-wife and daughters is also well done. I'll definitely continue reading this series. Dunbar writes well (better than he plots) and the New Orleans atmosphere is very well done.… (meer)