No Special Hurry (Penguin Crime Fiction) - Softcover

Colbert, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140123997 ISBN 13: 9780140123999

Publisher: Penguin Books, 1989

Synopsis

Spying on his own family to earn his freedom from jail, Ton Curbel learns a terrible truth about those who raised him, and only by delving more deeply can he save them

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

With his second novel, Colbert fulfills the promise of his praised debut in Profit and Sheen. This impeccably written mystery is enhanced by the ambience of New Orleans, exotic characters and the strange experiences affecting the protagonist Tony Curbel. Formerly Antonio Curbelo from Honduras, Curbel's effective first-person narration intensifies the injustice of his imprisonment on false charges. Curbel is freed when a mocking, outre figure known only as Skinny arrives with orders that make him an undercover agent (a euphemism for informant) investigating his own family. Skinny declares that Tony's father and uncle operate a scam that brings illegal aliens from Central America and steers them into jobs in slavery-like conditions. Tony, as their accountant, has been unwittingly laundering the profits from the dirty business. When Tony meets Stacey Veldran, a longtime Curbelo employee, he feels more like a staked goat than Skinny's secret ally, escaping narrowly from repeated attacks on his life. The story unfolds gradually while Tony learns secrets about his heritage and the imminent danger to his father, whom Tony resolves to save, despite the deep gulf between them. Readers will be stunned by the power of this provocative novel.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Low dealings and violent acts abound in this crisp thriller about the murky underside of New Orleans. 'You know what a shit your father is. . . . He's the one who put you in jail." Thus Skinny, the ex-addict undercover cop, introduces himself to Tony Curbel. Curbel has gone to jail rather than implicate his family in drug smuggling; now he has second thoughts about the bargain he has made. The only way out is to spy on his father and uncle, who are suspected of "buying" children in Central America and setting them up in menial jobs here in return for wages. Tony's trust in his family evaporates as he learns of their dealings. This novel, ending on a curiously unresolved note, nevertheless projects an intensity of atmosphere that sweeps the reader along. David Keymer, SUNY Coll. of Technology, Utica
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0140123997
• ISBN 13: 9780140123999
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224