IF A GYM BAG OF CASH FELL INTO YOUR HANDS, WHAT WOULD YOU DO TO KEEP IT? The FIRST offbeat mystery in the TUBBY DUBONNET series by Anthony- and Edgar-nominated author Tony DunbarA simple man with a refined palate, maverick New Orleans lawyer Tubby Dubonnet has a penchant for fishing, Old Fashioneds, off-track betting, and fighting evil while passing a good time. His clients are all renegades from … time.
His clients are all renegades from the asylum (aka Orleans Parish), including a transvestite entertainer, a buxom deadbeat blonde, a doctor who refers his own patients to a malpractice lawyer, and a Mardi Gras reveler who drives a float shaped like a giant crawfish pot. He also has his hands full with an ex-wife and three teenage daughters, who are experts in the art of wrapping Tubby around their little fingers. And somehow, between work and family, Tubby finds time to sample the highs and lows of idiosyncratic Crescent City cuisine, from trout meuniere amandine and French roast coffee with chicory to shrimp po-boys and homemade pecan pralines.
Tubby’s new client is Darryl Alvarez, the manager of a local nightclub who’s been caught unloading marijuana from a shrimp boat. At their first meeting, Darryl entrusts Tubby with an ordinary-looking blue gym bag. But after Darryl’s unfortunate demise, Tubby realizes he must tighten his grasp on the gym bag — and its million-dollar contents.
Tubby can’t just give up the cash. But if he gets caught, he’ll be in jail. And if the wrong people catch him, he’ll wish he was.
Excerpt:
The pain that said he was drinking too much started creeping up behind Tubby’s ears. Raisin Partlow, his drinking buddy, had given up trying to make conversation and was puffing on a cigarette in the exaggerated way that irregular smokers do. The dusty, barely lit tavern was thinning out, leaving just a few whiskered pool players chalking up a last game and a pair of busty girls sharing confidences with the even heftier dame behind the bar.
“Never screw a client and never lie to the judge,” Tubby said abruptly.
It took Raisin a second to break through to the surface.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“That’s all of the so-called legal ethics that make sense to me. The rest of it is just so many little rules you can twist around to suit whatever you want to do.”
“Well, you know, Tubby, I lied to a judge just last week.” Raisin expelled a wobbly smoke ring and smiled in satisfaction. “Old ‘Fuzzy’ Bear appointed me to represent the fool who shot a fourteen-year-old girl, after he raped her and her mother. He asks me, ‘Mr. Partlow, can you put aside your personal feelings and represent this man to the best of your goddamn abilities?’”
The bartender broke off her conversation to look in their direction. Tubby raised his fingers an inch off the scarred oak surface, so cool to the touch, and shook his head, no. The familiar pain of too much whiskey and too much Coca-Cola had already spread over to the top of his skull.
“What did you tell him?”
“I told him, ‘Yes, Your Honor. The man deserves his day in court.’ I should have told him, ‘Fuck no, Judge. I hate this guy. Take him away where I don’t have to look at him. I’ll be embarrassed to admit to my godchildren that I was even in the same room with the guy.’ But I knew that was the wrong answer to the question.”
“You should have told him the truth,” Tubby said.
“Like what?”
“You should have said, ‘Heck no, Judge. But I’ll do a better job than anybody else you’re likely to get.”
Raisin shrugged and waved at the bartender. Tubby slid off his stool and grabbed the bar for support.
“I’m out of here,” he said.
Raisin looked concerned about being left alone.
“Let me buy you one more,” he said.
Tags: Legal Thrillers, Crime Thrillers, Legal Suspense, Lawyer Mysteries, Crime Fiction, Mystery Series, Heist Thrillers, Organized Crime, Courtroom Thrillers, Courtroom Drama, Lawyer Novels, Legal Fictimore
Crooked Man is the first book in the Tubby Dubonnet series and I throughly enjoyed it. Wonderful characters, and a very nice plot with some twists. Tubby Dubonnet is a New Orleans attorney and I think it’s fair to say he has a stable of pretty questionable clients. One of his clients hands Tubby a bag for safe keeping. The client ends up dead and …
Another great new Orleans mystery series. Tubby is a likable character who manages to solve mysteries while trying to keep his law practice afloat. Sometimes it causes him to be shot at, beat up and almost killed, but you still root for him.
I really like this author.
I can’t get enough of this series that captures the heart and soul of the Big Easy. The world of Tubby Dubonnet is the New Orleans I’ve come to love over the years. A fun, entertaining read.
New Orleans Tubby Dubonnet is one of my favorite character. Charming, witty, and a man who knows his way around an investigation. I literally read this in two days.
Tony is also vuneravble.. especially when a client asks him to keep a gym bag in his safe. After a fatal encounter, Tony looks into and is inticed by the bag of money , creating a …
Loved it recommending all author’s books
Noir at it’s best! Throwback to stories of intrigue and espionage. Likeable unintentional hero finds himself in the thick of it and wins the day. I love Tubby, and can’t wait to see what he gets himself mixed up in next.
Have read all books.
All of Tony Dunbars books, that I have read, which are quite few, have been great reads. Tubby is a great character, as are all the supporting cast. I highly recommend this, and all of Dunbars books.
Love Tony Dunbar’s books! They never fail to be witty and realistic page-turners, always with a new twist to the plot. Hard yo put down!
Nice relaxing read. Good characters.
Everyone who has at least a small place in their heart for New Orleans, a “sine qua non” American experience would be charmed reading Tony Dunbar’s mysteries of Tubby Dubonnet. Tubby, is a New Orleans lawyer who enjoys what the city offers on the surface of day-to-day life and expertly navigates in the seedy, corrupt and dangerous undercurrents, …
I’ve read a few in the Tubby Dubonnet series and have enjoyed them all. This is the most recent and it doesn’t disappoint. Very likeable characters!
Fun to read any of his Dunbar’s books.
Tubby is a character!! You never know what he will get into next. Tony Dunbar is one of my favorite authors!
Like the characters in this series.
I found this story mundane.
Great read that makes you feel New Orleans in your soul. This is a great series.
Love all of Tony Dunbars’ books
Love Tubby Dubonnet