Extreme Odds: An Adam McCleet Mystery

Buddy Faverman, affectionately dubbed "The Putz" by his father Max, sells real estate in Oregon. However, this time Buddy insists he has purchased a country, Bob, in Eastern Oregon near the Idaho line. Former marine Adam McCleet wonders if his former school mate (two years his junior) has finally gone over the Cascades even as he drives Max to the "border" gate of Bob. The duo is greeted by a security officer carrying an AK-47 and insisting that the two undesirables leave the area immediately. Before Adam can blink, he is arrested as a spy because it becomes known that he was a former Portland cop and supposedly worked on VP Quayle's security team (a lie that Adam had once fostered). Soon, Adam learns what Bob is al about. Buddy and his partners, local Native Americans, have seceded from the union in order to create a gambling oasis. However, when the Bank of Buddy is robbed, Adam is hired to solve the case of who would rob buddy bucks. EXTREME ODDS, the fifth entry in the McCleet mystery series, tries to be a weird, Python like humorous tale. At times, this works extremely well, leaving readers laughing and upbeat over the characters' shenangians. However, just as often, the jocular efforts require Major Bowels and his hook to yank the jokester off the page. Conceptually, the novel is well designed and has an ironic twisting story line. However, the secondary characters are not fully developed, leaving their Youngman-like pace of a joke a line falling flat. Overall, this remains a unique, enjoyable series, but Rick Hanson's current effort drips with too much cream pie in the face.Harriet Klausner