The Timothy Files

Rarely have I seen an evolution in a writer's style as I have seen in Lawrence Sanders's. He eschewed his hardboiled crime fiction in novels like the Third Deadly Sin for the Timothy Series, finally ending with the feel good McNally. The Timothy Files presents the likable Timothy Cone as a corporate intelligence specialist (he hates the term "private detective"), who works for Haldering and Co. Haldering and Co. investigates potential suitors for mergers and takeovers. This benign milieu provides the backdrops for some intriguing mysteries. The Wall Street Dick, first of the three novellas in this book, opens with the death of Ed Griffon, a fellow investigator. Timothy attempts to find his killer, while taking over his unfinished work. The second, the Whirligig Action, focuses on Nu Hope, a fertility clinic, which is being scouted by an an aspiring investor. A Covey of Cousins, the third and final novella, pits Timothy's horsesense against a dysfunctional clan of criminals, the Laboris. Drug smuggling, money laundering are just the least of the challenges he encounters on his way to unraveling these riddles. With a superb cast of the bumbling Timothy, the overbearing Samantha, and the hideous and adorable Cleo, we are set for a thrill ride. Their relationship, as well as his exploits, satisfy an innate desire to see the underdog win. The writing is light-hearted, even when the crimes are not. Indeed, in Sanders world, light humor and dark crimes happily coexist. A good way to pass time, all readers should enjoy this flavor of Cone.

This book was written several years ago, but it still packs a punch. It contains three files or cases involving Timothy Cone, a private eye working for a company that investigates businesses for their clients. He is an interesting character---he lives very simply in a cheap apartment (his bed is a mattress on the floor) with a neutered tomcat named Cleo, is having an affair with his manager, which no one knows about and is a little unusual, in that the way they communicate with each other is more on the rude side than lovey-dovey side. It made for a rather entertaining story in itself and then the case files added along with it even more so. I really enjoyed the book!

When I see reader reviews lauding Sanders' work on Arch McNally, and then only half-baked reviews on his work with Timothy Cone, I wonder what the crime/detective fiction world readership is coming to.Timothy Cone is the boiled-down essence of the hard-bitten noir detective, not some rich fop who happened into investigations because his daddy is a rich lawyer. McNally? Gimme a break.The Timothy Files, and Timothy's Game, are Sanders at his best: a real character who fits his surroundings like the shabby hat the character wears, a man who likes rainy days because they fit his disposition better than happy "hellos" and birhgt sunshine, a guy who can get into the seedy underside of things and find out how the wheels are turning inside the dark recesses of people's minds. Motive, desire, love, greed, and yes, sometimes fists, knives and guns are the stock in trade of detective fiction, and Sanders explores that dark extreme most effectively in his Timothy series.But you won't see Arch down at the waterfront dive, extracting info from criminals by bracing them with implied and not-so-implied threats...he's way too busy with cocktails at the club.If you are a true fan of hard-boiled detective fiction, read and revel in Timothy's Game. If not, read anything about McNally...in between reels of Mary Poppins.

Fantastic reading experience