The Mexican Tree Duck (C.W. Sughrue) Paperback – July 12, 2016

some producer is really missing out on making this guy's books into movies. at least this and 'the last good kiss'.it surprises me how books like this fall through the cracks of popularity. c'est la...feel lucky to've stumbled across them myself.crumley is your cup of (probably spiked) tea if you enjoy tough, wise guy detective novels. if this sounds appealing you're in for a treat if you've never read any of his work before...start with the above mentioned book and work through the rest(not many, unfortunately) until you get to 'duck' for dessert.remember. usually red goes well with duck...

Not as good as some of Crumley's other novels but still better than average.C.W. "Sonny" Sughrue hasn't been active in the P.I. business for awhile, he has been quietly managing a small bar in his adopted hometown of Meriwether, Montana. That changes after he "executes" a jukebox (in a most spectacular fashion) and has to seek refuge with Solomon Rainbolt - a friend, fellow Vietnam veteran and (ugh) lawyer. One thing leads to another and soon he's off on a case that takes him cross country in the company of some of his former war buddies ("we were on our way to Aspen, a dying cop, an alcoholic mailman, and a licensed and bonded private dick working for a world-famous drug lawyer") in search of a rich man's missing wife and a witness who Sughrue has taken a shine to... in typical Crumley fashion, things are rarely as they seem, almost everyone is suspect, and the good guys and the bad guys are separated by a line as thin as the tripwire on a hidden booby trap.One of the things I enjoy about James Crumley's detective books is that the characters actually age from book to book, they aren't suspended in time waiting to be called out for the next big case, they evolve (in Sughrue's case devolve might be a better term), always in a slightly different place than where the last book left them. This novel brings C.W. Sughrue's Vietnam past front and center, like a dark cloud of smoke, pain, lost innocence and overdue retribution that drifts constantly overhead; slowly descending downward as the story unfolds.At times The Mexican Tree Duck reads more like Action/Adventure than Hard-Boiled Crime Fiction, even more so than Crumley's previous efforts, so it won't be to everyone's taste. It's not funny, in the laugh-out-loud, bust a gut sense of the word, but it DOES contain some great moments of dark humor, as well as dry witty observations on various aspects of society and the human condition. If you're not already familiar with James Crumley's work this probably isn't the one to start with... not that it's not good - it is - it's just that, though definitely written in his hard-edged, take-few-prisoners style, it's not really indicative of his previous work.This book is not recommended for sensitive, or squeamish readers. It contains sex, strong language, rampant drug use and violent imagery - often all in the same paragraph.(less)

Good book not great explicit violence and drug use (Alcohol and pot)Plot convoluted but interesting read

Not many people have heard of James Crumley and that is a shame...he writes great detective stories with wild characters and situations...fast paced and an abundance of bodies...and lots of attitude...once you read him, you'll not find anyone like him...

C.W. Sughrue is a part time private investigator and current bartender in Meriweather, Montana. When an old time acquaintance named Abnormal Norman, leader of a notorious biker gang, approached C.W. to find his mother he has not seen since early childhood he accepts the job. She has gone missing and the FBI, her husband and a gang of Mexicans are also looking for her.C.W. recruits a couple of old Viet Nam war buddies to help him out and the search stretches from Montana to New Mexico with many twists and turns in the story. This book is not so much carried by the plot itself but by the telling of the story, the many interesting characters we meet and the laugh out load humor throughout the book. This book is raw, violent, fueled by drugs and alcohol, sometimes sexy and just that damn good. I plan on reading more of the authors books and highly recommend this one if you like off the wall stories that will make you laugh. C.W. Sughrue is a great character and is featured in two or three other novels by the author.....Something to look forward to!

James Crumley is the best, read all of his books.

Some good writing but uninspired and ridiculously violent in a way that ends up being boring. Toward the end I just read to say I finished it. Not one of Crumley's best. Great title though.

Last Good Kiss was recommended to me as the last great detective novel ever written, and it delivered. It was so good that I was afraid to pick up Mexican Tree Duck, considering Crumley waited 15 years to revisit Sugrue. Someone bought it for me on my birthday, so I decided to give it a shot, and boy was it worth it. Like all sequels, it lacked the inspired touch of the first book, which was like nothing I had ever read before, but after I turned the first page I was elated to be back riding alongside CW and devouring Crumley's delicious prose.The comparisons to Hunter S Thompson are not unfounded, but I would argue (as a huge HST fan) that the good Doctor wished he could write prose this engaging. If Thompson had focused all his energy on being a novelist, his fiction might have risen to this level, but I'm glad he focused on reinventing journalism while Crumley wrote a few perfect detective novels. I'm now determined to read everything he ever wrote.

Quick service, great quality.

Amazing must have novel especially if you have read The Last Good Kiss

OK. This is another in this series. I enjoyed it and forgave a few slow patches.

Another great book by this author

Tho it's lovely discovering this neglected master of crime fiction, in Tree Duck Crumley overdoes it big time: cast of characters too long; scope of the plot too far-fetched; book length Inflated; number of women f***ed indulgent (though very instructive); drugs consumed prodigious. Biggest surprise: CW's devotion to baby Lester. But, make no mistake, this was near- genius at work.