The Adventures of Big D by Ferman J. Helmstetter 2004 Rosedog Press

This is no ordinary review. This is no ordinary book.

The reason this is no ordinary review is that I have a personal connection to the author. Okay, he's my dad.

And what is this extraordinary book he has written? Is it the scholarly tome you would expect from a man with his deep knowlege of history, politics, world events? A finely detailed family history from a man who has been doing extensive geneological research for years? A wise, witty, and warm reflection on his years as a classroom teacher?

NO WAY! What we have here....

is a wild, bawdy, funny, crazy story with a truly strong heroine, a zany plot, and language for mature audiences. This is wacky, lowbrow, humor which is at once a spoof on the modern "crime novel" ( a la Donald Westlake or Elmore Leonard) a lighthearted take on the golden years ( are there any other characters in the anals of crime literature who are obsessed with hearing aids?) and a totally off the wall look at the everyday stress we all encounter. "How the hell can anyone hear anything around here with that damn sound system always blaring, 'Special assistance needed in the plumbing area'....And why can't these people just help themselves? Don't they know how to cut pipe?" Big D asks.

Like the unassuming anti-heros of Westlake and Leonard, Big D. might not appear to be much of a threat. But this book goes much "further out" than, say, the popular "Dortmunder Novels" Our heroine is a grandmother in a sweet housedress and crocheted sweater - she just happens to not suffer fools gladly and have a tire iron in her handbag.

A quick, light read at 56 pages ( paperback) this novella is a series of vingettes which each can be read as a seperate short story. It's a guilty pleasure, like a sassy gangster film....some people may find it unsophisticated, but it's still funny.

Safely retired from the school system, the author is free to share his very different sense of humor with the world. The Adventures of Big D. is available in both paperback and in pdf format at RoseDog Books