It delivers action, mystery, and historical authenticity. However, I never believed the novel really took off in terms of story. ( )

A very well written book about ganster's in 1934- The story goes back and forth from present day with Bobby Lee Swagger and Bobby Lee's grandfather Charles. Charles, a man hunter from Arkansas is asked to join the the Division, the early days of the FBI. Charles tracks down Public Enemy Number 1 from John Dillinger, Pretty Boy Floyd and Lester Gillis, AKA Pretty Boy Floyd. There's also a strong box Charles buried by that Bob Lee is anxious to see what is inside. ( )

DNF

over-the-top gun worship ( )

Years ago, I was a huge fan of the author's "Bob Lee Swagger" series of books. I can remember my father-in-law and I devouring them, and having spirited discussions about them. Then, along about the time Hunter began the "Earl Swagger" series, the author's plot lines devolved, and his verbiage became unbearable. So many obscure descriptions and dialogue that, rather than adding to the story, instead overwhelmed them. So I took a break from the author.
Enter his latest novel, "G-Man". I wanted to like it. I really tried. I made it halfway through the book, before becoming so exasperated that I had to quit. It had the thinnest of plot, based around crazy, imaginary encounters of an entire whos-who of 1930's era gangsters, and the shoehorning in of the main character. And, where I thought Hunter had gone overboard in his verbiage in the past, he takes it to an entirely different level here. So much unnecessary language! What possible reason is there to spend a page detailing a minor character's choice of soft drinks? Or the color of a woman's dress? It just went on and on. At the end, I thought that perhaps it was just me, that my tastes had changed. So I read a bit to my wife. She looked at me like I was insane. "Why would you and my father read such drivel?" she asked. "It sounds like someone trying to pad a school paper with words to meet the teacher's minimum standard".
At that point, I had to realize. Hunter has jumped the shark. He has taken a wonderful character in Bob Lee Swagger, and ruined it. That's it for me. No more Stephen Hunter! ( )

The world of the 1930s gangsters, of Elliot Ness and the Untouchables, of the automatic weapons that both sides used (and which were not outlawed until later in the decade), of the federal investigators and G-men that hunted the Dillingers and Bonnie and Clydes, et al, has a considerable aura of romance and adventure to it. The outlaw and the lawman hunting him has become a familiar film trope going all the way back to Edward G Robinson and James Cagney. This very enjoyable novel is a great piece of historical fiction, and plays on that never-ending interest. The character of Charles Swagger is the mysterious and hidden hero, the upright Sheriff whose forthrightness and stolid righteousness for the cause of Justice makes him larger-than-life at the same time that his place in history has been mysteriously erased. If you're at all an aficionado or lover of that shoot-em-up era, or if you like a good story about a good man trying to catch the bad guys, Stephen Hunter has added a great addition to this genre, and you will greatly enjoy this book. Hunter has managed to give us a great hero, a rollicking story, a suspenseful long chase, and some great realistic and true-to-history crime scenes as well. And if you like guns at all, this is the book for you.

The story starts out in the present, when land developers find a strongbox on Bob Swagger's land that holds a thousand-dollar bill and a Government issue handgun, as well as an unidentified piece of hardware. The mystery of why Bob's grandfather, Sheriff Charles Swagger, would have these items, and why he might have hidden them to begin with, as well as the mystery of what appears to be an "X marks the spot" map in an unknown location, starts Bob on a search to uncover his grandfather's past and possible relationship with what later became known as the FBI, but at the time was known as "The Division," the bureau responsible for hunting down the gangsters known as "public enemies" such as John Dillinger and "Baby Face Nelson," aka Lester Gillis.

In an effort to stop these thugs, the Division apparently enrolled the help of Bob's grandfather, at the time a small-town sheriff who had seen his share of action and heroism in WWI. Charles becomes a great asset to the Division because of his expertise at shooting, his level-headedness, and his deep desire for justice.

The story alternates between the past and the present, the latter of which also has its share of suspense and drama, as Bob's search for the truth and to uncover the past attracts some unwanted notice from the underworld, who have a stake in what Bob may uncover. The pacing is superb here, with the parallel hunts gaining momentum simultaneously in their different time periods: as the historical story unfolds more quickly towards the end, so does Bob's story come to a head.

This is a long book, but I think wonderfully structured. Like Charles himself, the stories start out slow and deliberate, then slowly gain traction and momentum and finally come to a head We're given some background, some exposition, and a lot of information about guns. Boy, if you're an old gun buff, this is the book for you. There is a lot of detail of old guns, how they were cared for, why they were made, the materials used to store them -- I mean, everything. I suppose that a huge part of the mythos of this time period centered on them, especially the automatic rat-a-tat weapons of story and film, and Hunter really gives these guns their due.

This was my first "G-Man" book, and I was very pleasantly surprised that I lost nothing on coming in cold. So many other book series presume foreknowledge on the reader's part, and I'm happy to say, this is a stand-alone book.

Quiet and conflicted, Charles Swagger is a great hero. He still has nightmares from the Great War, but doesn't complain about them. He knows right from wrong, and does his best to act accordingly. He's smart as a pistol and uses those smarts to outwit and outshoot the gangsters. His demons could persuade anyone to quit, but he takes them in stride, quietly, like a hero should, and doesn't let them beat him down. He knows how to handle a gun, and when to use it. In short, Charles is the great hero of his time. Why his name has been stricken from the history books is the great mystery of the story, and keeps the reader interested.

The chapters that tell the story from the gangsters' points of view are equally enthralling. The true story of these public enemies is not their daring plans of mayhem and destruction, but in how they saw the world, their arrogance and narcissism, their view of themselves as the righteous ones and everyone else as the enemies, and also, the women in their lives and why they were so willing to give themselves away to these monsters.

I found the description and dialogue of the '30s accurate -- at least, it rang true. The author has clearly done his homework on historically accurate details of places, clothing, cars, culture. etc.

All in all this is a fast-paced read and great historical fiction.

Thank you to the author and publisher for a review copy. ( )