If I’d read this book first, I wouldn’t have continued with the series. But some of the later books are good, so I’ll give it another try. Just not right away. ( )

I liked Tubby Dubonnet and I shall read more about him. At first I could not see the connection between the characters but eventually it all came together. A lighthearted read despite the dead bodies. ( )

New Orleans lawyer Tubby Dubonnet always does right by his client. The only legal ethic rules that make sense to him are never screw a client, or lie to a judge. All other rules of the legal profession he believes can be twisted around to fit whatever be whatever you want to do.
Daryl Alvarez, owner of Champs, a local nightclub has been caught with marijuana worth $3 million dollars. Tubby helps him get bail and is now advising him on the possible outcome of the case against him. Daryl asks Tubby to keep a blue duffle bag for him. Before Daryl can return for the duffle he is murdered.
Tubby immediately opens the duffle, the almost million dollars it holds will change his life.
The story starts slow, I was halfway through the book before I reached the mystery.
( )

By the book’s title you would expect to read a story about a criminal, a crooked man. Maybe the identity of the crooked man would be a mystery and that would be the fun of the book, finding out who is the crooked man. But the reader can’t really do that because there are too many crooked men, and a few slightly bent women. I really looked to find one character that could be described as completely innocent. Just when I thought Tubby’s secretary, Cherrylynn, was an innocent, Dunbar hinted at a several-year-long party prior to her employment with Tubby.

The names for characters in this novel are sometimes hard to take seriously. We have Tubby, central character and protagonist, who might be tubby. It is nowhere stated that he is fat but the fact that every incident he is central to is either preceded or followed by a detailed description of what he is eating. He might be tubby. Tubby is a lawyer and the reader will have to read the novel in a search for the answer to whether he is the crooked man. Several of his actions make him suspect; he likes to take his fees in cash.

Tubby’s partner in the two-person law firm is Reggie Turntide. What kind of portent does that name have? There is client Jynx Margolis, notable mostly for displayed cleavage. Monster Mudbug, another client, drives the streets of New Orleans in a giant bowl of soup which he refuses to buy license plates for. Another client is plastic surgeon Dr. Feingold who is being sued by Sandy. Sandy was not pleased with a botched operation and asked the doctor to recommend a good lawyer so that Sandy could sue the doctor. Dr. Feingold recommended his good friend, Tubby. Tubby accepts the case and lets his friend, the doctor, know that he, Tubby will win the case and the Dr. will pay a lot. Tubby also sometimes refers to Sandy as “he” and sometimes as “she” dependent on the situation when the two meet.

There is humor throughout the book, much of it related to some of the absurd character names. Other humor is more cynical. This is a pleasant fast read, much like watching a one-hour favorite series soap opera. There is an element of unrealism that caused me to give it only three (Amazon) stars. Tubby just should not be so good at beating up people. Some of his opponents are professional hit men. Tubby also has a very cavalier attitude towards murder. It comes across as just another day at the office. There are some huge moral dilemmas in the plot that are glossed over.

This is one of those books that I would take on a long cross country bus trip. It would fill time and I would not care if I forgot it somewhere. ( )

58 of 75 for 2015. Tony Dunbar is a New Orleans lawyer who has written a very funny series of mysteries concerning the life of New Orleans lawyer Tubby Dubonnet. Crooked Man is the first of the series, though not the first book I read. It stands well on its own, while introducing many characters we'll meet in later additions to the series. Dunbar knows New Orleans well, and peoples his books with fascinating characters you'd be likely (if unfortunate in some cases) to meet on the streets of the Big Easy. Whether in the French Quarter, the Garden District, or down in the bayous, this reader enjoyed the ride as Tubby travels the area to get to the bottom of the mystery left in his locker by a now deceased client. Great fun! ( )