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Sean Chercover

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Big City, Bad Blood: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Sean Chercover (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.2 389 ratings

Book 1 of 2: Ray Dudgeon

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A disillusioned newspaper reporter turned private detective, Ray Dudgeon isn't trying to save the world. He just wants to do an honest job, and do it well. But when doing an honest job threatens society's most powerful and corrupt, Ray's odds for survival make for a sucker's bet. . . .

While working on a movie in Chicago, Hollywood locations manager Bob Loniski saw something he shouldn't have. Now he's a prosecution witness against a suspected member of the Chicago Outfit. Petrified, he comes to Ray for protection. Ray's mob contacts insist that they have no interest in Loniski, so he takes the bodyguard gig.

Then people start dying and everything goes to hell.

Ray's investigation leads to a stash of blackmail files involving the sex trade, Washington political corruption, and a deadly power struggle among Chicago's organized crime bosses—setting the FBI, the Chicago police, and the mob on his tail. He now holds evidence against top-ranking cops and politicians . . . but with the line between good and bad blurring, he doesn't know who he can trust.

If he does the right thing, Ray is sure to die. But if he doesn't, how can he live with himself?

From the back alleys of Chicago to the man-sions of Beverly Hills to the corridors of power in Washington, D.C., Sean Chercover's Big City, Bad Blood propels readers relentlessly forward on a bullet-fast, adrenaline-pumping ride they will not soon forget.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Real-life Chicago PI Chercover, in his impressive hard-boiled debut, introduces Ray Dudgeon, a former Chicago reporter disillusioned with the newspaper business who has turned private detective. When Bob Loniski, a locations manager for Hollywood films, hires Dudgeon for protection after running afoul of a mid-level gangster, Dudgeon finds himself in the middle of an organized crime war. A number of forces hamper Dudgeon's efforts to keep his client alive, even as his probing reveals that Loniski may have witnessed a prominent local politician keeping unsavory company and that the violence may be connected to a broader conspiracy. Like many a classic PI, Dudgeon behaves according to his own subjective code. The author's considerable storytelling and characterization gifts compare favorably with those of Loren D. Estleman and other established masters of the crime genre. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Sean Chercover is a former private detective turned novelist and screenwriter. A native of Toronto, he is the author of two award-winning novels featuring Chicago private investigator Ray Dudgeon: Big City, Bad Blood and Trigger City.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B000OI0E1S
Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins e-books; Reprint edition (October 13, 2009)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 13, 2009
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1253 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 350 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #827,530 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #3,723 in Organized Crime Thrillers
- #4,161 in International Mystery & Crime (Kindle Store)
- #5,853 in Private Investigator Mysteries (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.2 389 ratings

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Sean Chercover

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Sean Chercover is a former private detective turned novelist and screenwriter. A native of Toronto, he has held a motley assortment of jobs over the years, including video editor, scuba diver, nightclub magician, encyclopedia salesman, and truck driver. He is the author of two award-winning novels featuring Chicago private investigator Ray Dudgeon: Big City, Bad Blood and Trigger City. After living in Chicago; New Orleans; and Columbia, South Carolina, Sean has returned to Toronto where he lives with his wife and son. His fiction has won the Anthony, Shamus, CWA Dagger, Dilys, and Crimespree awards, and been shortlisted for the Edgar, Barry, Macavity, Arthur Ellis and ITW Thriller awards.

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4.2 out of 5

389 global ratings

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Mark Haynes

A great read

Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2015

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I discovered Sean Chercover when I read The Trinity Game. That book was a real page turner. I wanted more. So I got Big City, Bad Blood. This is Chercover's debut novel. But it reads like the work of a seasoned author. The characters are believable, the story is fast-paced, the action is exciting. Now it's time to move on to the follow up to this book (Trigger City), and look forward to Sean's new book this summer (The Devil's Gane). Chercover joins the ranks of Earle Stanley Gardner, Rex Stout, and Elmore Leonard, as authors whose works I have read in their entirety. Great writing, Sean. Thanks for the stories.

5 people found this helpful

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Gary Griffiths

"Stormy, Husky, Brawling, City of the Big Shoulders"

Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2007

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Kudos to author Sean Chercover and his irreverent Chicago PI Ray Dudgeon in this smart, well paced, debut. Dudgeon, a former investigation reporter for the Chicago Chronicle, takes on an assignment to guard Bob Loniski, a middle level Hollywood exec who sees something he shouldn't have while managing the logistics for film shoot on location in Chicago. In less time than it takes for the Cubs to blow any shot at a pennant, Dudgeon and Loniski are up to their kielbasas in Chicago mobsters and a rising body count. Chercover lays out a plausible plot early on, so there's not a lot of guessing, but any lack of intrigue is amply compensated by lively dialogue, a rich cast, and political scandal that is as much a part of the Windy City's legacy as Al Capone. More Mike Royko than Carl Sandburg, Chercover does a good job of capturing Chicago's gritty charm, especially in contrast to Hollywood's mind-numbing plastic pretentious vacuum.

"Big City, Bad Blood's" Dudgeon may remind you a lot of a Midwest version of Robert Crais' LA detective Elvis Cole, complete with the wise cracks and woman troubles. But far from LA's politically correct brand of bland, Dudgeon is a welcome throwback to the hardboiled heroes of Jim Thompson and Raymond Chandler, lubricating his progress with dark rum on the rocks with a pack of smokes always within easy reach. While some violent relief in the form of Cole's stoic Joe Pike is conspicuously absent, Dudgeon's childhood friend "Gravedigger" emerges late in the book, portending a larger role for the half-crazed sidekick in the inevitable sequels.

In short, a well-crafted and entertaining page-turner that deserves to put Chercover on the crime fiction map. I look forward to the next installment

26 people found this helpful

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Auntie

Whirlwind ride

Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2014

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After reading Trinity Game by this author, I decided to buy this book......glad I did. As someone who rarely misses a showing of the Maltese Falcon, I've always enjoyed detective movies and tv, and Radio Classics, but somehow never really read detective stories, bad, bad girl! Yeah, I just bought writer's next novel with detective Dudgeon as the main character. Now, it is about mobsters, corruption in government, idealism, lost love......been there done that? Nah, just a great read....a main character that you like, that you hope gets the best of some really nasty people, and a rather interesting "debate" in one of last chapters between hard-boiled Dudgeon
and a "New" generation gangster.
I try never to reveal plots when I review a book, less is more in my world, but I hope by telling what types of books I enjoy, that I will help someone else to decide whether or not this might be a book to read and enjoy.

4 people found this helpful

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Scott F

Ray Dudgeon vs. the Outfit

Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2015

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A good PI story that takes place mostly on the gritty streets of Chicago. in fact, it seems as if the city is actually one of the characters.Private investigator Ray Dudgeon is a somewhat hard-boiled, disillusioned ex-newspaperman who ends up going head-to-head with the Outfit, who control the streets and protect their territory with the many bought-and-paid-for cops and politicians in their back pockets..

The story has a lot of action, and the final confrontation is written in a vivid style that jumps off the page.

Helpful

Larry Hoffer

More than just a thinking man's PI...

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2012

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Here's a tip from me to you: if you love books with private investigators, a good amount of action, some twists and turns and great character development, go out and get yourself a copy of Big City, Bad Blood by Sean Chercover. This is a great book in one of the genres I love, and I'm excited to have found an author with some great storytelling skills.

Ray Dudgeon is a former journalist who left the newspaper world after realizing he couldn't really solve the problems of the world, and now he works as a private investigator. He is hired by a movie executive to protect a locations manager, who has run afoul of the Mafia (or in Chicago, "the Outfit") and faces a death threat because of his plan to testify in court. And as Dudgeon gets more involved, the killers set their sights on him as well. As he finds himself getting deeper and deeper into what seemed like a simple protection case, Dudgeon is also struggling with the pull of a romantic relationship and his own personal demons.

Chercover did a terrific job creating the characters in this book. Even those in "the Outfit" don't fall under your typical Mafioso stereotypes. And Dudgeon is more than just a thinking man's private investigator-- he's principled (although not too much so), stubborn and a little too idealistic for his own good. You may be able to see some of the twists coming, but that didn't impact my enjoyment of the book. I raced through the entire thing in about a day.

One person found this helpful

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Peter

Not

Reviewed in Germany on December 10, 2014

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bad I hope there are more to come and I look forward to it.That should be enough about it I think

JimG66

A new name, a great start.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 3, 2010

Verified Purchase

I learned about Sean Chercover from the 'Killer Year' anthology of short stories in the crime fiction genre, edited by Lee Child, one of my favourite authors. He recommended Chercover as a bright new talent, and he was so right - this author is going to go far. From the opening paragraphs to the end, the story has the ring of authenticity, and the writing style is assured and confident. Highly recommended! I went on to read 'Trigger City', his second book, which features the same characters in a different follow-up scenario, and enjoyed this too. Sean Chercover joins Lee Child and Michael Connelly on my personal favourites list.

3 people found this helpful

McDroll

Discover this book!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 11, 2010

Verified Purchase

There are so many detective books around. Some are good and some are pretty boring. Big City Bad Blood is however one that you must read from this exciting writer. The descriptions of Chicago are very accurate, the action is non-stop and the 'hero' is suitably flawed. The difference is that Chercover makes you care for this guy. He's very believable and you want to know more. Can't wait to read the next in the series. And, BTW, watch out for chapter 14....ouch!

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Big City, Bad Blood: A Novel Kindle Edition

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

About the Author

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About the author

Sean Chercover

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