The Setup Man by T.T. Monday

The Setup Man
by T.T. Monday
Pages: 272
Date: December 2 2014
Publisher: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
Series: Johnny Adcock (1st in series)

Review
Rating: 3.0 out of 5.0
Read: May 22 to 23 2016

This is my first book by this author that I have read, and the first book in a series.

This book probably would have never crossed my path if I hadn't done something I hadn't done in probably years (though I used to love to do this activity) - visit an actual bookstore. The second book in the series was sitting there in the 'new stuff' part of the Mystery section and it looked neat and stuff. Looked it over, went to see if they had the prior book - looked that over and . . . here I am, two days later, book read.

I've read a number of books involving sports and mystery. And athletes who solve crimes on the side. The only ones that I ever really seem to like are the ones where there's something extra, like when there is also historical fiction, like in Troy Soos Mickey Rawlings series. Especially as, in the Rawlings series and other historical fiction, the ball players make peanuts, so side jobs are not hobbies, but necessary.

Here? The story is set in modern contemporary times, and the main character makes a million five. He has a kid and an ex, but the ex made a ton of money off her second husband so she’s neither dying for support, nor begging for it. So for him to work as a private detective, on the side, is entirely because he’s bored and wants something to fill the time. No, literally, he says that at some point.

This man here, the main character, is all-around a joke. A guy who set out to try to get a job as a bull-pen pitcher so that he could work 10 minutes a day for millions of dollars. And as a detective he is something . . . well, I already said joke, but yes, that. During the course of reading this book, I happened to catch a film, ‘The Nice Guys’, about a ‘punisher’ (a guy who gets paid to go around giving out messages, and/or beating people up) and a ‘private detective’ working a case in the 1970s. Johnny Adcock, the main character in the book, reminds me a lot of the guy in the film, the detective one, but not in a good way. At one point in the film, the guy’s daughter notes that he is the worst detective ever. He’s lazy, drinks too much, and can’t detect which end of a paper bag has the opening in it. Then he shows a few flashes of brilliance. Well, Adcock is somewhat similar. Bouncing around like a moron, with a couple of bursts of brilliance.

And it is not lost on me that this almost over the hill bullpen pitcher had been talking about what he planned to do in retirement, early-ish in the book. Take over some hotels, make them private, put in some ‘special staff’ (aka, hookers), and allow access to only professional athletes. Then the story that unfolds, the mystery, is basically something similar (just without hotels). And Adcock seems not at all self-aware of that fact. But hey, I get it, people can joke around about what they might or might not do, joking about opening up a string of brothels for athletes is a little odd, but not necessarily something to be used as a gauge of character. No, it’s what happens at the end of the book (and in small snippets during the book), that lets people in on the truth – Adcock is a hypocrite, a criminal, and an all-around bad guy. Even if he can pretend to himself that he was doing it for a good reason. Adcock blackmails some people to help set up a college fund

There is a very strong chance, about 75 to 95 percent chance, that this will be it for me. That I will not tackle the sequel, ‘Double Switch’, even if it was the book that initially got me interested in the series.

While, in the end, I’m able to give the book a good solid 3 star rating, I do not recommend this book to anyone.

May 23 2016