{"id":40722,"date":"2026-01-02T08:57:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T13:57:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=40722"},"modified":"2026-01-02T08:57:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T13:57:06","slug":"front-sight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=40722","title":{"rendered":"FRONT SIGHT: THREE SWAGGER NOVELLAS by Stephen Hunter \/ Z-View"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

FRONT SIGHT: THREE SWAGGER NOVELLAS<\/a> by Stephen Hunter<\/p>\n

City of Meat<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

First sentence…<\/p>\n

\n

Chicago 1934<\/p>\n

The bickering got so bad, finally, that the director called both Sam Cowley and Mel Purvis to Washington to talk out the command difficulties in the productive but messed-up Chicago field office of the Justice Department’s glamorous Division of Investigation.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Overview:\u00a0 Beware of Spoilers\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

J. Edgar Hoover is basking in the attention that his<\/em> Division of Investigation is getting from the capture<\/s> killing of John Dillinger.\u00a0 Hoover wants more of the same.\u00a0 The next big-name gangster Hoover wants to bring down is Baby Face<\/em> Nelson.\u00a0 Who better to get the job done, than the man who killed Dillinger?<\/p>\n

Not the federal agent who was creditied with doing the deed.\u00a0 No, Hoover wanted the man who actually pulled the trigger.\u00a0Charles Swagger.\u00a0 Swagger was smart.\u00a0 Equally important he was cool and calm when bullets flew.\u00a0 And Swagger hit what he aimed at.<\/p>\n

So when word reached Washington that Baby Face Nelson was seen around the Chicago Union Stock Yards, Charles Swagger was sent down to investigate.<\/p>\n

Alone, in the dark, Swagger is walking the stockyard when he is attacked by a lunatic.\u00a0 Forced to defend himself, Swagger kills the man.\u00a0 When the stockyard police arrive, they’re ready to sweep the event under the rug.\u00a0 A white police office killed a “coon” in self-defense.\u00a0 Nothing to see here.<\/p>\n

So Swagger investigates.\u00a0 Turns out the man he killed was hopped up on a new drug.\u00a0 So far it was only found in the\u00a0 7th District of Chicago.\u00a0 Although several murders could be tied to people under the influence of the drug, the people killed didn’t rate.\u00a0 The local cops wrote off the murders as business as usual for the area.<\/p>\n

Swagger feels differently.\u00a0 His investigation shifts.\u00a0 Swagger plans to find the source of the drug and bring them to justice.\u00a0 He knows it involves powerful people somehow associated with the stockyard.\u00a0 He’s getting pressure from local cops and stockyard officals to back off.\u00a0 His bosses in Washington want results on Baby Face Nelson.<\/p>\n

But Swagger won’t quit.\u00a0 Even if it kills him.<\/p>\n

+++<\/p>\n

Johnny Tuesday<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

First sentence…<\/p>\n

\n

It was February 1945, and in the cities of America, small or large, town, burg, village, or hamlet, everybody smoked.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Overview:\u00a0 Beware of Spoilers\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Earl Swagger is, like his father Charles, a former soldier and lawman known for his brains, toughness and marksmanship.\u00a0 Earl’s undercover investigation into a successful bank robbery that resulted in two murders is going nowhere.\u00a0 His resistance from the local officials indicate the robbery is tied to something bigger than a couple of thugs looking for an easy score.<\/p>\n

But what could it be?<\/p>\n

Perhaps it’s the money laundering or the gambling ring or the two gangs looking to get on top? Earl knows that he’s being manipulated by a fem fatale.\u00a0 But to what end?<\/p>\n

And what could be worse than being trapped in a remote, deserted house with a cold blooded hitman?<\/p>\n

+++<\/p>\n

Five Dolls for the Gut Hook<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

First sentence…<\/p>\n

Hot Springs,
\nArkansas,
\n1978<\/p>\n

I am improving.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Overview:\u00a0 Beware of Spoilers\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bob Lee Swagger is like his grandfather and father a decorated soldier.\u00a0 Bob’s war was Viet Nam.\u00a0 There he was a sniper.\u00a0 One of the best.\u00a0 But Bob’s not a lawman.\u00a0 And since the war, he’s struggled with drinking too much and survivor’s guilt over lost men.<\/p>\n

Bob is surprised when he’s approached by an old friend from Hot Springs, Arkansas.\u00a0 A serial killer has been brutally butchering young women there.\u00a0 The police are stuck.\u00a0 No leads.\u00a0 No progress.\u00a0 And the murders keep occuring.\u00a0 Five so far.<\/p>\n

Bob is confused.\u00a0 He’s a sniper, not a detective.\u00a0 And that’s exactly why they want him.\u00a0 He’s told, “We need somebody smart who can look at stuff from different angles and maybe see something that our best people have missed… you are the son and grandson of two of the greatest detectives this state has ever produced.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bob agrees to assist with the investigation.\u00a0 They know the killer will strike again soon.\u00a0 The clock is ticking.<\/p>\n

+++<\/p>\n

Stephen Hunter’s Swagger novels are automatic buys for me.\u00a0 I love the family history.\u00a0 Hunter is an excellent story teller.\u00a0 FRONT SITE provides three tales and each is a banger.\u00a0 FRONT SITE gets my highest recommendation.<\/p>\n

Rating:<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FRONT SIGHT: THREE SWAGGER NOVELLAS by Stephen Hunter City of Meat First sentence… Chicago 1934 The bickering got so bad,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":912,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,52,51,74],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-authors","category-books","category-crime","category-z-view"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/912"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40722"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40892,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40722\/revisions\/40892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}