Read Lately: House Dick by E. Howard Hunt

• I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up House Dick by E. Howard Hunt. The book came to me automatically as part of the Hard Case Crime Book Club. The back cover talks more about the author's notoriety instead of the details of the novel. I was happy to discover that Hunt knows how to tell a story.


• Pete Novak, security head for the Tilden Hotel in Washington D.C., is having a normal day until the beautiful Paula Norton checked in. What follows is a tale of theft, blackmail, and murder, all within the confines of the hotel. The pace is quick, all the way until the final showdown.


• I was not captured by the book as I have been with others in the line. Hunt's prose is serviceable, without flair, but not overreaching. His main character, Novak, is a likable protagonist. He is hard driven, flawed, but morally centered. House Dick won't be remembered as a great in the field, but it was a pleasant way to spend a few hours.