Dexxman

by Robert A.V. Jacobs

When the body of the British Home Secretary’s son is found in an alleyway where he had been battered to death, Larry Dexxman, a seventy-five year old private detective is thrown into the middle of a political minefield that could easily cost him his life.His only protection is Sally, a tiny Shih-tsu/Yorkshire terrier cross, Penny his twenty-four-year-old assistant and his own combat experience gained in the armed forces fifty years ago.Narrowly surviving several attempts on his life, Larry must try to protect those around him while, at the same time, keeping his promise to the murdered boy’s girlfriend that he would find out who was responsible and see that they were brought to justice.When the Director General of MI6 is murdered by an infiltrating foreign power, it soon becomes evident that his daughter Hayley’s life is also in danger, and she turns to Larry and Penny as the only people that she can trust.The Home Secretary is powerless to intervene, fearing for his own daughter, Denise’s life, unless someone can remove her from danger under the nose of the single officer appointed by the Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, and the watching agents of the Foreign Power.Eventually, the danger to Larry’s life, as he probes deeper into the conspiracy, is acknowledged, and he is placed under police protection himself. But he still must find a way to keep Denise safe, even if he has to kidnap her, without, at the same time, alerting CTC or his own bodyguard to his plans.

279 pages, Paperback

First published November 7, 2013

About the author

Born in the Royal Military Hospital in Portsmouth, England in 1938 and attended Titchfield (Hampshire, UK) Primary School and Fareham (Hampshire, UK) Secondary Modern Boys School until 1953
Joined the Royal Air Force as an Apprentice in 1955 and served 14 years, being discharged in 1968. During that period, in 1962, he met and married Kim, and they are still together after 49 years After, a short period as a Prison Officer, he entered the Computer Industry with Golden Wonder Ltd and stayed in that profession with various companies until 1991. He then joined an Inner City Medical Practice in Leicester (Leicestershire UK) as Fundholding Manager and Practice Manager until his retirement in 2003. He currently lives in Leicestershire and also spends time in Sax, a small town near Alicante in Spain.

Reviews

[James Blakley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Primarily a children's fiction author, Robert Jacobs's Dexxman is a rather unique addition to the grown-up action-adventure scene. Full of colorful sex and sedition, it is arguably the one great case in the otherwise ho-hum existence of seventy-five years old sleuth Lawrence "Larry" Dexxman.

While walking his trusted half Shih-tsu, half Yorkshire terrier Sally, Englishman Larry Dexxman encounters a dead boy...but not just any dead boy. Young William Wentworth is the son of British Home Secretary Sir Geoffrey Wentworth. And that's where Dexxman's previously plodding life accelerates like a bullet, with bodies being blasted and beaten down all around. Soon Dexxman must muster not only his private eye's mental prowess but also his years removed Royal Air Force training, when an assortment of spooks and assassins seek to stop his investigation into the Wentworth murder.

To his credit, author Jacobs presents Dexxman as a relatively normal man whose dire circumstances propel him to feats of almost superman action. The average reader might scoff at the amount of sex and violence septuagenarian Dexxman engages in. But, he is a well-conceived, constantly-developing character who realizes that he isn't getting any younger and accepts--even enjoys--what could be his last go around in life. 

The references to Dexxman being "an old goat", having to renew his driver's license, and not looking "strong enough to lift a bat, let alone swing it" are more nods to the usual wry banter that buttress private eye fiction than they are obstacles. And while he still wonders about the ramifications of an old divorce, it is apparent that Dexxman is a modern man. He has an often-used Blackberry (complete with MI6 apps installed!); a Goth street urchin-turned trusty secretary named Penny; a keen knowledge of handguns; and a fondness for CSI/NCIS episodes. Mix in a bevy of beautiful women at his beck-and-call, and instead of a world-weary Phillip Marlowe loner (who bemoans his profession and outlook on life) we have perhaps a Double-Old operative who's acquainted with danger and simply dusts off the libido for one more go at whomever is queen and country's foe. So instead of Mitchum or Bogart as Dexx, images of Sean Connery (in as-is condition) easily pop up!

While the overall plot is not very plausible, Dexxman is still a fun novel that moves with surprising agility, likeability, and dexxterity (given the age of the titular character). Robert Jacobs retains the youthful exuberance of his childrens' fiction, as he breaks Dexxman out of the typically terminal cynicism that most hard-boiled sleuths suffer from and presents a man for whom age is not an obstacle, but a celebration of a continuing adventure.