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John Francis Cuddy #4
Swan Dive
A stint as a bodyguard sucks Cuddy into a vicious divorce caseDivorce will not be easy for Hanna Marsh. Her drug-dealing husband, Roy, is a cruel man, whose greed makes him unwilling to part with anything he owns—including his money, wife, and daughter. Hanna’s lawyer is terrified of Roy, but has the sense to hire John Francis Cuddy, private detective, to protect Hanna during the negotiations. Cuddy doesn’t wait to get mean with Roy, and the result of his tough talk is clear as soon as they return to Hanna’s temporary her daughter’s kitten slaughtered on the floor. Cuddy makes Roy pay for his vile behavior, humiliating the drug pusher in an attempt to set his wife free. But when Roy takes a headfirst dive out a hotel window, leaving behind a murdered prostitute and a missing shipment of cocaine, suspicion falls on Cuddy. To save his client’s life, Cuddy must put his own on the line.
- GenresMysteryMystery Thriller
216 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1988
11 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
Jeremiah Healy
74 books20 followersaka Terry Devane
Jeremiah Healy was the creator of the John Francis Cuddy private-investigator series and the author of several legal thrillers. A former sheriff's officer and military police captain, Healy was also a graduate of Rutgers College and the Harvard Law School. He practiced law in Boston before teaching for eighteen years at the New England School of Law. His first novel, BLUNT DARTS, was published in 1984 and introduced Cuddy, the Boston-based private eye who has become Healy¹s best-known character. Moral, honest--and violent, when need-be--Cuddy makes his living solving cases that have fallen through the cracks of the formal judicial system.
Of his thirteen Cuddy novels and two collections of short stories, fifteen have either won or been nominated for the Shamus Award.
www.JeremiahHealy.com
Series:
* John Francis Cuddy
Jeremiah Healy was the creator of the John Francis Cuddy private-investigator series and the author of several legal thrillers. A former sheriff's officer and military police captain, Healy was also a graduate of Rutgers College and the Harvard Law School. He practiced law in Boston before teaching for eighteen years at the New England School of Law. His first novel, BLUNT DARTS, was published in 1984 and introduced Cuddy, the Boston-based private eye who has become Healy¹s best-known character. Moral, honest--and violent, when need-be--Cuddy makes his living solving cases that have fallen through the cracks of the formal judicial system.
Of his thirteen Cuddy novels and two collections of short stories, fifteen have either won or been nominated for the Shamus Award.
www.JeremiahHealy.com
Series:
* John Francis Cuddy
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 17, 2023
This is an excellent series as John Cuddy, Boston PI, helps a woman trying to get a divorce from a really nasty rich guy. Drugs and prostitution wind up being involved and Cuddy is suspected of murder. Highly recommend for plenty of action and good storyline.
November 17, 2017
I was not familiar with Jeremiah Healy's PI series featuring John Cuddy, and decided to select this from a list of Kindle Unlimited books because of the Boston setting. I spent the past week in that city and liked the idea of reading about the location while visiting.
This book was published in the 1980's and there are actually 12 other books in the series I can now look forward to reading. I think I will do a rewind and go to the first book next because Cuddy has frequent conversations with his dead wife at her place of burial and she makes some worthwhile contributions to his decision making so I would like to meet her in earlier books if that is possible.
Healy created a fine main character in Cuddy. In this book his physical stamina is required as well as a dogged determination to see justice meted.
Where to start? Corrupt lawyers, vile villains, dodgy police, troubled wives, rising body count and then there are the dishonest friends leading Cuddy into very deep waters. A Greek lawyer Cuddy knew back in college asks Cuddy to serve as a bodyguard at a divorce settlement session that kicks off a very interesting series of deadly events. Very good read.
This book was published in the 1980's and there are actually 12 other books in the series I can now look forward to reading. I think I will do a rewind and go to the first book next because Cuddy has frequent conversations with his dead wife at her place of burial and she makes some worthwhile contributions to his decision making so I would like to meet her in earlier books if that is possible.
Healy created a fine main character in Cuddy. In this book his physical stamina is required as well as a dogged determination to see justice meted.
Where to start? Corrupt lawyers, vile villains, dodgy police, troubled wives, rising body count and then there are the dishonest friends leading Cuddy into very deep waters. A Greek lawyer Cuddy knew back in college asks Cuddy to serve as a bodyguard at a divorce settlement session that kicks off a very interesting series of deadly events. Very good read.
January 5, 2016
Jeremiah Healy was an excellent writer who passed away recently. This is the fourth book in his John Francis Cuddy series of which there were fifteen, spanning the years from 1984 to 2003. The Shamus award is given out each year by the Private Eye Writers of America. Of the fifteen books in this series, one was awarded the Shamus in 1987 and six others were named finalist for the award.
His Detective, John Francis Cuddy, is another Irish Southie from Boston. As far as his Detective DNA I would say he definitely descended from the Chandler, MacDonald line. Yeah, you can call him hard boiled. You know, he's one of those lonely tarnished knights who wander back urban alleys dealing with unreliable characters and all of life's ambiguous morale questions. But, you can always see some light at the end of the tunnel with John Cuddy and he's got that gentle yet somewhat cynical, sense of humour, so even though things can get violent, it's not noir, cause you know he'll be standing at the end. Beat up, but proud of what he's accomplished, yet ...still broker than hell.
This story starts with a divorce and a sadistic husband but quickly evolves into something more, but probably not what you're thinking. So you know, it's gonna be fast paced and maybe have some unexpected twists and turns. But that's OK cause to make a good detective story you gotta have that stuff and this one has plenty. And, oh yeah, it was one of those finalist the year it came out.
It's available as an ebook and if you are an Scribd or Kindle Unlimited subscriber it's available along with most of the other books in the series.
So, enjoy.
His Detective, John Francis Cuddy, is another Irish Southie from Boston. As far as his Detective DNA I would say he definitely descended from the Chandler, MacDonald line. Yeah, you can call him hard boiled. You know, he's one of those lonely tarnished knights who wander back urban alleys dealing with unreliable characters and all of life's ambiguous morale questions. But, you can always see some light at the end of the tunnel with John Cuddy and he's got that gentle yet somewhat cynical, sense of humour, so even though things can get violent, it's not noir, cause you know he'll be standing at the end. Beat up, but proud of what he's accomplished, yet ...still broker than hell.
This story starts with a divorce and a sadistic husband but quickly evolves into something more, but probably not what you're thinking. So you know, it's gonna be fast paced and maybe have some unexpected twists and turns. But that's OK cause to make a good detective story you gotta have that stuff and this one has plenty. And, oh yeah, it was one of those finalist the year it came out.
It's available as an ebook and if you are an Scribd or Kindle Unlimited subscriber it's available along with most of the other books in the series.
So, enjoy.
March 23, 2010
Pretty good, easy read.
Read
March 12, 2016don't read mysteries much, but I like the main character, good story line
November 21, 2025
Fantastic
As I've lived, and worked, in the places in this story I could shut my eyes and envision being there as everything happened. As with all of his books - there were couple of really unsuspected surprises at the end. It's a real "can't put it down" story!
As I've lived, and worked, in the places in this story I could shut my eyes and envision being there as everything happened. As with all of his books - there were couple of really unsuspected surprises at the end. It's a real "can't put it down" story!
October 18, 2017
A definite dip in the series
September 16, 2014
This, the fourth book in the John Francis Cuddy series is another step up in quality.
Cuddy, asked by a long-time friend to bodyguard a woman seeking a divorce from her domineering husband, soon finds himself suspected of murdering the husband, attacked by drug dealers, and searching for a missing cache of cocaine. His relationship with a woman ADA is taking steps forward too.
This was a tight, taut novel full of action and thrills with no wasted words. I was surprised how quickly I reached the end. That it was written in 1988 and reflects the technology of that time made it that much more enjoyable.
Sadly, Mr. Healy took his own life recently so there will be no more Cuddy novels. All we can do is savor the books he left us.
Cuddy, asked by a long-time friend to bodyguard a woman seeking a divorce from her domineering husband, soon finds himself suspected of murdering the husband, attacked by drug dealers, and searching for a missing cache of cocaine. His relationship with a woman ADA is taking steps forward too.
This was a tight, taut novel full of action and thrills with no wasted words. I was surprised how quickly I reached the end. That it was written in 1988 and reflects the technology of that time made it that much more enjoyable.
Sadly, Mr. Healy took his own life recently so there will be no more Cuddy novels. All we can do is savor the books he left us.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews