Dog Eats Dog

by Iain Levison

Praise for Iain "The real deal . . . bracing, hilarious and dead on."--The New York Times Book Review"Witty, deft, well-conceived writing that combines sharp satire with real suspense."--Kirkus Reviews"Levison writes tight, punchy prose, with deadpan humor and savvy."--The Wall Street JournalPhilip Dixon is down on his luck. An escape from a lucrative but botched bank robbery lands him bleeding and on the verge of collapse in a college town in New Hampshire. How can he find a place to hide out in this innocent setting? Peering into the window of the nearest house, he sees a glimmer of a man in his mid-thirties, obviously some kind of academic, is rolling around on the living room floor with an attractive high-school student. Professor Elias White is then blackmailed into harboring a dangerous fugitive, as Dixon--with a cool quarter-million in his bag and dreams of Canada in his head--gets ready for the last phase of his escape.But the last phase is always the hardest. Attractive and persistent FBI agent Denise Lupo is on his trail. As for Elias White, his surprising transition from respected academic to willing accomplice poses a ruthless threat that Dixon would be foolish to underestimate."...Funny and acerbic, and crackles with raw energy."--The Sunday Times (UK)Iain Levison was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1963. Since moving to the United States, he has worked as a fisherman, carpenter, and cook, and he has detailed his woes of wage slavery in A Working Stiff’s Manifesto. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Thriller

289 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Iain Levison was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1963. Since moving to the United States, he has worked as a fisherman, carpenter, and cook, and he has detailed his woes of wage slavery in A Working Stiff’s Manifesto.

He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a botched bank robbery, the injured Dixon is looking for a place to hole up for a while, and lick his wounds. He peeps in the window of one New Hampshire house, and lo and behold, he sees Professor Elias White banging the girl next door . . . or should I say the VERY UNDERAGE girl next door. Oops! Nothing like a little blackmail to worm your way into room and board for the next few days. And so the two begin a very uneasy partnership with Dixon hiding out in the basement, and the Prof catering to his every whim. What could go wrong?

Well, I'll tell ya.

Enter Denise Lupo, the comely FBI agent who has followed the (stolen) money to New England.

Elias tried to recreate the scene with Denise, wondered if he'd talked too much, or if he'd been easy and cool. He wondered if letting an FBI agent know you were attracted to her was a bad thing. "What if it's a woman?"

Dixon froze. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, if the FBI agent who . . ."

"You motherfucker," said Dixon in awe, shaking his head.

"What?"

"They came today, didn't they? It was a fuckin' woman. And you tried to get into her pants."

I tore through this one in no time; it was a fast, fun read, and no way did I see that ending coming. Though it was nowhere near as quirky, I was reminded of this season's Fargo, with its smart, competent female detective who isn't taken seriously by her male associates. There are no chipper shredders or aliens, but Lupo does utter the words "Okay, then."

Oh, and I'm pleased to report that no dogs were eaten.

[Maddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

PROTAGONIST: A bank robber, a professor and an FBI agent
SETTING: New Hampshire
RATING: 4.5

"A new novel of social satire and fiendish suspense" – that's probably the most accurate blurb I've seen recently for a book. DOG EATS DOG is definitely satiric, fiendish and suspenseful. I loved it.

Here’s the situation – Philip Dixon, whose been known to dabble in crime here and there and been in jail as a result, is down on his luck and decides to participate in a bank robbery in New Jersey with a group that he views as less than competent. Fortunately for him, he sees exactly when the heist is going awry and manages to escape before the police arrive. Dixon is a very intelligent man, and he's learned from all the mistakes he's made in the past. He steals the bank manager's car, swaps that for another vehicle and ends up in the crawlspace behind a truck driver's seat; but not before getting shot. After a long, uncomfortable ride, he finds himself in a laconic college town in New Hampshire. He needs a place to stay; and for once, luck is with him. While sneaking around peering in people's windows, he sees a man having sex with a teenager. When he threatens to squeal on Professor Elias White, White agrees that Dixon can share his home for a few weeks until Dixon's wounds heal and he can finalize preparations for a final move to Canada, where he is planning to become a farmer.

FBI agent Denise Lupo, who is assigned to the very unexciting job of looking at financial transactions arising from bank robberies, suspects that Dixon is either in Kansas or New Hampshire, which is where the money bloodied by his wounds has turned up. Although Denise is an intelligent woman with good instincts, she has been relegated to a dead-end job based on the sexist attitudes of her superiors. She brings a new agent along up to New Hampshire with her; "Wonder Boy" Kohl will surely be sitting in a corner office soon while Lupo continues to languish.

So we have a pretentious and ambitious academic, a disenfranchised FBI agent and a clever criminal just ready to explode into action. Dixon turns out to be remarkably civilized; the professor finds himself enjoying his company. Meanwhile, Denise is letting loose in ways that end up scaring herself. What happens to these three characters is a wild and funny ride indeed, and I thoroughly enjoyed the journey. The way that the plot unfolds is ingenious and unpredictable but entirely credible. Each of the three central characters were well drawn; their situations were laced with sardonic cynicism and the pace of the book crackled.

DOG EATS DOG was a page turner for me. It kept a smile on my face while surprising me all along the way. As far as I'm concerned, Levison did everything right and has created a real and unique winner. I'm still smiling.

[Rory Costello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and clever. I liked the characterizations and the resolution.

[Ian Mapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of a surprise to be honest. Picked at random from the library and a new author. Blurb on the book sold it to me.

And it turned out to be unusual, intelligent, pacy and funny. A real success.

Three main characters - not much going for any of them. A clevered than average armed robber is on the run, with his mates stupidly getting caught.

He ends up holing up at a useless professors house - stumbling upon them when he is in the middle of an episode with his underage next door neighbour.

Robber holds this as leverage so that he can recover and get on his way.

Then we throw in the 3rd character - a not taken seriously FBI agent who ends up getting more involved than she should.

Satire a plenty. Everyone is out for something and none of them get it.

An interesting read and not your usual crime novel. Not as over the top as a Hiasson or a Brookmyre but not to be taken too seriously either.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable quick read which had me laughing out loud in parts. A bank robbery gone wrong with unusual characters and lots of twists and turns. It would make a good Coen brothers movie.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love these books where you can't love nor hate any of the characters. Very nicely written, fast to read, enjoyable journey in a politically incorrect US suburbia.

[Miriam Smith (A Mother’s Musings) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Dog Eats Dog” is an intriguing and original crime thriller that explores the human mind through a cynical cast of anti heroes, when there’s an opportunity for money to work to your advantage. Even the characters you think would be morally superior turn situations around to better themselves.

I liked Dixon and I thought the pairing with Elias worked well, even though I did feel the ending was rushed somewhat. An interesting story that kept me turning the pages, some humour and twists and turn keep you engrossed and if you like your crime thrillers just that little bit different then I definitely recommend this book and author.

Thank you to the publisher for my copy of the book in return for an unbiased opinion.

[Ezra plt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Levison's usual observational skills are put into good use as always. That's the gist of the novelist's endeavor: to observe, record, then remember and casually insert the remembrance into a semblance of tried-and-tested plot. This one can be read in English, a not so common occurence with his work, dispensing one with the sometimes goofy translation.

[Baronne Samedi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clever book, with a dry sense of humour and smart psychology. I don't give 5 stars because I feel it could have been faster-paced, though it is not boring either. I won't tell more, not to spoil the intrigue.

[Lili Aurelie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un polar assez sympathique à lire, notamment parce qu’il n’amène pas le lecteur au même endroit que les autres polars. Je regrette juste de ne pas avoir retrouvé l’humour noir et le cynisme (à part dans quelques trop rares passages) de l’auteur.

[Amarpal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Completely random pick and it turned out to be a witty winner.

[Patty Watson]

Sounds good

[Veeral · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book adopts a lighter tone but there's always a dark undercurrent to it. Until it surfaces and takes you by surprise. Perhaps Levison's best novel so far.

[Giacomo Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

7.5/10

[Maurice Fontaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Histoires farfelues, quiproquos, personnages cyniques à souhait, telles étaient les recettes des deux autres livres de Ian Levison que j’avais lu.

J’ai donc tenté « une canaille et demie », et je peux dire que j’y ai retrouvé ces mêmes ingrédients, et y ai pris un même plaisir.

Recommandé donc, ceci dit « un voisin trop parfait » est un petit peu meilleur.

[La Stamberga dei Lettori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Le varie sfumature della cattiveria umana emergono sempre nei momenti critici. In realtà però sono latenti dentro di noi, si nascondono nella lotta del vivere quotidiano, permettendo di galleggiare, mentre la parte selvaggia dell'uomo - e della donna, per pari opportunità - rimane sommersa come succede agli iceberg.
Non sempre ciò che si vede corrisponde per dimensioni e qualità a ciò che giace al di sotto della linea di galleggiamento, che in questo breve racconto di genere 'crime story' è rappresentato dai valori del vivere comune borghese nel civilissimo e inquietante New Jersey.
La storia ruota sull'intrecciarsi delle vite di un oscuro docente di storia nel college della piccola città di provincia addormentata, Elias White, scaricato dalla fidanzata per un dottorando tedesco e pronto a tutto, anche all'apologia di nazismo, pur di farsi strada nel mondo accademico, e di un'agente dell'FBI discriminata perchè donna e insoddisfatta della propria carriera, Denise Lupo, frustrata dall'impossibilità di un percorso meritocratico come profiler - si vede che il suo ideale di donna è l'agente Clarice Sterling de 'Il silenzio degli innocenti' - con il destino di un personaggio del tutto antipodico in confronto alla rispettabilità borghese degli altri due, Dixon, giovane rapinatore appena uscito di galera e subito infilatosi in un assalto a una banca, in realtà vittima di un errore giudiziario che gli ha insegnato che lottare contro un sistema fallibile è inutile, molto meglio è galleggiare a pelo d'acqua per non farsi notare e scivolare via dalle sue falle, appunto.

Continua su
http://www.lastambergadeilettori.com/...

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bank robbers, FBI agents, and worst of all, humanities professors populate this fast little crime read. Bank robber Dixon winds up in New Hampshire after a botched bank robbery, with a gunshot wound and a quarter million in cash. He stumbles across Professor Elias White — the sort of young academic utterly uninterested in his subject area (history!) but very interested in career climbing many of us have encountered — in the act with an underage girl. Dixon blackmails White into hiding him and helping out. An FBI agent driven to cynicism by her sexism-stalled career comes up to New Hampshire chasing dirty bills and White now has multiple sides to play.

The book is fun, and deeply cynical, a crime novel without the center of a comparatively good character, a detective or whatever. If anything, Dixon comes across the best as he’s least dishonest or sadistic, though he also forces people to do things at gunpoint. White is a well-realized slimeball and if Levison doesn’t get the gritty details of the history profession exactly right, he gets it right enough. Lupo, the fed, has less clear motivations than the others, but the siren song of easy advancement through crooked mean calls to her too. All in all, a good, rotten airplane read. ****

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Levison’s second novel, and I can definitely see the pattern in the writing--not that this is bad. In each book, there are characters who are engaged in some sort of hilarious and half-assed criminal enterprise. This time around, we meet a dangerous fugitive named Dixon, who is on the run after knocking over a bank, and runs into Professor White, a non-tenured professor at a new Hampshire University. He catches him…having relations…with an underage neighbor, and decides to use this information to blackmail White into helping him. For the next few weeks they live as roommates while Dixon hangs on to his dream of escaping to a farm in Canada…
I would have to say this was not my favorite of Levison’s novels--I was not as fond of this premise and none of the characters really appealed to me--but that said, it is still a pretty great read. All of Levison’s books move along pretty well and are funny to boot, it’s just that this one was more of a crime novel and less comedic. But it has the usual funny observations about life in the US and what unemployment or job insecurity does to people, and for my money, Dog Eats Dog gets the job done.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, it's a murder mystery, but also a character drama featuring some people with personalities that exemplify the darker, greedier, overly self involved sides of human nature . The characters who "get ahead" are those who take advantage of opportunities born of other people's misfortunes, greed or self interest sometimes with dark comedic results!

[Lynne Perednia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting caper-style novel about a bank robber, a twerp of a college professor and a woman struggling to be taken seriously as an FBI agent. A fun, fast read that skewers people blinded by their own interests and how society rewards those who really don't deserve it, although the novel may not hold up to prolonged deep thinking.

[Donald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable enough, but doesn't quite live up to it's promising start. My minor disappointment with the ending is that I expected one thing and got another. Not really the author's fault, I suppose. I liked "How to Rob Armored Cars" more.

[Race Bannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of "light" reading, nothing intense. I did like the FBI agent, albeit a bit
immoral for such an occupation, and both the criminal and the FBI agent had
some intuitiveness that seemed a bit clever.
I don't know if I'd go pick up another one by this author, but this one was ok.

[Sandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast, dark, & comic read about a bank robber and a college professor.

[Connie Anne Kikta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fast read. Book held my interest. A different twist on a bank robbery. Ending was surprising, but not that exciting.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite enjoyable. Fast-paced, witty characters and some sharp dialogue. Fans of Elmore Leonard, James Ellroy and some of the old noir will like it.

[Khalekan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb little book. Proving that it is more than possible to write an excellent crime novel in well under 300 pages.

I found it to be unputdownable and read it in two sessions.

[Anurag Pisupati · Rating 3 out of 5]

It had a smooth run. Although , the end wasn't what I expected.