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Action Man
THE ACTION MANDenton Farr has everything he needs, money, and a fine woman. So why plan the perfect, impossible heist? Why do something that would bring the federals and the syndicate howling after him; why try a stunt that could easily get him killed and certainly send him up for the rest of his life? The action. There’s something special about the way his body feels—something different about the air it breathes—when he has action. That it is unnecessary doesn’t matter. It is action. And why the hell does he want to climb that mountain? Because it is there. Yes, this is the heist will provide all the action that Farr will ever need…TERROR TOURNAMENTEx-cop Burl Stannard has been hired as security to protect the take at a 3-day pro-amateur golf tournament. All he has to do is ride shotgun with the money to the bank. But something goes wrong. Three men pull up in a golf cart and crash their car. Shots are exchanged. A fellow ex-cop and one of the thieves are killed. When Stannard comes to, the $400,00 is gone, and no clues in sight—not even the body of the dead criminal. Who could have pulled off such a perfect heist? The more Stannard digs, the more it begins to look like an inside job—but everyone involved has an airtight alibi!
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1961
7 people want to read
About the author
Jay M. Flynn
23 books1 followerJay Flynn was an American author who also wrote under the name J.M. Flynn.
Jay Flynn was born John M. Flynn on March 31, 1928, in Massachusetts. A Boston Irishman, he worked variously as a newspaperman, a bartender, editor, sex novelist, bootlegger, security guard, caretaker and, he claimed, "writer-in-residence" at a Nevada whorehouse.
His first published work was his only short story, "The Badger Game," followed by the novel, The Deadly Boodle as J. M. Flynn, part of an Ace Double in 1958. In 1975, Flynn went to work for the low-tier publisher, Belmont-Tower, where he lasted two years—fired because of his drinking—then moved to Richmond, Virginia, where he lived for a while on skid row. Eventually relocating to Connecticut, he checked into a V.A. hospital in Branford for a checkup, where he died of cancer at age 57 on February 6, 1986.
He also contributed at least one book to the Western author collective of Jack Slade.
Jay Flynn was born John M. Flynn on March 31, 1928, in Massachusetts. A Boston Irishman, he worked variously as a newspaperman, a bartender, editor, sex novelist, bootlegger, security guard, caretaker and, he claimed, "writer-in-residence" at a Nevada whorehouse.
His first published work was his only short story, "The Badger Game," followed by the novel, The Deadly Boodle as J. M. Flynn, part of an Ace Double in 1958. In 1975, Flynn went to work for the low-tier publisher, Belmont-Tower, where he lasted two years—fired because of his drinking—then moved to Richmond, Virginia, where he lived for a while on skid row. Eventually relocating to Connecticut, he checked into a V.A. hospital in Branford for a checkup, where he died of cancer at age 57 on February 6, 1986.
He also contributed at least one book to the Western author collective of Jack Slade.
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July 22, 2025
In “The Action Man,” Flynn offers up a top-notch thrilling caper novel of the kind Westlake would soon produce in droves in his Parker series. Set in Peninsula City, just down the road from Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, “The Action Man” features Denton Farr as a lead character, who learned capers on the Italian Front in World War 2 and perfected it, gambling on the racetrack and fixing cars when needed in heavy races. Farr runs two bars, one in the City and one on the Peninsula. He is married, but co-owns one of the bars with his mistress, Bette Vout, the one with the warm, naked flesh and the pinpoints of heat the firm, erect nipples had left on his back.
His wife is Mary Jean. who had been born with class and pride. She had once been Bert Thomason’s woman three years earlier. Thomason had found out that Farr was buying men in pit crews to turn car races and and got sworn statements implicating Farr. In response, Farr set out to hurt Thomason by marrying Mary Jean and never allowing her to be happy. The three-way with Thomason and Mary Jean would be a thorn in Farr’s side throughout this novel and nearly his undoing.
Across the street from that bar (appropriately named “the Loving Cup,” Farr realizes he has a gold mine waiting to be plucked as the Army with thirty thousand troops based nearby runs its cash payroll through the bank across the street. Farr immediately makes contact with the Commissioner, who is the local representative of the Syndicate and offers up a quarter of the take in return for help, but is quickly turned down as it was something the Syndicate did not want to touch, not at any price. This leaves Farr on his own, not necessarily needing the money, but aching nevertheless to climb this highest mountain and pull off a caper with a payout of two million dollars in cold hard cash. He has to do this though with the Syndicate having told him to cool his heels and willing to deal with him the hard way if necessary.
Farr is everything you could want in an anti-hero, a solitary figure, big, bold, and tough as nails. Of course, he has a background that allows him to call on experience. This caper- which could be the world’s biggest caper- was thoroughly vetted and planned and executed right down to the last detail and most of the novel leads up to the caper itself, pulling it off, and getting away. Of course, you know if you’ve read any of these caper stories, that there is no such thing as a clean caper or a clean getaway, but that is where the fun and excitement is at.
Flynn’s “The Action Man” is a terrific example of this kind of action-packed caper novel.
His wife is Mary Jean. who had been born with class and pride. She had once been Bert Thomason’s woman three years earlier. Thomason had found out that Farr was buying men in pit crews to turn car races and and got sworn statements implicating Farr. In response, Farr set out to hurt Thomason by marrying Mary Jean and never allowing her to be happy. The three-way with Thomason and Mary Jean would be a thorn in Farr’s side throughout this novel and nearly his undoing.
Across the street from that bar (appropriately named “the Loving Cup,” Farr realizes he has a gold mine waiting to be plucked as the Army with thirty thousand troops based nearby runs its cash payroll through the bank across the street. Farr immediately makes contact with the Commissioner, who is the local representative of the Syndicate and offers up a quarter of the take in return for help, but is quickly turned down as it was something the Syndicate did not want to touch, not at any price. This leaves Farr on his own, not necessarily needing the money, but aching nevertheless to climb this highest mountain and pull off a caper with a payout of two million dollars in cold hard cash. He has to do this though with the Syndicate having told him to cool his heels and willing to deal with him the hard way if necessary.
Farr is everything you could want in an anti-hero, a solitary figure, big, bold, and tough as nails. Of course, he has a background that allows him to call on experience. This caper- which could be the world’s biggest caper- was thoroughly vetted and planned and executed right down to the last detail and most of the novel leads up to the caper itself, pulling it off, and getting away. Of course, you know if you’ve read any of these caper stories, that there is no such thing as a clean caper or a clean getaway, but that is where the fun and excitement is at.
Flynn’s “The Action Man” is a terrific example of this kind of action-packed caper novel.
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