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Jack Baddalach #1
Saguaro Riptide
Welcome to the Saguaro Riptide Motel... It's a seedy little surf joint in Arizona where the not-so-elite meet-for the biggest disharmonic convergence since the invention of gunpower. Ex-boxing champ Jack "Battle-ax" Baddalach will be there. So will Muslim hit man Woodrow Saad Muhammad. Sheriff Wyetta Earp is due as well, she of the black belt and bad manners. And Major Kate Benteen, a bikini-clad war hero who was once an Olympic diver, is in room 23. Between them, they've got lots of fingers in a two-million-dollar mafia pie. Everyone wants the cash. Everyone's got a gun. And not even a guest appearance by a shotgun-toting Elvis impersonator will keep things from getting ugly...
Unknown Binding
First published May 1, 1997
72 people want to read
About the author
Norman Partridge
109 books307 followersNorman Partridge’s fiction includes horror, suspense, and the fantastic—“sometimes all in one story” says his friend Joe Lansdale. His compact, thrill-a-minute style has been praised by Stephen King and Peter Straub, and his fiction has received three Bram Stokers and two IHG awards.
Partridge’s career launched a series of firsts during the indie press boom of the early nineties. His first short story appeared in the second issue of Cemetery Dance, and his debut novel, Slippin’ into Darkness, was the first original novel published by CD. Partridge’s chapbook Spyder was one of Subterranean Press’s inaugural titles, while his World Fantasy-nominated collection, Bad Intentions, was the first hardcover in the Subterranean book line.
Since then, Partridge has published pair of critically acclaimed suspense novels featuring ex-boxer Jack Baddalach for Berkley Prime Crime (Saguaro Riptide and The Ten-Ounce Siesta), comics for Mojo and DC, and a series novel (The Crow: Wicked Prayer) which was adapted for the screen. His award-winning collections include Mr. Fox and Other Feral Tales and The Man with the Barbed-Wire Fists. Partridge’s latest novel, Dark Harvest, was chosen by Publishers Weekly as one of the 100 Best Books of 2006.
Whether working in mainstream markets or the independent press, Partridge’s vivid, exuberant writing style has made him a fan favorite. Never content to be pigeon-holed as a writer, Partridge continues to defy categorization. A third-generation Californian, he lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, Canadian writer Tia V. Travis.
Partridge’s career launched a series of firsts during the indie press boom of the early nineties. His first short story appeared in the second issue of Cemetery Dance, and his debut novel, Slippin’ into Darkness, was the first original novel published by CD. Partridge’s chapbook Spyder was one of Subterranean Press’s inaugural titles, while his World Fantasy-nominated collection, Bad Intentions, was the first hardcover in the Subterranean book line.
Since then, Partridge has published pair of critically acclaimed suspense novels featuring ex-boxer Jack Baddalach for Berkley Prime Crime (Saguaro Riptide and The Ten-Ounce Siesta), comics for Mojo and DC, and a series novel (The Crow: Wicked Prayer) which was adapted for the screen. His award-winning collections include Mr. Fox and Other Feral Tales and The Man with the Barbed-Wire Fists. Partridge’s latest novel, Dark Harvest, was chosen by Publishers Weekly as one of the 100 Best Books of 2006.
Whether working in mainstream markets or the independent press, Partridge’s vivid, exuberant writing style has made him a fan favorite. Never content to be pigeon-holed as a writer, Partridge continues to defy categorization. A third-generation Californian, he lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, Canadian writer Tia V. Travis.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 28, 2018
The style didn’t work for me perhaps because the characters, such as Sheriff Wyetta Earp and a female Army Major were too obviously eccentric and, even though a homage to B-movie stereotypes, it was all too forced and cultural references clumsily inserted. The Saguaro Riptide is an Arizona desert motel where the protagonists gather to find, and to fight over, two million dollars of missing Mafia money. Readable but not memorable. 1.5 stars.
August 31, 2024
Weird pulpy book. The story is written with tongue-in-cheek, yet people are killed violently. Definitely felt the 80’s and 90’s vibe. Some fun moments but not really a LOL type of story. I probably will not continue this series.
September 20, 2018
I found it mucho entertaining. Crime in the style of Lansdale, Hiaasen or Leonard. Very nice. Bit over the Top but in an okay way.
August 14, 2007
No one has reviewed Saguaro Riptide yet? Sheesh. Not a great book, but a lot of fun with a really funny female protagonist (the male protagonist is decent, but not as good as the female one). I have a soft spot for this one because my husband used it to woo me (long story, having to do with a passage in the book concerning foreign films), but still, a very quick and entertaining read.
March 3, 2008
This book is one of two things that clinched my relationship with the woman who became my wife. The other is that I knew who Douglas Rain was.
December 11, 2011
Smooth and fast and tasty - another Norm Partridge jam...
October 9, 2015
Reminds me of books by Carl Hiaassen. A great fun romp.
May 12, 2023
The perfect 90s crime classic.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews