BIG FAT F__K-UP

LAWRENCE ALLAN

Big Fat F—K -UP, a Jimmy Cooper mystery by New novelist Lawrence Allan, is one great big, fun, and entertaining private investigator novel. Aside from a delightful and twisty plot, Allan moves his characters through the large and ever-changing city of Los Angeles, which brings to mind current great writers like Robert Crais and Michael Connolly.

Jimmy Cooper, a burnt-out former teen movie star, is a private investigator for his demanding mother's white-shoe law firm. Jimmy's first case is to find out why a co-owner of a large beer brewery was killed and why his niece was almost killed in a car wreck above the streets of Los Angeles. The plot is as winding as those streets as the reader takes a thrill ride, meeting unique individuals, ranging from LAPD detectives to burned-out musicians and minor D-list actors. Readers will become familiar with Cooper's quick wit and self-absorption, all of which lead to success but take the reader on a wild goose chase, leaving severe doubt as to whether the case can be solved and whether Cooper is a competent private investigator.

There is good news: Jimmy Cooper will make another appearance, entitled Big F @!king Deal. The Jimmy Cooper PI series shows all the potential of a long-lasting series that will endure well into this decade. Readers can only hope that Jimmy Cooper and his creator, Lawrence Allan, will become as ubiquitous as Elvis Cole, Harry Bosch, and the rest of the superb detectives based in the greater Los Angeles area.