If you didn’t know Morris “Fish” Fishbein and the two guys who work for him at Doberman Recoveries, you’d probably have a few stereotypical assumptions about them seeing as how they’re covered in tattoos, ride Harleys and in general look like tough guys to avoid. And the valley speak might even make you think they’re dumb. Ok, Kenny did lose a few too many brain cells in the seventies, so his thinking is a little slow.

But Fish is a bounty hunter, repo man and a lawyer who has a heart of gold and has a strong sense of ethics and belief in showing respect to others; even the bad guys. He can make friends anywhere. He’s also a habitual wise cracker. The guys live in L.A. and this story is centered there.

These guys were first introduced when attempting a repo on an RV in The Ladies Temperance Club’s Farewell Tour (3 chapters of that book are found at the end of this one). Then they had their own story in Hair of the Dog. It’s not at all necessary to read either of these books before reading this one, but it’s been so long that I now want to go back and read them again.

What stands out when reading this book? Humor throughout in the form of characters, situations and even how things are described. Some of the characters you’ll meet are; a group of guys who pull off a heist and don’t have the ability between them to think things through, a TV Evangelist who is not only a scam artist but makes money creating Biblical Porn movies, his wife who has a mouth on her you won’t believe who does whatever is necessary to make sure her four year old daughter wins toddler beauty pageants, her brother, the Parking Czar of L.A. and a guy who couldn’t pass the bar exam, failed at being a talent agent and is now attempting to sell reality shows. These characters and their antics are unbelievable.

The first part of the book, while funny, spends more time on the bad guys and their stories, told from numerous points of view and you get to know them pretty well. The last half of the book concentrates more heavily on Fish and what they’re doing.

The characters are definitely memorable and the story moves along at a pretty fast clip. The only critical observation I have, and it takes place in all 3 books so perhaps it’s a running gag for the reader, is the description of Fish’s smile, which we are reminded of many times. ( )