Traditional family man Dale Hunter began his career as one of the three Ds referenced in the name of the Canadian tech start-up 3D Computer Products. After buying out his partners Dan and Doug (the other Ds) he takes the company to its most successful, something that doesn’t go unnoticed by the local protection syndicate. As sole proprietor of 3D Dale dedicates himself to innovation and forward thinking. He is also known to be extremely pragmatic, so much so that when the local crime boss sends over a thug with an offer of “business insurance” Dale weighs his options carefully. Trusting that such insurance would keep his family and his livelihood safe, and knowing that with his current business success he could afford the payments to the syndicate, Dale agrees to the offer.
The arrangement works for a bit until the thugs get greedy and up the expected payments. In response Dale turns to the police but finds that the officer assigned to the case knows quite a bit more than he should about the situation. Dale’s next option comes in the person of an unlikely acquaintance of the police. Known only as Frank the Fixer, the secretive yet personable character does just as his name implies, fixes situations that need it. Hired by Dale to facilitate Dale’s removal from the protection racket, Frank delves into the situation and discovers how far-reaching the syndicate’s influence is. He also figures out that Dale’s best option for dealing with the crime organization that was extorting him is to enlist the help of another crime organization. Though seemingly a problem-solver in the short run, this other crime syndicate’s violent tendencies and less than noble loan practices soon severely compromise the safety of Dale and his family.
Forced to fight for his life, Dale enlists the help of Frank in drawing out the opposing factions to a final confrontation. The meeting is violent and unexpected and does result in what will be a temporary easing off of the mayhem that Dale’s life has become. Throughout the story author Delvin Chatterson’s language conveys this mayhem with a brevity that practically demands attention. Action sequences are rapidfire and corrosive and are offset by scenes of threatening undertones that make NO EASY MONEY reminiscent of the 1960s Theatre of Menace.
Delvin Chatterson pens crime drama that is as fast-paced and involved as the archetypal L.A. potboiler, and deftly leaves open the possibilities for his characters to continue their stories in future adventures.
~Johnny Masiulewicz for Indie Reader