En route the car predictably dies on a lonely highway. Harry is robbed and mugged, but eventually is rescued by the police serving Eureka, Nevada. He is befriended by a nurse who delivers him to Reno where he makes contact with Marsha, her aunt Marty, Marty’s latest male companion, Jacques Barrone, and his assistant, Jake “Shaky Jake” Shalinsky.

It soon becomes apparent to Harry that Barrone is “looking him over.” Indeed, he is. Barrone is working for the federal government investigating a brothel called the Mustang ranch, which is located near Reno. It seems that the Mustang is a money laundering operation. Barrone’s plan is for Harry to get a job as a maintenance man at the Mustang and, hopefully, gather some concrete evidence.

Harry is reluctant to take such a possibly dangerous position in light of his impending responsibilities as a father, but he needs the money and the pay is good. After a few days at the Mustang , Harry believes Barrone’s suspicions to be correct. After a few more days, one of the Mustang’s girls is found murdered, and Harry, of course, is the prime suspect.

For those readers interested in an action filled crime novel, Dirty Money will force you to be patient. Mr. Womack spends the first third of the book setting the stage. Not that his methods are bad. He gives a masterful description of the Nevada terrain, its climate, and its isolation. However, there is only Harry’s mugging to satisfy the appetite of the hard boiled fan. The pace picks up considerably in the remainder of the book with Harry’s involvement in the shady doings at the Mustang Ranch, staying pretty eventful to the end.

Womack does an excellent job of portraying Harry Denton. Harry is in his sixth outing in Dirty Money, yet for a reader unacquainted with Harry, his personality is quickly revealed through his encounters with the people he meets on his way to Reno. What a refreshing way to get to know the main character without a lot of description which would be boring, no doubt, to his fans from previous books. Obviously, there is a lot of history in Harry’s relationship with Marsha, which is not discussed in Dirty Money, but it in no way hinders one’s understanding or enjoyment of this novel. The other characters are not treated in as great detail as Harry, but are unique in their own right.

Womack is able to educate as well as entertain the reader. He gives a very simple explanation of how a money laundering operation works and why it is so difficult for law enforcement officials to apprehend those people that are masters of the game.

In addition to being an entertaining story, a travelogue on Nevada, and a brief education on the art of money laundering, the author leaves the reader with several thoughts worth further consideration. In trying to expose those people responsible for the money laundering operation, one segment of the law has “employed” one of the hookers at the Mustang to gather information for them. When she is killed, they shrug, saying she’s a petty criminal and expendable. Harry argues that she is an intelligent human being and did not deserve her fate.

Harry’s profession is a dangerous one, at least when he is exercising his appreciable skills, yet with the advent of fatherhood, he thinks he should be in a more stable situation. Presumably, this conflict of duty/obligation versus doing a job he finds rewarding will be a focus in the future adventures of Harry Denton.

--Andy Plonka