The novel takes place in Owensboro, Kentucky, the author's hometown. It concerns the adventures of private eye Frank Harley, who is often referred to by his family, friends, and associates as Mother, or Big Mother. A target of bullies in grade school, Frank had a sudden growth sport, and suddenly his tormentors couldn't whip him anymore. Frank settled a few scores, and then went on to protect other kids, regularly teaching the bully boys a lesson. One of them, who came to be known as Buddy Omaha, went on to become a major crime figure who never forgot nor forgave Frank for humiliating him. There was no question that he would someday try to kill Frank--the only question was when.
Frank, along with his brother Hank, owns Big Guy Investigations. He started the agency shortly after being thrown off the police force, for drawing a naked picture of a female officer. Franks draws pin-ups, and is very good at it. It tends to get him in trouble. For one thing, his wife Mavis, a lipstick lesbian, likes his drawings of nude women a shade too much. She often finds out who the model is and looks her up.
In "What's A Mother to Do," Frank is hired by stripper Autumn Wicker to protect her from a man who thinks she cheated him out of money. The man turns out to be Frank's old nemesis, Buddy Omaha.
Frank's dad, the Rev. Edmund F. Harley, is a preacher who owns a big non-denominational church that routinely draws huge crowds--some view its services as entertainment--and brings in tons of cash. The Rev. Harley has a taste for the finer things, like booze and large-breasted women, and has a history of taking "vacations" with buxom married women. He's gotten away with this for years, but when he runs off to Vegas with Gladys Horsefellow, her huge Native American husband Gary is less than amused. Finding his dad and protecting him from a grisly death is a challenge Frank would as soon not face, but he has little choice.
Then there is Frank's former squad-car partner, soon to be ex-policeman Tristan "Jellybean" Randall, who needs Frank's help in fending off a bogus rape charge.
Frank's main operative, known only as Hammer, is a ex-con who is a major loose cannon, a man with a flair for magic who can pull a quarter from your nose or a .44 Magnum from thin air. And Frank's receptionist-secretary, Sherry, a temp he is afraid to let go, claims to be 19, but nobody believes her. She would like very much to seduce Frank, and he's dead-certain she's jailbait.
The cop who got Frank kicked off the force, Richard Johnson, is laying for Frank, whom he's known and disliked since childhood.
Frank is deeply in love with his wife, Mavis, and has tolerated some of her lesbian affairs, but there is a limit to how much he can take, which she's forever on the verge of exceeding.
All in all, Frank has a lot on his plate. Just staying alive may prove to be a major problem.
This book is highly recommended by the author's friend and compatriot, Cosmo Hatt. (See travelsofthehat.blogspot.com.) Cosmo thinks it's the best book he's ever read, or perhaps ever will read. And Cosmo reads a lot, for a hat.
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