Hot Springs

Earl Swagger, Book 1

By: Stephen Hunter

Narrated by: Eric G. Dove

Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Earl Swagger is tough as hell. But even tough guys have their secrets. Plagued by the memory of his abusive father, apprehensive about his own impending parenthood, Earl is a decorated ex-Marine of absolute integrity — and overwhelming melancholy. Now he’s about to face his biggest, bloodiest challenge yet. It is the summer of 1946, organized crime’s garish golden age, when American justice seems to have gone to seed for good. Nowhere is this more true than in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the reigning capital of corruption. When the district attorney vows to bring down the mob, Earl is recruited to run the show. As casino raids erupt into nerve-shattering combat amid screaming prostitutes and fleeing johns, the body count mounts — along with the suspense.

©2011 Stephen Hunter (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Excellent

I have read several of Stephen’s book and not a bad one yet.
Highly recommend listen on this one.

Good read

Good action descriptions can tell Hunter is a student of the gun. Good backstory for other swagger books.

Yahooooo, loves me some cowboy

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

No, because I would be embarrassed to admit how much I like it.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Hot Springs?

Cowboy justice, revenge, gunplay. Don't remember them, but they must have all been there.

Which character – as performed by Eric G. Dove – was your favorite?

Eric Dove bring Earl Swagger and all the characters to vivid life

Awesome

Great story with a lot of facts. I'm a Arkansas boy that lived close to these places.

pretty good story

it doesn't type of book that I normally read, but my son read it and he loved it so I thought I'd try. it was hard to get through but it got better.

GREAT HISTORICAL ACTION!

Love this audiobook, so looking forward to the rest of the series! Great characters, great narration, and insightful historical figures and events included to give a vivid picture of the late 1940's. I can't wait to download book 2!

Good start to a series

Where does Hot Springs rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is a great book. Not the Best, definitely not the worst. Earl Swagger and DA are great characters.

Which character – as performed by Eric G. Dove – was your favorite?

Earl - D.A. - Owney Maddox
It took me a little while to get used to Eric G Dove. It started out sounding very staccato, and matter of fact but after a while it fell into a good groove. The matter of fact story telling fit the character so it began to meld. In the end, i was wrapped up in the story and in the voice.

Eric G Dove did a good job with the English Accent on Owney as well.

I listened to the Bobby Lee books

Circling back to the Earl Swagger series. I listened to the Bobby Lee Swagger series and learned about the Earl Swagger books after that.

The era of illegal gambling

It’s the end of the WW2 and Earl Swagger has received a medal for his service and is trying to figure out the future with his pregnant wife. Illegal gambling has taken a toehold in Hot Springs, AK and the lead prosecutor intends to put an end to it. Enter Earl…he is hired to train a team of law enforcement officers who will take on the task. But putting an end to easy money for the mob will create enemies. Will Earl survive to see the birth of his son?
Good story. My only dislike was the use of the ‘N’ word to describe people of color.
Great narration.

Loved this book!

This is a wonderfully crafted story of corruption, gangsters and heroic police action. The descriptions and action are vivid and moves along briskly. One tends to identify or at least understand the underlying pathos and motivations of all the main characters, good guys and bad guys. In a no excuses fashion it does paint corruption in the evil colors that it deserves. I found the book much in the style of Elmore Leonard, in terms of subject, the crisp, realistic dialog and the complexity of the story which seems to unravel naturally and with ease. My only complaint is the final few chapters of the book seem to drag a bit tediously in exploring the psychology (prior experiences & motivation) of Earl Swagger, the main character, leading to the final "showdown". Except for this indulgence, I would be seriously tempted to give the book 5 stars. Earl Swagger and post WW2 America are such unique and interesting subjects, I truly hope Stephen Hunter follows this with more "swagger".