Don't Ever Get Old

Starred review from March 12, 2012
Friedman’s excellent debut introduces a highly unusual hero, 87-year-old, politically incorrect Buck Schatz, a former member of the Memphis PD, who’s become a living legend. Schatz’s memory is less and less reliable, and his physical decline is making his world “a gradually shrinking circle.” That circle becomes a good deal larger after he agrees to a request to visit Jim Wallace, a soldier he served with in WWII who’s on his deathbed. Wallace reveals that Heinrich Ziegler, the SS officer who ran the POW camp where both Schatz and Wallace were imprisoned, survived the war. On top of that shocker, Wallace reveals that he facilitated the Nazi’s escape in exchange for a gold bar. Schatz’s furious reaction accelerates Wallace’s demise and sets off a frantic search for Ziegler and the treasure he still possesses. Friedman makes his limited lead plausible, and bolsters the story line with wickedly funny dialogue. Agent: Victoria Skurnick, Levine Greenberg Literary Agency.

Starred review from April 1, 2012
A geezer cowboy who's been retired from Memphis Homicide longer than he served there is thrust into the middle of a murderous hunt for Nazi plunder. What a shame that when Jim Wallace was on his deathbed, he asked his old comrade-in-arms Buck Schatz to come see him. The two had never been friends, and they don't bond now over Jim's revelation that he'd accepted a bar of gold in return for letting the supposedly dead Heinrich Ziegler, the SS commandant of the POW camp where both GIs languished in 1944, pass through a military crossing and out of history. As if Jim's confession weren't bad enough, Buck soon realizes that Jim blabbed to everyone he could reach from his hospital bed. Now Jim's daughter Emily and her repellant husband Norris, Baptist preacher Lawrence Kind, Israeli agent Yitzchak Steinblatt and casino debt collector T. Addleford Pratt are all convinced that Buck is on the trail of Ziegler and his gold, and they're all determined to cut themselves in for a piece of the action. Worse still, someone doesn't trust natural causes to eliminate his competitors. Since he's 88 years old, Buck's clear mandate is to go back to watching daytime TV. Instead, he pokes Det. Randall Jennings with a stick and, when that fails, enlists his grandson William, aka Tequila, to spend his summer off from NYU Law School helping him track down Ziegler. The real prize here, however, isn't Nazi treasure but Buck's what-the-hell attitude toward observing social pieties, smoking in forbidden venues and making life easier for other folks. As he battles memory loss and a host of physical maladies, it's great to see that he can still make whippersnapper readers laugh out loud. A sardonically appealing debut for a detective who assures his long-suffering grandson, "I care about people. I just don't like them."

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Starred review from May 1, 2012

Back in the day, Baruch "Buck" Schatz was a renowned Memphis homicide detective. Now long retired, he is asked to visit Jim, an old army colleague (they were in a German POW camp back in World War II), who's on his deathbed and wants Buck's forgiveness. Apparently, Jim took a bribe of gold from SS Officer Heinrich Ziegler, which allowed Ziegler to escape prosecution. Jewish Buck, who nearly died under Ziegler's torture, is incensed to learn that the old Nazi has been living in the United States for decades. After a convoluted search that attracts the attention of several individuals who believe Buck will lead them to the fortune in gold Ziegler still harbors, Buck ascertains his target is living in St. Louis. Suddenly, the 87-year-old Buck has roped his grandson Billy, a law school student, into a memorable road trip filled with pathos, bank robbery, and murder. The murders follow Buck and Billy home again in a particularly gruesome and troubling pattern. VERDICT Short chapters, crackling dialog, and memorable characters make this a standout debut. With his curmudgeonly lead, Friedman ensures his intergenerational detective story maintains a pitch-perfect tone. The underlying theme of revenge balances a wacky plot that evokes Elmore Leonard. This has a direct topical connection with P.J. Tracy's Live Bait, too.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 1, 2012
The title of this knockout of a book is misleading. Ninetyish, retired Memphis homicide cop Buck Schatz makes coot-dom look like a riot. Buck is an abrasive old party with not an ounce of codger cuteness. He has trouble remembering; his skin has grown papery; he can't push his lawn mower anymore. But his cop's watchfulness is intact. He keeps his .375 Magnum close by. He's a death-camp survivorhis real name is Baruchand right off, he learns that the sadistic guard who brutalized him is likely still alive and the possessor of much stolen Nazi gold. To honor the Nazi's victims and maybe grab the gold, Buck and his chatterbox grandson go on a quest. But who are these people who suddenly come out of the woodworka loan shark, a scholar, a pretty Israeli soldier? And why does everyone start dying? In prose as straightforward and tough as old Buck, the plot reveals its secrets with perfect timing. It's a shock when the killer's identity is revealed. But, then, we think eventually, who else could it be?(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)