FRONT SIGHT is an ingenious collection of three novellas from bestselling author and legendary film critic Stephen Hunter. Each story features a different generation of the Swagger family: Vietnam vet and expert sniper Bob Lee Swagger; his father, Earl; and his grandfather, Charles, which is an extra special treat.

“City of Meat”
Set in Chicago in 1934, “City of Meat” most resembles the work of Raymond Chandler and is my favorite story in the collection. Federal agent Charles Swagger’s claim to fame is not only being on the team that took down John Dillinger. It turns out the wrong fed got credit for the takedown, which belonged to Charles, who simply was faster on the draw than the infamous gangster and bank robber.

"FRONT SIGHT is nearly everything a Stephen Hunter fan could ask for. The opportunity to get three Swaggers under one book cover is amazing!"

The Chicago field office of the Justice Department calls on Charles to go after their next Public Enemy No. 1: Baby Face Nelson. No one has been able to catch or take down the slick gangster who most recently was seen in the Chicago area. Charles searches the dreary stock yards, but despite coming across a look-alike, he does not have any success finding Nelson.

While there, Charles becomes aware of another situation. When he has to kill a strung-out Black man who tries to take him out with a knife, Charles finds out afterwards that there is an epidemic of a new drug with the street name Night Train. Teaming up with a Black police officer, he convinces his boss to let him stay in Chicago a bit longer. He ends up at the heart of big city and big corporate corruption of the highest order. This is a gritty, incredibly readable tale.

“Johnny Tuesday”
Earl Swagger is the star of this story, which Hunter says would have been filmed in black and white if it was a movie. Set in 1945, “Johnny Tuesday” is the shortest of the three novellas but is still packed with action and full of grit.

The setting is Chesterfield City, Maryland. If the name sounds familiar, think cigarettes and tobacco. The brand Chesterfield is synonymous with the famous smokes of the era. While there, Earl inexplicably gets mixed up in a case that’s very personal to the area. Some years earlier, a brutal bank robbery rocked its residents. Two bodies were left in the killers’ wake; along with a lot of money, they escaped with a very valuable necklace belonging to the Tapscott family. The Tapscotts were the local tobacco barons of the region, and the perpetrators were never caught. Earl is now on the case, and they don’t come much tougher than him.

“Five Dolls for the Gut Hook”
This final novella is set in 1978, and Hunter compares it to a giallo, a particularly bloody type of Italian horror film that was especially popular in the 1970s. The star of “Five Dolls for the Gut Hook” is Bob Lee Swagger, arguably the most popular character Hunter has ever created.

Bob Lee has big shoes to fill. He is always being told that his father and grandfather were two of the toughest detectives who ever lived. Bob Lee made his mark during the Vietnam War with sniper skills that are nearly unmatched. This has provided him with a skill set and a huge chip on his shoulder that has gotten him through many tough spots. At this point in his life, he is drinking hard and suffering from serious guilt and PTSD from the war.

The setting is Hot Springs, Arkansas, and two madman butchers with a particular penchant for horror films are terrorizing everyone. Bob Lee makes it his personal mission to bring these villains to task, and it will happen with much violence. He knows the area, has remarkable instincts, and surrounds himself with a trusted team of cronies who will have to dig deep to figure out what is going on.

FRONT SIGHT is nearly everything a Stephen Hunter fan could ask for. The opportunity to get three Swaggers under one book cover is amazing!