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It's 1970 and Manfred Eugene Webern, also known as Tush Hog Webern, is a former Dallas deputy sheriff who has retired from the force at the age of 49 after oil was found on his family's land. At the same time that he retired and was seen with extra money, his former partner was killed and rumor on the streets has it that Hog got paid off for the death. Texas Ranger commander Bob Wallace knows better and because Hog had the street reputation of a cop gone bad, he asks Hog to join him in an undercover operation to bring down a group of semi-organized, violent criminals based down South in Mississippi who were called the Dixie Mafia. Wallace is working under one of the bigwigs in the Mississippi Department of Public Safety and he promises Hog a wild time working an important case. Bored with all his time off, spent fishing all day, Hog agrees to do the job. When he introduces himself to the leader of the group, Jasper Sparks, Hog also meets intelligent and classy Nell Bigelow, daughter of a Delta millionaire. She's a former prosecutor, who seems to be well liked and respected by people from both sides of the track. To his surprise, Nell shows an attraction to him and Hog reciprocates. Though he isn't sure that she can be trusted, he falls for her. Hog also meets the rest of the gang of thieves. He respects some, sees others as psychopaths, and trusts none of them. By emulating the violent ways of his new buddies, Hog is soon accepted and is invited to take part in a multi million-dollar caper with them. Hog is uneasy, as he has already witnessed enough to bring some of the men down, so why is the man in charge of the undercover case, Curtis Blanchard, a chief felony investigator for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, telling him to not do anything until the big heist goes down? Now Hog trusts no one but himself as the danger grows. Tush Hog Webern is a familiar type of character in southern police crime stories. He's a big, tough man, not at all unwilling to become violent when he is working to bring about justice. He's like the criminals he goes after, in that the excitement and the way of life of such men is natural to him, while he couldn't really live the life of a regular working Joe. Writer Milton Burton can create scenes of intense action and violence. This book flies along and captures the reader's interest and holds on to it as the story puts everyone through their paces. The main character shows that he admires some of the violent bad guys a bit too much for my taste, while making the good guys less than totally admirable. But this works to make an emotional connection between the book's characters and the readers. THE SWEET AND THE DEAD is a completely rough and masculine book that takes the readers for a hell of an exciting wild ride.
Reviewed by Sharon Katz, January 2007
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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