Don’t Ever Get Old

by Daniel Friedman

Buck Schatz is a retired Memphis police detective, retired that is for 37 years. Police work basically has not changed that much, they still go after the bad guys, but the way they do it has changed. Buck has not kept up with all the new technology, but his grandson has, and together they make a delightful crime fighting team.

Buck is also a WWII veteran who is Jewish. His real first name is Baruch. As you can image, when he becomes a prisoner of war, things do not go well for him. The story opens when he finds out from a war buddy that the German who tortured him is still alive and is probably hoarding Nazi gold. Buck is enjoying his retirement with his wife Rose and sees no reason to get involved finding the German or the gold. Life has a way of getting in the way with the life to claim to want to have and that’s what makes this story a hoot. It is not often that you get to laugh when reading a story about the Holocaust, but you do in this book. There are scenes that are so well written, and so believable, that you find yourself laughing. Buck’s character is based loosely on Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry’s character, and all of the traits that old men have when they become old men. In the story Harry is 87 years old, many of his friends are dying, he has buried his son and he is putting up with the indignities of old age.  He is not putting up with any of them gracefully; he is fighting every step of the way. His grandson is his link to the new world of technology, a world that he wishes would leave him alone. There are however some murders to be solved and some gold to be recovered and some bad guys to be dispatched. Buck does it all.

Buck’s life story is told with the humor that comes from living a long time. He loves his grandson and will help him with life’s lesson and some good crime fighting tips along the way. His gruff exterior is tempered by a good heat.

This is a fast read, hard to put down because you really want to see how it is going to end. I enjoyed it !