Head, head, who's got the head?
Ok, it really is a book about people chasing other people who may or may not have Pancho Villa's head. It really is, no kidding. And with that absurd premise Craig McDonald has written a book that actually works as a boisterous, thrill filled action adventure that is a blast to read.

The legend of Villa's head being stolen by Harvard's Skull and Bones Society has been documented throughout the years. It was brought up during the Presidential campaign because rumor had it that Preston Bush- yup, of those Bushes- was involved at the time. McDonald uses these myths to form the basis for the aptly titled Head Games. He creates a hard boiled crime writer, his newbie interviewer, a beautiful Mexican girl and throws them into the middle of the fight for possession of Villa's decapitated head (now a skull.) It is filled with car chases, lots of blood and a little love.

Head Games is a novel with a strong plot, characters who are characters and plenty of action. Lines like "But talking about your plans is the surest way to make God laugh " prove McDonald's writing prowess. This also shows one of the book's strengths- it sense of humor. McDonald never takes his characters seriously, he lets them run amok with just enough leash on them to prevent them from getting totally out of hand. His crime writer, Lassiter, hangs out with the big wigs of the 1950s- Hemingway, Dietrich and Welles are all brought into the scene. The plot thread that has Lassiter not speaking to Hemingway over a past argument adds a fun touch of fictitious realism. The pile of bodies grows, the number of enemies is ever increasing and the chase seems never ending. And characters from history traipse through the pages, recapturing their forgotten place in our little remembered past.

The other surprising strength of the book is its ending, Book 2. It has its end of the adventure, culminating climax that is expected. But the continuation of the story through the years to the book's and the story's actual ending is a charming twist. It adds pathos and emotion to the over all appeal and depth to the book. Unexpected yet appreciated.

Bleak House has again found an author and his book that is just off the norm into the creative and diverse. Head Games is a serous bit of black hearted tomfoolery that entertains and diverts. ( )

On first blush (or if you read the back cover copy) it might seem like CM got a little over-zealous when loading up the battered but fine-running pickup that is this story. But it's just the kind of book that's impossible to synopsis-ize without emphasizing the wrong things.

Yes, it is a rollicking road movie with guest appearances by a motley and historically accurate cast, including a damn funny cameo by our commander-in-chief (wonder if the reference made it to the daily briefing?) - as well as a smart new angle the whole pancho villa story.

But the elements that really make it work are: beautifully, beautifully drawn characters; a firm footing in the era; enviable phrase-spinning; and a certain gruff sweetness, most evident in the lassiter-bud relationship. And - just my opinion - the right amount of cussin and irredeemable behavior.

By my count there's a little bit of ellroy (but cm writes smoother, thank god), hiassen (though without resorting to slapstick, which i much appreciate), maybe a little flannery o'conner thrown in - a giddy and unapologetic helping of grotesque and disfigured.

I think there are books that are a little too smart for their own good. (If that weren't true, they'd be making high school kids read Citizen Vince instead of Jodi Picoult. No offense to JP. Well, maybe a little.) I hope this book gets the readership it deserves.

I had to knock off half a star because I'm still having trouble with Alicia. Sorry, I'm still thinking Lassiter is a taste that it would take more than a couple of decades to acquire - not that he wouldn't be worth it in the long haul. ( )