The Skinny Deal.

The Skinny Deal

Russ Hamachek

Book Publishers Network

PO Box 2256, Bothell, WA 98041

ISBN: 0975540769 $17.95 CAN $23.95

Russ Hamachek is a self-styled writer drawing on his experience as an executive in the brewing industry for his third novel, THE SKINNY DEAL. He has also published HOT, STRAIGHT AND TRUE, a novel about PT boats during World War II and RECOMPENSE, a novel about World War II. Hamachek lives in Portland, Oregon and Tucson, Arizona, two of my favorite places.

The time is 1964, and the place is Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Vogelsang-Zorn is a family-run brewery with a young and dedicated management team headed by Clark Madsen that is at odds with its major stockholder, Luther Vogelsang. Luther rules the roost with an iron fist, systematically finding fault with every suggestion to improve the long-term prospects for the company. He finally admits he wants to sell, but even then it becomes clear that he only wants money and has no feeling for his own employees:

"'As to this bootstrap scheme concocted by that fellow Weatherly, I am unalterably opposed to it.' He paused, wiped his brow with his foulard, then reached for and coughed into several layers of tissue. 'Excuse-excuse me. The way I see it, Henry, is as told in your first version. They hope to make a lot by putting in very little of their own money. How much, Mr. President?'"

Hamachek takes the reader not only into the inner workings of a medium-sized brewery, but also into the world of leveraged buyouts and corporate inner workings. Interestingly enough, it turns out to be every man (or woman) for themselves with little thought for the actual integrity of the company. He throws in an interesting twist in the midst of all of this brokering which pretty much blows the entire deal to smithereens. In a world of breweries, geisha girls, and art mistresses, sex seems to be part of the corporate formula. This novel is plot driven with enough characterization to make it interesting and a lot of jargon thrown in for good measure.

THE SKINNY DEAL is an original tale set in the Milwaukee area with lots of local color added to give the reader a nice view of the Milwaukee area. The brewery has a lot in common with the Milwaukee culture, and the German influence is unmistakable. Hamachek keeps his tale tongue-in-cheek so that he has no apparent axe to grind, but still gives credence to cutthroats.