The 600-pound Gorilla is the second book out of Campbell’s eleven- book Jimmy Flannery series. These books tell the story of the end of old-style machine politics in Chicago and the growing pains that the city experiences as it changes and meets modernity.
For Flannery, Chicago is all about being a party worker who serves his community by doing favor for favor. Others more entrenched see favor for favor as something less benign but more entwining. It’s a system whereby they are all entwined and all beholden to one another. Each Flannery book involves a murder and its usually a murder that someone wants to sweep under the rug because it is more convenient or someone owes someone a favor or something of the like.

Here, the changing of the guard is represented by the Alderman’s seat for the 27th and Flannery’s sponsor, Chips Delvin, is looking more like an old elephant who can’t keep up with the changing ethnic face of the ward. The new face of the ward just might be Janet Canarias, who is not someone the old guard is comfortable with, what with her being lesbian. Deals are going to have to be made to keep her from getting the alderman’s seat. Maybe, even Flannery is going to be set up to take the seat.

Against this backdrop of politics and the changing nature of this part of Chicago is the murder that Flannery feels like he has to solve – even if no one else wants to. Baby, the city’s prized Gorilla, has to find temporary housing during a blizzard when the city zoo’s steam plant is on the fritz.

A gay bathhouse seems like the perfect solution for a tropical beast like a gorilla or, at least, it is until the next morning when the gorilla is marked up with a chain and two dead bodies are found with her. The two corpses were guests in Flannery’s ward even if no one else cares to figure it out. He feels a responsibility to figure this out and not let it get swept under the rug. He is like a junkyard dog in that respect – once he gets his teeth in something, he won’t let go.

The book is written as if narrated by Flannery and Campbell gets the attitude down flat. Flannery’s voice and diction are heard clear above anything else. The book is written well and reads quite smoothly. It is unnecessary to read the first book in the series to dive into this one, although sometimes the background will help if nothing else but to know who all the shady characters are. ( )

I have got to quit choosing books by the cover! I skimmed most of this book because I didn’t like the voice of the protagonist. And, I wasn't expecting the politics. I won’t be reading more from this series. ( )

An OK story but I wasn’t that impressed. Typical gentle but tough guy rooted in his own neighborhood, but loving everyone. Of course he’s modest, but ambitious to a degree. Of course he’s popular enough to solve the case and make people believe him when the chips are down. I think the ending is kind of a cheat, because the perps aren’t introduced until Campbell needs to produce a murderer. The murderers are henchmen of someone we’ve met, but the one we’ve met is big enough to have done the job himself…I don’t know, but I felt sort of let down.