Like the title says, I'm searching for the name of a book.

It's hardboiled crime fiction and the main character is a private detective. He's a drug user and alcoholic and a Vietnam veteran. The depictions of his drug use and alcoholism were really accurate because the author had a history of drug abuse and alcoholism. He played American football for the US Army and was kicked out after he accidentally killed a Vietnamese family during his tour of Vietnam. I think it's set in Montana but I can't be sure.

I'm pretty sure it's written in the first person and that the character's name is Sugrah or Shugra or something similar. The book I'm looking for is, I think, called The ??? Duck and I know that it's not the only novel to feature this character.

I know that there's not much to go on but I'm hoping that someone knows the book I'm searching for.

Cheers

Alive and Free

 

Found it on Google. I don't know what search terms you were using, but 'private detective vietnam montana duck' will give you the author's Wikipedia page as the first result. Apparently the dude was a very big deal in the crime fiction genre.

Character: C.W. Sughrue
Author: James Arthur Crumley
Title: The Mexican Tree Duck

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Crumley

 

Thanks.

Not very good ones.