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tita_noir's review
3.0
Very, very late in this book we are about to unmask the bad guy. All the major players are in a room together including our intrepid Trooper Des Mitry and her helpful boyfriend, movie critic Mitch Berger.
A witness, an old man, has spoken up and fingered one person in particular in the room particular for the bad deed. The suspect takes exception:
After more questions and more suspicions, the now main suspect continues to try to discredit the old man. Except another witness pipes up and breaks silence. This witness has a questionable past and may not be viewed as credible:
Basically, throughout the whole book, Mitch was on wise-cracking fire. From his early paranoid panic about his parents visiting to meet Des to his pathological need to compare everything to a movie, Mitch was the star of this book.
My enjoyment of Mitch plus the no-nonsense Des and my continuing enjoyment of the different denizens of Dorset is what makes this book a 3-star. The mystery certainly doesn't. It is as thin as rice paper and barely merits being called a mystery. Rather, it read more like a crime novel where stuff gets miraculously solved in the end by two witnesses who finally speak up at the right moment. The early Berger/Mitry mysteries had a much more cozy mystery feel than this one. The "guest stars" were interesting and I think Handler had the seeds of some very fascinating characters, but he didn't really develop them well.
Still, this was a quick read that went down really easily and was a fun while it was happening. Don'tt read it for the mystery -- you'll be disappointed. Read it if you are a B&M fan and if you enjoy Mitch's brand of neurotic humor.
A witness, an old man, has spoken up and fingered one person in particular in the room particular for the bad deed. The suspect takes exception:
"That old man has Alzheimer's!"
"Frontotemporal dementia actually," Mitch said.
"Are you taking his word over mine?"
"I can't speak for the others," Mitch said. "But I am going with the old guy with dementia."
After more questions and more suspicions, the now main suspect continues to try to discredit the old man. Except another witness pipes up and breaks silence. This witness has a questionable past and may not be viewed as credible:
"Don't pay her no mind. The woman's an old crack whore. You going to listen to her or me?"
"I can't speak for the others," Mitch said. "But I'm going with the crack whore."
Basically, throughout the whole book, Mitch was on wise-cracking fire. From his early paranoid panic about his parents visiting to meet Des to his pathological need to compare everything to a movie, Mitch was the star of this book.
My enjoyment of Mitch plus the no-nonsense Des and my continuing enjoyment of the different denizens of Dorset is what makes this book a 3-star. The mystery certainly doesn't. It is as thin as rice paper and barely merits being called a mystery. Rather, it read more like a crime novel where stuff gets miraculously solved in the end by two witnesses who finally speak up at the right moment. The early Berger/Mitry mysteries had a much more cozy mystery feel than this one. The "guest stars" were interesting and I think Handler had the seeds of some very fascinating characters, but he didn't really develop them well.
Still, this was a quick read that went down really easily and was a fun while it was happening. Don'tt read it for the mystery -- you'll be disappointed. Read it if you are a B&M fan and if you enjoy Mitch's brand of neurotic humor.
vkemp's review
4.0
Another great entry in the Mitry/Berger series. It's time for the parents to meet. Mitch's folks return from Florida to meet Des and Des' dad, The Deacon, is staying at Des' house while recovering from heart surgery and they plan dinner for everyone. Of course, it's interrupted by a murder. Des is the Resident State Trooper for the Dorset, Connecticut area. The family and hangers-on of Tyrone Grantham are staying in Dorset while he serves an NFL suspension. Da Beast is persona non grata; his wife is pregnant and her younger sister tries to commit suicide. Oh yeah, there's also the guy suing Tyrone for raping his girlfriend. It's a huge mess for Des to figure out. I always enjoy reading this series. Des and Mitch are great together and they work well to solve the crimes Des is working on and Mitch always gets involved in, too. Recommended.
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