Part of the ‘A Book from every State of the Union’ Reading Challenge – Illinois.

I came across this novel while I was searching my library for books to include in my 2014 reading challenge; it was the only one by this Author on their shelves and immediately cried out to me. Heeding that cry, I brought it home... am I glad I did.

The main protagonist is everything there is to love, and hate, in the character of a private detective, or should that be insurance investigator; to find out what this means you’ll have to read the book. He is full of the dry sarcastic wit and one-liners that a lover of a traditional mystery novel will find to their taste. He is, or thinks he is, invincible, not easy fooled and a tough guy to boot; but really as we find out as his character develops in this novel, he is more than a little vulnerable. There is so much about this man that reminded me of Philip Marlowe, that I wasn’t but a few chapters into this novel before I found myself really rooting for the guy, and wanting everything to go his way. There are a cast of supporting characters for our main to play off against, but rather than let his main character overshadow them, the Author does an excellent job of making sure that the others he encounters either bring out the best him in, stop him from totally self-destructing, or really bring out his hard side; whatever their role they are written with equal parts of grit and humour and enough realism to make the reader feel as if they actually lived.

The plot is quirky and funny wrapped up in a pretty page turning mystery that will keep you guessing to the end. I finished this book in one sitting, and when I finally came to the closure of the plot all I could wonder was ‘how the heck did I not see that coming’. The Author is also able to inject a touch of realism into the locations of his novel by throwing the reader pieces of plot that link to past, or current, news items. Normally I don’t like this in the fiction I read as I hate being distracted from a good plot by the feeling I’ve seen this in the paper, but that was not the case here. I think the difference between this novel and others that I’ve read that attempted this was the fact that this Author wrote about these events with the same wit as he did his plot.

A downside to this book, I found, was that it actually the third in a series containing this protagonist; however, this did not make me like the book any less or feel I was missing out on anything, as it works just as well as a standalone novel. What this discovery did achieve however, was to ensure that I will be reading more by this Author.

If you are looking for a writer who has a similar style to Raymond Chandler, I highly recommend this novel. If you’re looking for a good traditional mystery, well see the sentence above this one.

Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2014/03/04/review-hunting-sweetie-rose-a-mystery-jack...





This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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Part of the ‘A Book from every State of the Union’ Reading Challenge – Illinois.

I came across this novel while I was searching my library for books to include in my 2014 reading challenge; it was the only one by this Author on their shelves and immediately cried out to me. Heeding that cry, I brought it home... am I glad I did.

The main protagonist is everything there is to love, and hate, in the character of a private detective, or should that be insurance investigator; to find out what this means you’ll have to read the book. He is full of the dry sarcastic wit and one-liners that a lover of a traditional mystery novel will find to their taste. He is, or thinks he is, invincible, not easy fooled and a tough guy to boot; but really as we find out as his character develops in this novel, he is more than a little vulnerable. There is so much about this man that reminded me of Philip Marlowe, that I wasn’t but a few chapters into this novel before I found myself really rooting for the guy, and wanting everything to go his way. There are a cast of supporting characters for our main to play off against, but rather than let his main character overshadow them, the Author does an excellent job of making sure that the others he encounters either bring out the best him in, stop him from totally self-destructing, or really bring out his hard side; whatever their role they are written with equal parts of grit and humour and enough realism to make the reader feel as if they actually lived.

The plot is quirky and funny wrapped up in a pretty page turning mystery that will keep you guessing to the end. I finished this book in one sitting, and when I finally came to the closure of the plot all I could wonder was ‘how the heck did I not see that coming’. The Author is also able to inject a touch of realism into the locations of his novel by throwing the reader pieces of plot that link to past, or current, news items. Normally I don’t like this in the fiction I read as I hate being distracted from a good plot by the feeling I’ve seen this in the paper, but that was not the case here. I think the difference between this novel and others that I’ve read that attempted this was the fact that this Author wrote about these events with the same wit as he did his plot.

A downside to this book, I found, was that it actually the third in a series containing this protagonist; however, this did not make me like the book any less or feel I was missing out on anything, as it works just as well as a standalone novel. What this discovery did achieve however, was to ensure that I will be reading more by this Author.

If you are looking for a writer who has a similar style to Raymond Chandler, I highly recommend this novel. If you’re looking for a good traditional mystery, well see the sentence above this one.

Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2014/03/04/review-hunting-sweetie-rose-a-mystery-jack...





This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
( )

In Fredrickson’s mystery novel, Dek Elstrom has a knack for solving puzzling crimes. It’s a hobby that keeps him occupied. When he is hired by an anonymous client wanting an explanation for the death of a clown, Dek finds himself embroiled in several crimes that he is blamed for. To prove his innocence, he sets out only to find himself entangled in a decades-old cold case, a dysfunctional family, and a dark legacy of abuse and hatred. As the mystery deepens, Dek must pull down the walls he has built around himself and expose his inner sole or risk his own future.

A solid introduction to the A Dek Elstrom Mystery series. ( )

“Fresh Meat” by Leigh Neely for Criminal Element

If you’re looking for a book to make you run the gamut of emotions, Hunting Sweetie Rose by Jack Fredrickson is it. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll want to write bad checks. OK, maybe I exaggerated on the last one, but I promise you’ll experience everything else. It’s an interesting and entertaining read.

This is the third is the mystery PI series that features Dek Elstrom, the disgraced investigator who ended up losing almost all he had—including his wealthy wife and his credibility—and it measures up to the first two with ease.

It starts with a clown dancing on the roof of a building and his rather ungraceful fall from grace to the ground. Dek’s services are engaged to determine if the clown’s sudden stop on the asphalt was an accident (as the police ruled) or murder. Dek doesn’t know who his employer is, but he’s pleased to have work and, of course, like all of us, loves a good puzzle. He gets a big one when he meets up with Sweetie Fairbairn and discovers the wealthy benefactor to many charities is the biggest mystery of all.

Read More at http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/02/fresh-meat-hunting-sweetie-rose