Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Oakdale Library | MYSTERY HAN | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Stillwater Public Library | MYSTERY HAN | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Mitch Berger has been accepted at least on the surface by some of the posh families in the small enclave to which he's moved - even his open affair with the beautiful black policewoman is looked upon peaceably. But when a member of the small group of men who gather for early-morning walks is found dead, the subsequent investigation, involving both Mitch and Desiree, opens a very large container of personal evil that has no place in any society.
Author Notes
In addition to the Berger and Mitry series, David Handler is the author of the Stewart Hoag series which includes the Edgar-Award winning novel The Man Who Would be F. Scott Fitzgerald . He has also written extensively for television and films and co-authored the international best-selling thriller Gideon under the pseudonym Russell Andrews. He lives in Old Lyme, CT.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In Handler's delightful third outing (after 2002's Hot Pink Farmhouse) starring beautiful black state trooper Desiree "Des" Mitry and transplanted New Yorker and renowned film critic Mitch Berger, the unlikely but dynamic duo get mixed up with movie stars and murder in the picturesque village of Dorset, Conn. The arrival of "breathtakingly gorgeous Academy Award winner" Esme Crockett and her husband, "combustible blue-eyed Latino heartthrob" Tito Molina, promises a far more exciting summer than usual for Dorset residents with hordes of reporters and stargazers. When Tito falls to his death from a cliff, the authorities suspect suicide, but Des, a former homicide detective, thinks otherwise. She joins forces with Mitch in an investigation that in the end shatters forever the squeaky-clean image of Dorset's elite. While Mitch has finally become acclimated to simple village life, he returns in one of the novel's more affecting episodes to New York, where he tries to dispel some of the painful memories of his deceased wife and introduce Des to the energy and pulse of the city. With its vivid setting, quirky and unusual characters, and fast-paced plot skillfully interwoven with movie trivia, this cozy with attitude is sure to satisfy Handler's many committed fans and attract new ones. (Nov. 10) FYI: Handler is also the author of The Man Who Died Laughing (1988) and seven other titles in his Stewart Hoag series. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Handler's Berger and Mitry series stands out from the crowd in a couple of ways. First, its romantically involved protagonists are a genuine odd couple: chubby Jewish film critic Mitch Berger and gorgeous African American state trooper Desiree Mitry. Second, the series' setting--Connecticut's Gold Coast shoreline--is hardly a common locale for crime fiction. Handler makes the most of these elements in this enjoyable third installment of the series. The tiny village of Dorset is besieged with paparazzi and tourists when hunky actor Tito Molina and his sexy actress wife, Esme, come to stay with Esme's family. When Tito plunges off a cliff to his death, Trooper Mitry suspects foul play. Berger's terrible review of Tito's latest movie--and his subsequent fistfight with the hot-tempered actor--catapult him directly into the prime-suspect position. And why was Tito wearing one of Mitch's shirts? Berger and Mitry make a great couple on many levels, and Handler does an outstanding job of describing the colorful townspeople and their various peccadilloes. Nick and Nora updated for modern times. --Jenny McLarin Copyright 2003 Booklist
Kirkus Review
Sex in the suburbs. Don't tell anyone, but everyone in Dorset is sleeping around. Patrician disciplinarian Dodge Crockett is going in for S&M with ex-junkie, barely ex-teen Becca, his daughter Esme's best friend. His cool blond wife Martine is meeting Book Schnook owner Jeff Wachtell, separated from his wife Abby, a famous children's-book author, who had a brief fling with Tito Molina, the tormented teenaged idol movie star now married to Esme, a recent Oscar winner who also sleeps with Jeff. Will Durslag and his wife Donna, partners in a foodie emporium, are faithful only because transplanted New York film critic Mitch Berger turned her down, staying true to his love, state trooper Desiree Mitry (The Hot Pink Farmhouse, 2002, etc.). More beds heat up until Tito, who punched out Mitch over a bad review of his latest movie, falls over a cliff, and Donna dies in a hot-sheets motel. Des's former law enforcement partner Rico and his new partner, big-bosomed Yolie, in town to tidy up, get almost nowhere, even with Des riding shotgun, and it's up to Mitch to write finis to the sad love-gone-awry script. Not exactly a testimonial to marriage or a paean to suburban morality. Or to clever plotting either, but if you won't mind that the murderer is apparent very early on, a nicely delineated study of sins that are usually whispered about, at least in Connecticut. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
A famous movie star dies in a fall from a cliff near Dorset, CT, where film critic Mitch Berger resides. Trooper Desiree Mitry investigates while fending off the press and curiosity seekers; however, clues seem to implicate Mitry's close friends-including Berger. A nice follow-up to The Cold Blue Blood. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
