Review: Humor Plus Criminals + PI with GA (Guardian Angel) = Zany Mystery!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 10, 2013
I love multi-genre novels, do you? If you enjoy humor, you will want to give this tale a close look! First Warning: Every conversation you read will have at least three voices involved. You see, this Vietnam Vet had at least one close call back then and was assigned a permanent Guardian Angel... Seriously, now I know why they always say "those who live by the gun die by the gun." That is, unless God's looking out for you.  Maybe He knew that this soldier was honor-bound to keep fighting for good... Now he's a P.I. and his G.A. has certainly been earning his pay--that is, if he wasn't a dead monk, turned G.I. He admits openly that God didn't like him... Personally, I think he paired the two to help the monk more than the other way around...You'll see what I mean when you read it...Second Warning. Don't believe a word you hear from anybody, and I do include the monk in this statement. Oh yes, he does speak up, but sometimes that bullet is already on its way... An early tip: this monk drank when he was alive and now spends all of his time eyeing up each and every female that is in the vicinity...a voyeur doesn't always catch the bad guy fast enough... So if you ever get a G.A. assigned to you, be on the alert since they may be, ah, working off some type of penance???If you get the idea that I was thoroughly enjoying this in-head interaction between the two (after I got used to having a third person respond as well), you are right and I'm so happy that this is the first of a series...Do check it out ASAP so you don't get into a later book and wonder what's going on! By the way, it is a little irreverent so don't think this G.A. will be winning any pious medals... LOL...but he probably will be keeping The Big Guy shaking his head and, maybe, sometimes, stifling a chuckle...I also might have enjoyed it a bit more than some of you because I found Roosevelt and I had a lot in common as he throws out opinions on politics, the government and other philosophical thoughts that crosses the minds of those that grew up pre- and during the 60s...Well, the G.A. had already warned Roosevelt of what was coming. Still when he accidentally met one of his old Hippie friends in a little chili place and went home with him, it never occurred to him that it would be Sam, that friend, who was killed...So instead of meeting with the wife and kids as planned, Roosevelt found himself meeting Lisa, who he knew had to be his second "trophy" wife and offered to help find out who killed Sam...Boy, you talk about sending out mixed signals. This cool lady didn't seem at all upset to have lost her husband, except that she was now free to spend some time with Roosevelt, which G.A. was quite interested in seeing happen!But Roosevelt was an honorable man (that's why I think the Big Guy set him up with this particular monk) and even though he agreed to stay there at the house and Lisa was offering quite often, he never once touched her...Then, he met Sam's first wife and seemed to be getting the same vibes from her...What had he gotten himself into? Then as he started asking questions about who might have killed Sam, Lisa admitted that Sam's kids had been kidnapped! While Sheila their mother told him they were at camp... But neither wanted to get the police involved...  G.A. once again had been correct in his predictions as he was now trying to determine the whereabouts of the three children...At the same time, no matter what, Roosevelt knew he had to play by some of the rules at least and contacted the detective in charge of Sam's murder to see if he would be willing to share information. Owens was not anxious to, but was at least willing to talk, as long as Roosevelt kept him involved... Owens had shared that they were looking at a man named Moralis who owned several businesses in town that were believed to be fronts for money-laundering, drugs and certainly prostitution...In the meantime, Greasy Ed, the cook at the chili place, got a bullet in his head...Roosevelt started looking around the big home Sam had bought when he married Lisa... Where was he getting the money?! Tennis Courts, swimming pools, all in the right neighborhood... so that his search ultimately led him to being near their neighbors house and seeing some weird things that raised questions... Like...why would empty horse stalls be locked...  Same with the Tennis Courts?And then he heard a voice he recognized talking to Manuel, who worked for the neighbors. A voice that surprised him to even be there...Aside from Roosevelt getting shot at, beat up, imprisoned underground, wounded...and totally surprised by what was happening, it did finally work out, as we all knew it would and, of course, with Roosevelt being so curious, he made sure that every single mystery, every single lie, and a whole lot of details as to who shot who after he was hit, were all cleared up for us... Then he was satisfied he could get into a newly repaired and painted Matilda, gratefully paid for by somebody else and he and his Guardian Angel started singing...heading for some trout fishing...I tell you one thing, with all the lying going around, there was no way I could even begin to figure out what was really happening, although I had some good guesses... As to who killed Sam? I hadn't a clue...Have fun with this one!GABixlerReviewsBook Received for Review