Review: Over the Top
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 08 10, 2012
Murcer's Manny Williams series is decent summer escapism reading, although not, frankly, particularly well done.  Nearly all the plot and charactr elements are over done -- hence, "Over the Top."Manny is almost supernaturally perceptive as a criminal profiler.  But then he shuts down his perceptive intuition to walz into what ought to be obvious traps, set by the most overdone master-monster criminals.  The crimes are murders of nearly unimaginable horror and gore -- done by a criminal who somehow continues to co-opt people close to Manny and his allies, and in a way which the profiler never profiles.  Manny himself is not really believable in his confused commitment to being simon-pure and denying his sexual attraction and love interest due to loyalty to his dead wife, in spite of the fact that she died as a result of having joined the monster team.At the same time, the stories are amusing (if you can stomach them), and somehow hold your interest so that you do read to the end.  If you've nothing better to read and time to fill, Manny Williams is an acceptable choice.  If you've got something better to do, go for that.