Genre: Mystery
Description:
“Lorado Martin has loved junk since his grandparents took him bottle
digging in the backwoods of New England when he was a boy. The search for
antiques and collectibles led him to a unique hobby: digging through the
estates of the newly deceased, arranging the sale of goods for the heirs, and
keeping the leftovers for himself.
To make a living, he builds and maintains housing for recovering
addicts and along the way he’s employed a number of his clients. The men
wrestle with the siren call of drugs and teach Lorado about the difficult
struggle to stay clean one day at a time.
When these two worlds come together, Lorado learns that not every
elderly person dies of natural causes and that some estates are sold to benefit
a killer. His latest project hits close to home. A woman he’s known since
childhood haunts him from a fresh grave. Her grandson, an affable addict who
has fallen off the wagon, stands to inherit a considerable sum whether he
deserves it or not.”
Author:
“C.J. West is the author of seven suspense novels including The End of
Marking Time and Sin and Vengeance, which was optioned into development for
film by Beantown Productions, LLC (screenplay by Marla Cukor). “
For more, visit C.J.’s website.
Appraisal:
Although Dinner at Deadman’s
is a mystery, with all the components of a good one — plenty of viable suspects
and a storyline that keeps you guessing as the clues are uncovered — what stood
out for me were the characters. All of them are, in a word, characters. The
major characters all have their own unique personalities and quirks that shine
through and make them real. It appears that this might be the first of a series
and, if my guess is right, it bodes well.
The protagonist, Lorado Martin, might be the quirkiest of them all.
Lorado is a mountain of a man (which is a nice way of saying he’s both tall and
could stand to lose a few pounds) who everyone recognizes from his trademark
cowboy hat which wouldn’t set him apart in Fort Worth, but sure does in New
Bedford, Massachusetts.
Reading Dinner at Deadman’s
on the heels of a contentious political season in the U.S. in which I spent way
too much time pigeonholing everyone as liberal or conservative, Lorado seemed
to be suffering from bipolar political disorder. His major source of income —
refurbishing rundown buildings in marginal areas of town, financed by
government grants, which are used for subsidized public housing, halfway
houses, and other services for society’s downtrodden — shows his do-gooder
liberal side. That he does this by hiring hopefully reformed drug addicts, even
though that ends up making him less money, only reinforces that perception.
However, his more conservative side views his do-gooding as a lost cause,
helping people who he often sees as society’s moochers and takers. This
struggle within Lorado’s mind, which is something he’s well aware of, adds
depth to his character and also makes him a touch unpredictable, which I think
is a good thing in a mystery. Hopefully we’ll see more books with Lorado in the
future.
FYI:
Some adult language.
Added for
Reprise Review: Dinner at
Deadman's by C.J. West was a WINNER in the Mystery category for B&P 2013
Readers' Choice Awards. Original review ran December 6, 2012.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No significant issues.
Rating:
***** Five Stars
Reviewed
by: BigAl
Approximate
word count: 90-95,000 words
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