Quote of the Week

"The key is to commit crimes so confusing that police feel too stupid to even write a crime report about them."
Randy K. Milholland, Something Positive Comic
10-30-03. Web Comic Pioneer

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

"The Blood Red Indian Summer" by David Handler

Choosing a book to read with the place being my home state of Connecticut was a fun experience.  This is book two in my reading adventure with my friend Wendy as we read mysteries where the place is as significant as the characters or plot. Surfing around through library pages and mystery resources, I came across the Mitry & Berger series by David Handler.  The book is called "The Blood Red Indian Summer" and is the 8th in the series with these characters.  They live in the fictional place called Dorset, CT on the CT shoreline. Sometimes it is a challenge to jump into the middle of a series with no back knowledge of characters, plot, & chemistry but this was an easy read in which this could have been a stand alone book.  I know there is background with the characters. Mitry has been demoted so to speak from a higher police position to become a resident state trooper. I wonder about that. Having known a few CT resident troopers in my day, the job does not have the stature say as a homicide detective, while still an important part of a community.  Berger is a film critic to has relocated to the area from NY. I wonder about that. He is a nice Jewish boy who lives a simple albeit quirky lifestyle.  Ask him film trivia questions such as "Who is the producer of such & such film?" He magically pulls the answer out of the air.   Mitry & Berger become embroiled with a disgraced NFL player who takes up residence in a very tony area of CT fondly called "The Gold Coast."  They begin solving a potential crime in which the NFL player's sister-in-law is found nearly drowned on Berger's beach after which might have been a suicide attempt and a heavy night of partying.  Handler does a great job intertwining a group of interesting and sometimes seedy characters.  Everyone from the dementia patient with no sexual inhibitions to a used car salesman with a string of ex-wives and "Bond girl" type advertising bimbos.  Don't let the cast of characters derail you from a well written mystery.  If you are not familiar with the CT shore, you will find his descriptions accurate and appropriate for the plot and timing.  I found myself guessing to the end.  I now know I need to go back to my hometown library and get the series from the beginning and get to know Mitry & Berger just a little better. I highly recommend this series not only for it's CT roots, but it's just plain worth your time if you need a new series.

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