All the fun of the fair…
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Publication due 7th May 2013
Sea Haven is a ‘sunny, funderful’ place – or at least so the advertising claims. But when Officer Danny Boyle breaks up a fight between nurse Christina and her employer, he doesn’t know he’s just got himself involved in a case that will lead to murder. Danny and his incorruptible, straight as a die boss Ceepak have to negotiate their way through family feuds, local gossip and dodgy funfair rides in this cosy but with an edge crime thriller. Still, looking on the bright side, it gets Danny off the beat and onto playing detective for a while, and gives him an opportunity to drive around in Ceepak’s brand new ‘Batmobile’.
This is the eighth book in the John Ceepak series, but it’s the first I’ve read. It took me a few chapters to get into it – at first it seemed a bit too cosy, and Ceepak seemed a bit too incorruptible. But once the story really got underway, I found this a really enjoyable read, fast-paced, full of humour but with a strong plot and leading up to an exciting climax. The story is told by Danny in the first-person and he’s a very likeable character. Being a laid-back kind of a guy with a liking for arcade games and pretty women, he enjoys life in this beach resort. And he hero-worships his boss, Ceepak (I suspect there’s a back-story there but it really wasn’t necessary to know it). The investigation is complicated by Danny’s attraction to the chief suspect, while Ceepak has to deal with the return of his drunken and bullying father.
While the overall tone is light and sunny, there is enough meat in the story to make for a satisfying read and the ending was suitably dramatic. Well-written and with agreeable, well developed protagonists, I can see why Grabenstein seems to have a loyal following in the US. I’m certainly looking forward to spending some more time in Sea Haven in the future.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher.
I’m glad you liked this one. I think the Grabenstein series is terrific. Such an interesting mix of fun with solid mystery. I like the wit, too. I know everybody has too much to read, but I do recommend the earlier books in the series.
The good thing is that because it’s a light read it’s the kind of book you can read over an evening or two. I’ll definitely backtrack to the earlier ones when I get time – there was some cryptic stuff in this suggesting an interesting backstory about Ceepak’s father…