Peter Speigelmann, Death's Little Helpers

I read "Death's Little Helpers" by Peter Speigelmann

Disclaimer: The below is merely my opinion. I just read the book.

Categories: mystery, detective, New York

Comments:

I wasn't terribly impressed with the book though it did keep my interest to the end. It just leaves so many questions.

- Why does the girlfriend stick with him?
- Why is the rich family so petty?
- Why is the Russian mob so honorable?
- Why does a detective need to hire a detective friend to answer his questions?
- How long will the family money last if he keeps spending it for no apparent reason?
- What does the missing guy's old girlfriend really have to do with anything?
- Given who the killer was, why did the author include most of the book?

The redeeming factor was the characters. It's easy to care about them.

The long suffering girlfriend of the ex-wife seems real with deep feelings, a rich background and true love for the teenage son.

The teenage son is just the right blend of too smart, too angry, too talented and hurting.

You even feel for the missing man's coworker. She loved him but he was too shallow to love her back. Living with that weight, suddenly he's missing and it only means more hard choices are on the menu. When she does right or when she does wrong, you can identify.

Even with the uneven portrayal of  John March, the detective hooks you with the way he consistently flees emotional involvement while being drawn back to the way of goodness and right.

It has: organized crime, wall street greed and corruption, rich kid detective obsessed with solving the crime, rotten parents, eccentric artists, workaholics

What did I like: the action starts up quickly and keeps you going, the romance ebbs and flows, even the good guys have faults

What didn't I like: March was too self destructive, the killer pops out of nowhere at the end, a few too many loose ends (perhaps signaling an intended sequel), the title doesn't fit the book

Rating: 2 of 5, I liked it but not a lot