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MOODY GETS THE BLUES
by Steve Oliver
St. Martin's, August 1998
230 pages
$5.99
ISBN: 0312965028


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

It's 1978. Scott Moody is just out of a psychiatric hospital. Vietnam, his journalism career, and his marriage are all behind him. Instead, he has a prescription for Thorazine, a job as a cab driver in a seedy part of Spokane, and a dead philodendron called Irving. While in the hospital, hallucinations of conversations with Humphrey Bogart have given him the idea that he wants to be a PI. With his newly acquired license, he's looking for a case. After a couple of so-called 'easy' cases serving papers, one of which lands him with a bloody nose, he's hired to find a missing businessman.

This is the first in a (so far) short series featuring offbeat PI Scott Moody. He's quite prickly and difficult to get to know, having built a protective shell around himself for self-preservation purposes. However, underneath it he's a truly endearing, likeable character with a lot of charm. As the case progresses, Moody gets rather out of his depth and wonders if he's bitten off more than he can chew, but he copes admirably and keeps himself together.

There were one or two plot points that I wasn't totally convinced by and, at the beginning, a few too many reminders that this was all taking place in 1978. However these were minor issues which in no way spoilt a book that I thoroughly enjoyed. The writing is engaging and funny and full of heart. One of the great strengths of this book was the complex character of Moody and I really look forward to getting to know him further.

Reviewed by Donna Moore, November 2002

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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