Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Bogey Nights by Marja McGraw


First Line: The far off cry of the sirens turned into a frantic wail as they neared Good Joe's Honky Tonk, sending a chill down my spine and panic rising up my throat.

Pamela Cross is right to feel that panic. She and her husband Chris have just watched their 1940s-themed restaurant burn down to the ground. Fortunately they quickly find an old house that can be converted to a new forties-style eatery and hope that their chef as well as the wait staff and the band that provides the live music will still be available when the new place opens.

Renovations are progressing at a good pace until a body is discovered, buried in the basement of the old house since 1943. With no business to run at the moment, Chris and Pamela have plenty of time to do a bit of research into the old murder-- with the blessing of an overworked Detective Janet Riley. With the best of babysitters in Constance Hargood, the couple can have peace of mind that their son, seven-year-old Mikey, will be well taken care of while they're playing private eyes. What they don't realize is that-- even though all the suspects may be old-- they can still be deadly.

I was in the perfect mood for this fun-loving book. Yes, Pamela and her Humphrey Bogart lookalike husband Chris play amateur sleuths, but they don't ignore everything else in their lives. In fact, I think the author's depiction of her characters' family life was one of the things I enjoyed most as I read Bogey Nights. Their two dogs Sherlock and Watson have a piece of the action, they make friends with Detective Riley and her dog Friday, they deal with Mikey's adventures at school-- and they keep up with all the hundreds of details involved in getting a new business up and running. In so many of the mysteries I read, I never get a true feeling of family or "connected-ness" with the characters. It's almost as if they have no lives outside of solving crime. Not so with Pamela and Chris Cross, and I was surprised at how refreshing that is.

The mystery is a corker, with plenty of twists and turns, but I thought I had it all figured out as I turned the pages. Then I had that moment... that moment when a reader has a light bulb go off over her head with a glaring neon sign that flashes, "Hold the phone, cupcake. You're not as smart as you think you are!" Sure enough, I had plenty of things figured out-- but not the most important one.

I was also pleasantly surprised at the relationship that the couple had with the detective on the case-- even to the point of their becoming friends. I did become concerned with the amount of work Janet Riley was allowing them to do, but McGraw addressed my worries very nicely by book's end.

If anything at all bothered me about Bogey Nights, it was the overuse of two idiosyncrasies. Pamela has a tendency to roll her eyes (I do that rather well myself), but there were times that she did it so much that I was afraid her eyes would get stuck in the back of her head. And Chris? Maybe it's because I've never been a Humphrey Bogart fan, but Chris just turned that upper lip of his under too much. Looking like Bogey? Fine. Talking like Bogey? No problem. Using 1940s slang? Copacetic. But please don't wear that lip out, Chris. You're going to need it! However, those were very minor annoyances that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book. In fact, I'm going to be looking for the others in this series!

Bogey Nights by Marja McGraw
ISBN: 9781610090087
Dark Oak Mysteries © 2011
Paperback, 230 pages

Cozy Mystery, #1 Bogey Man mystery
Rating: B
Source: Publicist

17 comments:

  1. Cathy - Oh, I know what you mean about little idiosyncrasies that go too far or are used too often. Still, this really sounds like a fun read. And I do like the title - nice play on words!

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    1. This book is so good that it far outweighs the minor annoyances, Margot!

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  2. "Bogey Nights," the first book in Marja McGraw's Bogey Man mystery series, is a true delight, as are the other two books (so far) in the series. I love the sense of humor Marja incorporates in her books and I think of them as "feel good" mysteries.

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    1. I'm looking forward to reading more in the series, Patricia, because they definitely are "feel good" mysteries!

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  3. Cathy, Thank you for a great review. (I'm working on the annoying little habits of the characters.) : )
    Marja McGraw

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    1. You can't please all the readers all the time, Marja. I certainly know it's true with the piddly little things I write! :-)

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  4. Excellent review! For an awesome book! Good times. I'm happy things are well.

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  5. All the books in this series are a genuine delight to read. I've read them all and they just get better and better. I always look forward to the next one.

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    1. You folks are making me want to drop all my other books and read more of this series-- and I can't! *sob*

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  6. What a great review! One always gets a "connected-ness with the characters" in a Marja McGraw novel.

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    1. I definitely got that impression just from reading one book, so I'm really looking forward to reading others!

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  7. I look forward to obtaining a copy of this book and reading it now. Thanks for the review. I, too, enjoy getting to know other aspects of the characters' lives.

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    1. I don't know... there's just something about learning what the character is really like. The fact that he/she's a crime-solving genius isn't always enough! Bogey Nights more than satisfies in having very realistic, well-rounded characters.

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  8. Thank you all for your kind comments!

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  9. Big fan of this series and looking forward to next book. Reader not a writer who enjoys McGraw's style. Realistic characters add dimension often missing in other mysteries. Enjoyed your review hope you find time to read other books in series.

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Thank you for taking the time to make a comment. I really appreciate it!