Customer Reviews

The Accidental Hunter: A D Hunter Mystery

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When R & B singer Night ( From " Night Work") is kidnapped, his music manager Ivy Greenwich hires D. Hunter to deliver the ransom money so the New York City police don't get involved. Ivy Greenwich also has another young rising singer Bridgette Haze that he wants to transform from teen pop star to the next hot urban R& B singer. That means bringing Bridgette to New York to hang with other urban artist and to be seen at all the local hot spots. With the recent kidnapping of Night and the daily threats he hides,Ivy hires D. Hunter again to protect Bridgette as she roams the city in preparation of the awards show. As the heat starts to rise between the singer and her personal protector people plot deception and hidden agendas.
Nelson George covers a lot of ground in The Accidental Hunter such as interracial relationships,A.I.D.S.,the music business, absentee fathers,drugs,ect... I enjoyed this hip-hop mystery of sorts. I liked that the hip-hop scene wasn't overloaded with designer labels and bling bling. D.Hunter is a charmer trying to run his own business and live with H.I.V. I hope this is the first in a long line of D.Hunter mysteries.
Nelson George knows the music business, the streets of New York and the problems in our community today. With The Accidental Hunter he has brilliantly blended it all together.
Reviewed by
Dawnny

A good mystery has to entertain, and then it should also provide some other reason for its existence. Le Carre tought us a lot about the dark side of the spying business during the Cold War. Hiaasen tells us a lot about the dangers of development and the ecological damage caused by people who just don't care.

Addidental Hunter forces readers to examine:

Crack among African-Americans
Black music on White pop culture
Living with AIDS
Interracial Relationships.

We are also accustomed to private detectives who jump into bed with all kinds of women throughout the book. Now we suddenly have a main character who is HIP positive.

You of course don't read mysteries for this kind of education, you must also be entertained. The characters must be developed enough to hold your interest. The plot must be interesting enough to make you keep turning pages until the end. And all of this is accomplished, accomplished very well indeed, you'll wonder abut an uninown entity is becomming increasingly violent in seeking revenge for betrayals of the past.

Nelson George is back in the first of a mystery series of books about the highs and lows of the life of Dervin "D" Hunter in THE ACCIDENTAL HUNTER. D heads his own security business and has taken on the job of bodyguard to a couple of high profile music celebrities. One of the stars, Night (from Night Work) has been kidnapped and D is hired to deliver the ransom and collect Night in return. His other client is a young, white, teenie bopper, hoping to update her image with a little hip hop.

Both assignments weigh heavily on D as he battles his own demons, such as his mother's new fiance', his HIV positive status, and problems within his team. As if that's not enough, a motorcycle gang is always in the mix when it comes to his clients and D begins a little investigation of his own to find out who's behind the gang. What he finds out could not only cost him his business, but friendships he's built along the way.

THE ACCIDENTAL HUNTER was a dark, slow read for me. The mystery of finding out who was behind the wrongdoing in the book kept me interested in the storyline. But, all the references to singers, rappers, and name brands of this or that slowed me down a bit as I'm way behind in keeping up with the entertainment lifestyle. I did however enjoy the character of D Hunter, his moodiness, seeing all sides of his character, and of course, watching him kick butt. The ending of the book has me anticipating the next in the series. (RAW Rating: 3.5)

Reviewed by Tee C. Royal
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

I couldn't get into this book. It was very slow. I was dissapointed - tried but couldn't finish the book.

Someone is kidnapping popular R&B and pop stars. The question is who and why. Security firm owner D Hunter is faced with this challenge in Nelson George's novel The Accidental Hunter. When popular R & B star Night and his girlfriend are kidnapped, his manager Ivy Greenwich wants D Hunter to find him. D has also been hired to protect Ivy's latest project (bubble-gum pop artist Bridgette Haze) who he wants to change into a more urban image. Someone is targeting Ivy's artists and it's D's job to stop this from happening.

This novel has all of the elements of a good mystery but it still falls short. There is an extremely dry flow to the whole story. A mystery should have an exciting build up and end in an explosive climax. The Accidental Hunter did neither. There was nothing to draw you into the story. The novel would have been better if the focus was just on one kidnapping plot instead of two. Too many sub-plots that had nothing to do with the mystery itself killed this story. This will distract and confuse the reader because there isn't a strong main plot. Nelson George's earlier novels with the exception Nightwork were wonderful stories. He needs to refocus and return to his earlier style of fiction writing.

The Accidental Hunter
Nelson George

Amazon Rating: 3
APOOO Rating: 3

Title: Safe and Secure

Nelson George takes readers on a mystifying ride into securing the lives of the rich and famous in his latest novel, The Accidental Hunter. Security expert, D. Hunter is hired by Ivy Greenwich, the agent to the stars, to deliver ransom money to the kidnappers of recording star, Night. D surmises that this kidnapping is a personal vendetta against Ivy Greenwich and is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and a Ninja-like motorcycle gang could hold the answer to his questions. Meanwhile, D is heavily distracted because his fledging security company is hired by Ivy to provide security services for pop star, wannabe hip-hop star, Bridgette Haze. Bridgette represents everything D should be running away from, but the young star has her heart set on being with D. In the midst of providing protection to Bridgette and her entourage. D also has to contend with the motorcycle gang that is out to destroy Ivy Greenwich`s acts. Slowly and methodically George is able to tie several seemingly unrelated events together to provide the answers to the secret on-goings in the world of securing the rich and famous.

I did not feel I was reading a mystery. What I did feel was that I was reading about the ins and outs of D's world of providing security for the late, late night party people. The action with the motorcycle gang, the nightlife and the antics of Bridgette and her sister supply excitement to the story. If you read Night Work, you will find many characters from Night Work make guest appearances including Fly Ty, Mercedez, Jeff and Night. George is an accomplished author when it comes to writing about the music industry and the nightlife of New York. If this is your thing, you will enjoy the book.

Jeanette
Motown Review BookClub

On Brooklyn's Belt Parkway heading to Manhattan, fifteen bikers with the lead person holding an automatic weapon force R&B singer Night and his date Black American Princess Tandi Lincoln to exit the highway. Not long afterward, D Hunter of D Security attends a Knick game where he introduces himself as a friend of Night to an elderly white dude with an afro nicknamed the Mack, but actually is Night's agent Ivy Greenwich.

Ivy hires D to pay the ransom to Night's kidnappers and to protect talented pop star Bridgette Hayes. The tabloids name D as Bridgette's toy, but he is a player feeling he is always ONE WOMAN SHORT even while he plays with his client, her sister, and Emily who owns the in Emily's Tea Party. However, he becomes concerned that the bikers may have ties to one of his security staff, but if that true which one as Night's abductors threaten to snatch Bridgette. Anyone serving as her bodyguard can expect bodily harm if they get in the way.

This street fast urban noir stars an intriguing player who though he is HIV Positive continues to play the game. The story line predominantly focuses on the underbelly of sex and drug abuse in the music world. However, the myriad of subplots, though well written, for instance one involving a Knick super stud makes it difficult at times to stay focused on the biker scenario. Still Nelson George provides a deep look at the personalities behind the music scenes with East Coast glitz and glamour disguising the NIGHT WORK accentuated by sex and drugs.

Harriet Klausner