Bitch Slap: A Mark Manning Mystery [Hardcover]

Michael Craft (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2004

Journalist Mark Manning has been successfully running his family's newspaper, The Dumont Daily Register, for several years now, and he sits on the board of two local companies, Quatro Press and Ashton Mills. So when the respective CEOs of these companies discuss a merger, it is only natural that Manning be interested in the proceedings. What's more, Manning's lover Neil, an architect, is designing a new house for Ashton's CEO, Gillian Reece.

Reece is a business friend of Manning but not a friend to many else; she is generally considered overly aggressive and fastidious. When Manning assigns Glee Savage, the newspaper's society reporter, to cover Reece's new home, the subsequent meeting between the two does not end well: Savage huffs off in a fury but not beforae ferociously bitch slapping Reece in front of everyone. With Reece's cheek still smarting, more bad news comes as the accountant performing due diligence for the merger reports some very questionable items regarding Ashton's books.

It seems as though things couldn't go much worse for the unpleasant Reece. That is, until she is murdered. The discovery of her body is greeted with great surprise, but perhaps not much regret on the part of most who knew her. Still, with Manning's friend and employee Glee Savage as the obvious and primary suspect, he cannot resist wading in to this most unsound of business dealings.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

My seventh Mark Manning mystery, "Bitch Slap," marks the end of a series that has seen our hero grapple not only with unexplained death, but with a sequence of life-altering events -- coming out as a gay may, committing to his partner, flirting with infidelity, "inheriting" a child, then adjusting again to the empty nest. For this last installment, I wanted to up the stakes and challenge the security Manning has felt in his core beliefs and his self-image, which can sometimes be smug. The stage is set for this struggle in the book’s first line of dialogue. By the end of the novel, Manning learns the most important lesson of his life, and in doing so, he becomes more human -- if a bit less heroic. Seasoned mystery readers will discover that "Bitch Slap" is a most unconventional whodunit, with a plot that takes a neck-snapping turn at an unexpected moment. So fasten your seat belts, and enjoy the ride.

About the Author

Michael Craft is the author of eleven published novels. The previous three installments of his Mark Manning mystery series-Name Games, Boy Toy, and Hot Spot-were honored as national finalists for Lambda Literary Awards. Craft and his partner reside in Wisconsin, which is the setting for the Mark Manning novels. They have a second home in the Palm Springs area of California, which provides the backdrop for Craft's other series featuring theater director Claire Gray.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (August 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312305303
• ISBN-13: 978-0312305307
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,406,299 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderfully written final installment, September 6, 2004

By 

M. H. SMITH "mykelsf" (SACRAMENTO, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bitch Slap: A Mark Manning Mystery (Hardcover)

I won't rehash the plot here; it always seems redundant to do so. Suffice to say that Michael Craft has deftly [albeit too soon] written the final installment in the Mark Manning series. As always with Mr. Craft's work, there are memorable characters and intriguing plot twists, some highly unexpected ones at that. Despite being fiction, the main characters are like real people to me. They seem more like friends that I haven't seen in a while but occasionally catch up with. That's the mark of good writing.

Without divulging plot twists, I was pleasantly surprised to see Mark struggling with some personal issues. He's always been a "tight ass" in the best sense of the term, but here he had to grapple with uncomfortable issues. It made him less perfect and more human. Kudos to Mr. Craft for that touch.

Thanks, also, for giving us a glimpse into the future of these friends with the epilogue. Too often a series will end, whether by accident or design, and we'll be left with a sense of "what next?" for the characters. Knowing that things continue helps with also knowing that we've paid our last visit to Dumont to spend time with old and very dear friends.

If you've never read any of the series, this book does stand alone..... but I HIGHLY recommend that you go back to the beginning of this series with Flight Dreams and read them in sequence. You'll be very glad you did.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 7 is Michael Craft's lucky number, January 31, 2005

By 

Chad Sosna "Doo-Lang Love" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bitch Slap: A Mark Manning Mystery (Hardcover)

This, the 7th Mark Manning novel, is the best. If you've been reading these books, you'll find the character doing some self-reflection that is different than the previous books. If you haven't read the other books, you will enjoy this twisty mystery.

Mark Manning, a journalist, sits on the board of a local company whose CEO, Gillian Reece, is definitely not the winner of the Miss Congeniality award. That's only one of the reasons she gets a bitch slap from character Glee Savage. Later, though, Reece is found murdered. Further complicating the stew is the fact that Mark's lover, Neil, is designing a house for Reece.

Didn't Glee kill Reece? You won't have a clue--and you won't guess how this turns out till you read it. The outcome is definitely a shocker, and will have you pondering the meaning of justice. Definitely a captivating, exciting mystery.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well, Bobby Ewing didn't actually die!!!, December 26, 2004

By 

Reginald D. Garrard "the G-man" (Camilla, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bitch Slap: A Mark Manning Mystery (Hardcover)

Like the "death" of the "Dallas" character, I hope that we Mark Manning fans can write this LAST installment as a bad dream. I have been with the series since the first novel and looked forward to each and every mystery, some easier to solve than others.

This, purported to be the final chapter in the life of the erstwhile sleuth, was a disappointment as both a mystery and a further look at Manning's life with longtime partner Neil. The fact that characters that readers have come to love make morally disreputable decisions is disheartening.

I hope that the author will reconsider and bring Manning & Company back, placing all parties concerned in a mystery worthy of investigating and investing.

This "slap" was little more like a light touch.