Customer Reviews

Bloody Mary (Jack Daniels Mysteries)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This second in the Jack Daniels series is a top notch read from first page to last. The characters are deliciously human, the dialogue and graphic details realistic, and Konrath tops it off with a rousing plot. I couldn't turn these pages fast enough!
Lt. Jacqueline Daniels -- better known as Jack to her friends -- heads Chicago P.D.'s Violent Crimes Unit. She's forty-something, divorced, and not exactly living la dolce vita. Jack's life is in turmoil. She has a boyfriend who just may be the last good marriage prospect in the midwest. He wants Jack to move in with him. Complicating that romantic scenario are
a retired-cop mother needing full time care and an ex-husband who's decided he can't live without Jack. Lt. Daniels is a damn good cop, a hard nosed detective whose personal problems sometimes skew her concentration. Her partner, junk food afficionado Herb Benedict, brings problems of his own to
the office. He wants to lose weight and liven up his long term marriage with Viagra. The last thing these two partners need is a serial killer run amok in the Windy City.

Their suspect is a maniacal butcher with the conscience and killing instincts of a shark. He's a madman who blends into daily life invisibly thanks to a facade of normalcy. Halfway through the book we discover who this killer is, but that certainly does not detract from the suspense. Through one sizzling Chicago summer through most of a bitterly cold winter,
Jack and Herb track down one disappointing lead after another. Meanwhile, the body count rises. Each butchered corpse is wearing some article that belongs to Jack. And each murder brings a demented killer closer to Jack's front door.

I like J.A. Konrath's writing style. He combines grisly crime, solid police work, and forensics with appealing humor to build suspense in satisfying ways. Fans of the genre will do well to discover Konrath. And they certainly will find an intriguing mystery in Bloody Mary.

Pure and Simple. J.A. Konrath's followup to the amazing WHISKEY SOUR is even better than its predecessor. It's funnier, it has more twists and turns, the villain is even more frightening, and there's a cat named Mr. Friskers who has got to be the most evil feline I've ever encountered (on the page or in life). You'll love him. Buy this book. You won't be disappointed, aside from the fact that we all have to wait another year for our next date with Jack.

Score another winner for J.A. Konrath. Bloody Mary grabs the crime drama reader from the first page and never releases its hold through the rest of the book.

Lt. Jacqueline Daniels is going through something of a mid-life crisis. Surrounded by friends and co-workers who mean well but who have the same kind of troubles, the last thing she needs is a crazed, limb-severing killer in town. And to make matters worse, the clues being left at the crime scenes are objects that once belonged to Daniels. The only thing more shocking and surprising is the identity of the killer.

It looks like the crime is solved at one point, but then the legal system inserts it twist on the trial, expert witnesses get led down a merry path, and Daniels watches as everything falls apart around her.

Konrath has masterfully written this sometimes gory tale in a way that leaves the reader as mystified in the beginning as the characters in the story. With a breathtaking ending, followed by a heartfelt decision or two from Daniels, this book provides as satisfying a read as any book can. Get it as soon as you can.

Bloody Mary by J.A. Konrath follows the continuing exploits of homicide detective Lt. Jacqueline Daniels. First introduced in Konrath's spectacular debut "Whiskey Sour", this novel contiues the trend of gore, thrills, and laughs. One might say this is a thrigoromedy!

In Jack's latest outing she is hot on the trail of a new serial killer who makes The Gingerbread Man from Whiskey seem like a daycare provider.

The acts of violence are vile, disgusting and borderline on mysogynistic as woman after woman is slaughtered heinously and the personal effects of Chicago's finest are left on the bodies of the victims.

As the clues of the killers indentity pile up Jack begins to realize that she may be the ultimate target and a daring game of cat and mouse ensues.

Konrath weaves spells with words, his writing is crisp, fast and clever and a healthy dose of comedy breaks up this procedural rather nicely.

In his second outing Konrath loses a bit of the steam so prevelant in his freshman novel. Instead of elevating the story-telling he falls prey to the cliche` niche that most horror movies fall into. A higher body count, more blood and less substance.

Don't get me wrong, Bloody Mary is still a fun read that keeps you hooked from the opening page to the finale which comes way too fast.

What starts as a whodunnit slowly gives way to a formulaic police procedural and tosses in a dash of medical thriller while elements of horror are prevalent in the mix.

Overall Konrath will go far with this character and I will continue buying his work.

Bring on Rusty Nail!

i feel in love with the character of jack daniels in the first novel, whiskey sour. she is well written, has human qualities, and handles herself well (meaning she doesn't fall prey to the typical stereo typical female role of whining and crying and falling apart). in this book, i had the killer figured out in less than 5 chapters, and predicted Herb's actions about 10 pages in. and jack? she turned into the typical female stereo type. it was most disappointing. mr. konrath, bring jack back the way you intended her! this, however, won't stop me from reading the next installment, "rusty nail." i won't give up hope on jack!

I am not much of a Murder/Mystery reader but J.A. Konrath's novels seem to be able to get the suspense and drama across while not being vulgar and allowing a splash of humor to lighten the mood.
J.A. Konraths's Bloody Mary is a nice compliment to his first novel, Whiskey Sour. J.A. Konrath's writing efforts have evolved in this latest installment and his characters reflect it. The main character, Jack (short for Jacqueline) shows her soft side even more in Bloody Mary but she is still able to maintain the tough cop exterior she established in Whiskey Sour. Jack's Partner, Herb was a joy in Whiskey Sour. But in Bloody Mary, Herb is going through a typical midlife crisis and J.A. Konrath seemed to capture the issues a typical middle aged man, like Herb may go though. The villain in Bloody Mary is an intense man that is motivated to kill by an interesting source. The author was able to give explanations on the villain's ability to convince others of his innocence but allowed the reader to see the truth. I was sad to read that Jack's potential father in law won't be with us in the next installment of the Jack Daniels series, but I was very pleased to read that Jack's mother will. I am happy that I discovered this fine author and I look forward to the third book in the series.

I don't know why the review from publisher's weekly is so lukewarm. This book gives its readers exactly what they expect--a solid tale with characters that stay true to form. Sure, there are some cliches and even though it may be easy to guess the culprit, the book isn't just about catching the guy, it's about putting him away. The action and pace of the book do keep the reader turning the pages. It's a good solid read.

Another great book featuring Jack Daniels. This one had a great twist that most mysteries don't have. Can't wait for the next installment.

Dick Hill is such an able voice performer that he can turn an average story into compelling listening, which is what he's done with Konrath's second entry in her Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels series. Dubbed a "Golden Voice" by AudioFile Magazine, Hill is deft at inhabiting both male and female characters and is so attuned to the nuances that when "there's a change from a daytime scene to night, he makes a subtle shift with his voice to reflect those environmental changes."

Thus, he brings danger and mounting suspense to a story, which in this listener's opinion, would not be found if one were reading. So, a very high five stars to Hill and a solid three for Konrath's tale.

Following on the heels of last year's "Whiskey Sour," we now find Jack Daniels mystified by body parts sans bodies that are turning up at the morgue. One unattached pair of arms is wearing bracelets - Jack's handcuffs. Obviously some demented killer is trying to get to Jack in more ways than one.

Narrative voices are alternated between Jack and the killer, which allows for much revealing of the psycho's method and penchant for gruesome slaughter. Although Jack and her partner, Herb Benedict, discover who the killer is pretty early on, it's their job to prove it.

Subplots include Jack's love life and the travails of her mother. Always fine, Hill is especially effective as the voice of the killer.

- Gail Cooke

No sophomore jinx for Konrath. The second installment of the Jack Daniels series packs just as strong of a punch as the first. Konrath provides a new antagonist for our heroine and both deliver equal servings of suspense and laughs.

BLOODY MARY makes me thirsty for the next shot of Jack.