Customer Reviews

Bone Island Mambo

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

 

 

Whew, can Tom Corcoran weave a complicated yarn! I had a blast reading BONE ISLAND MAMBO for the plot, the scenery, the characters, the fun. As woven together as the numerous clues become, Corcoran expertly leads the reader through this intricately textured story.

Alex Rutledge returns for his third adventure living in his own paradise on Key West. Out for an afternoon of photographing the changes taking place around the island, he is suddenly confronted by thugs who don't want his camera or his Cannondale, they want him. Successfully escaping the attack, he finds himself back at the new development on Caroline Street within hours photographing a grim murder scene for the local police department.

What follows is one of the wildest chases on which I've had the pleasure of riding. Another murder takes place, body parts show up later, identities are crossed, a motorcycle is torched, cars are stolen, bullets fly, another murder takes place, knives fly, a bum provides crucial clues, love is found on the pier, and the history of Key West is backdrop to it all. Did I mention the car chase in Alex's Shelby Mustang? Or the ride in the back of the police cruiser? Don't miss the familial conflicts over money -- or the food fight. And, fish aren't the only things caught from a fishing boat.

I'm not so sure the characters are any more tame than the circumstances with a sheriff named "Chicken Neck" Liska and the detective sergeant of the police department nicknamed Dexito. Wiley Fecko lives in a bum's idea of paradise with his own version of a hot water shower. Alex Rutledge keeps himself one step ahead of them all and manages to keep himself alive. Barely.

As zany as this plot may seem, Corcoran doesn't rely on hijinks to make his storyline move. While a zillion things go wrong for Alex Rutledge, they are believably so, kind of a Murphy's Law gone horribly awry. No sooner does Alex extricate himself from one nightmare than he is jostled into another extraordinary situation and from there into coincidence. Still Alex knows that it is the bonds of friendship that ultimately save the day.

Key West, Florida, is a character and a clue and a place all in one. Corcoran captures its flavor and charm and quirks through his deft storytelling abilities. His writing style is rich with details yet not the least bit overdone. He can describe a scene in a few brief sentences, or even words, and conjure up a full-blown picture. Like referring to the overhead wires as a "utility pole forest." Or the way he can use language to depict a scene just so: "Stringy dark hair hung from a Budweiser cap that had faded to pink, then grimed to four dull shades of brown." Perhaps it's his photographer's ability to catch details and depict them with just the right amount of background and flash, focusing in on the subject with full clarity.

After all is said and done, Key West is still Paradise. Don't miss dancing the BONE ISLAND MAMBO.

Freelance photographer Alex Rutledge takes pictures of a construction site that he will add to his collection of shots over the years reflecting changes to Key West. However, first he is yelled at for taking photos and soon three thugs attack him.

Later that same day, Detective Sergeant Dex Hayes hires Alex to take shots of a murder scene at the same construction site he was at earlier. No time to change film rolls, Alex quickly arrives at the crime scene and takes pictures of the dead project manager Richard Engrom. However, Dex cuts him off early and tells him to give the roll to the official police photographer, who is also at the location. Alex wonders why Dex contaminates the crime scene, flushing any hope of catching a killer down the toilet. Other murders follow and Alex realizes that he is either paranoid or the link to the homicides. Wondering if his turn is next, Alex begins his own inquiries.

Tom Corcoran Key West mysteries (see THE MANGO OPERA and GUMBO LIMBO) are always fun to read as the audience gains a taste of the Conch Republic. The latest Rutledge mystery, BONE ISLAND MAMBO, continues the entertaining nature of the previous novels. Alex remains a wonderful complete character and his girlfriend and friends help the audience understand him better. The who-done-it is an enjoyable well written amateur sleuth tale that enhances the key cast members. Mr. Corcoran is three for three.

Harriet Klausner

Tom Corcoran treats us to another look at the life of Alex Rutledge. It is filled with his trademark wit, grit and "Key Westicisms" that can only come from the man that photographed Jimmy Buffett in his early days. I'm dying for the next one, Tom!

Tom Corcoran's steamy depiction of the Flordia Keys and their colorful denziens will stir up ghosts for anyone who has spent time there. This Alex Rutledge mystery explores a series of murders as the bodies pile up in this tranquil resort town. Rutledge realizes that there is a connection between the murders and that he is the common denominator--then this book really picks up steam!

I thought Tom Corcoran did a fine job with this Alex Rutledge Mystery. A good story, clever dialogue and a somewhat angled climax. I did think he missed a couple of opportunities to add in a needed twist, however it was still worth the read.

This author can write, so it is hard to believe that he could take a number of murders, attacks, shootings, and a car chase and chew them and chew them and chew them until there was no "juice" left. I got so impatient with the illogical fretting of the "hero" - that I skipped the last third of the book and went to the end to see who dunnit and why. Wish I had skipped that too since there was no satisfaction in it. I am greatful, however, to realize that this book was only one of a series and I have managed NOT to read the others. I congratulate myself for that!

I am giving this book one star, but that's only because there was no "zero star" option available. What a piece of utter crap. I am honestly shocked (SHOCKED!) to see that this book has received a 4-star overall rating so far; and I can only imagine that it must have been Corcoran's family and friends singing his praise. For anybody not related to Corcoran, it's impossible to like (let alone love) this book. And here's why:

Corcoran meanders aimlessly from scene to scene. There's no clear plot whatsoever. By page 30 it feels like 50 characters have been introcduced already; at least half of which play no significant role in the story at all. Corcoran loses himself in detailed road directions - halfway through the book I felt like I was reading the prose version of a Key West road map instead of a novel. The bloodless dialogues don't help either.

At no time does Corcoran manage to create a sense of mystery or suspense. Instead, he hops from boring driving direction to boring driving direction with a dead body (or body part) thrown in here and there.

Corcoran's "hero", the crime scene photographer Alex Rutledge keeps explaining over and over why he is driving or riding the respective vehicle of choice (not that any of those explanations would ever matter), and every single thing Rutledge does, gets described in detail, regardless of how insignificant it is to the story. But then: What is the story? If you strip away all the road directions and the repetitive and boring "Rutledge ate this and drank that and stored his camera bag here and locked his bike there" details, you're left with 100 pages at best. And with lots of characters that don't matter, because you simply don't care about any of them.

After finishing this book (which was feeling like more of a drag with every page I turned), I am convinced that Corcoran didn't know where he actually wanted to go with this book. The end isn't satisfying at all and feels like an afterthought. You know, "Oh, I haven't explained why X, Y and Z actually happened, so let's throw in another graph and half-heartedly explain what that was all about."

Bottom line: stay away. If you happen to come across: toss.
Do not, under any circumstances, waste your time reading this book.

Before going to Key West last week,I had asked at the Amazon Kindle forum for suggestions for books set in Key West. I received a number of recommendations, including Corcoran's series which is set right there. This was the best book in those suggestions.

Alex Rutledge is a part-time crime photographer who, at the beginning of this novel is mugged and propositioned (for a job). All of this launches a mystery with several murders, and a story that goes back 20+ years.

This was a VERY enjoyable novel(my first by him) with a story that moved along, and several very enjoyable characters who I look forward to following again (There are more books in this series). The mystery isn't that great, but rather an entertaining read well worth following.

There are some formatting/typos in the Kindle edition. ("Mamie" becomes "Marnie", "Corner" becomes "comer" are frequent examples.) Not enough to disrupt the story flow, but they should have been corrected.

The Key West stuff is great. The puzzle, however, demands a family tree and friendship chart. Our hero is always an observer with little action, maybe this will change.

Alex Rutledge isn't Travis McGee, but he's getting there! Well worth a read.