The Case of the Deceiving Don: A Sean Sean Mystery (Five Star First Edition Mystery) [Hardcover]

Carl Brookins (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 235 pages
• Publisher: Five Star (ME) (September 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594146772
• ISBN-13: 978-1594146770
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,824,918 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Retired from a local university, I've entered a new career as a reviewer and author. The Michael Tanner/Mary Whitney sailing adventure series (INNER PASSAGESS, A SUPERIOR MYSTERY, OLD SILVER) are my initial foray.

Now I'm branching out with a new series featuring a Twin Cities detective named Sean NMI Sean. His first story is THE CASE OF THE GREEDY LAWYERS. I live and work in Minnesota and travel with that nefarious band of authors called the Minnesota Crime Wave.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable soft boiled private investigative tale, August 30, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Case of the Deceiving Don: A Sean Sean Mystery (Five Star First Edition Mystery) (Hardcover)

Twin Cities private investigator Sean Sean is going home in suburban Roseville, but cops are everywhere on his street. He learns that an elderly resident of the nearby Lakeland Homes retirement facility died when his wheelchair exploded. Over a foot taller than the short Sean, lead police investigator Helen Lasker informs Sean the victim was Augustus Molinaro, a resident of the home for fifteen years; his companion Martin Levy is missing.

Two big guys from a set of the Godfather hire Sean to investigate the murder of Augustus, who turns out to be a former mobster, Greasy Gus from Pennsylvania. Sean makes inquiries that break the law with the help of an elderly resident of Lakeland Homes and someone tries to kill him while the Feds warn him to back off from inquiring about Levy.

This Twin Cities cozy is a pleasant private investigative tale starring an amiable ethical lead protagonist who does not let his short stature prevent him doing tough detective work or dating much taller Catherine Mckerney who he knows can bench press him. Although the subplot involving attempts on his life intrudes on the prime CASE OF THE DECEIVING DON, fans will enjoy this whodunit with a terrific unique motive starring a soft boiled sleuth (see THE CASE OF THE GREEDY LAWYERS).

Harriet Klausner

5.0 out of 5 stars Brookins engages the reader in this whodunit while keeping us entertained and mystified, September 12, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Case of the Deceiving Don: A Sean Sean Mystery (Five Star First Edition Mystery) (Hardcover)

Carl Brookins has engaged in freelance photography; directed and produced public television; and has been a counselor and faculty member at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is a mystery fiction reviewer and also writes sailing a sailing adventure series featuring Michael Tanner and Mary Whitney. He has sailed all over the world and is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and Private Eye Writers of America. He is a member of the Minnesota Crime Wave group.

Sean is a diminutive private eye who packs a wallop that can take down men much larger than himself. He has a successful business with many contacts, both in and out of law enforcement. He lives in a quiet neighborhood in St. Paul, which is shocked when one of the neighborhood nursing home residents is blown up in his wheelchair. Besides the two thugs who enter Sean's office and demand his services (or else), Sean himself is suddenly in someone's sights. A ice-blue Audi figures prominently in the case, and it is up to Sean to figure out how:

"I went to the window and put my little finger in the hole in the glass pane where the rifle bullet had struck. It wasn't that I hadn't been shot at before, although it wasn't a frequent thing. But those times were always in the heat of the chase. I was sometimes shooting back. This shooting incident, as one cop had called it, was a case of cold, plotted, assassination. That's a whole other thing, and I don't mind admitting it shook me a little. So I stuck my finger in the hole to sort of remind myself to be careful. I didn't stand in front of the window while I did it, either."

Brookins creates a fresh new plot, with an elderly Mafioso type who ends up paying for his crimes. Sean Sean is a smart little detective who is cute and resourceful. He uses his considerable brain to the best advantage, as well as turning on the charm to anyone who is either a friend or could be useful. The backdrop of sleepy Roseville, Minnesota (close to where this reviewer went to college) provides a calm backdrop to crimes that are nefarious and mysterious. Brookins engages the reader in this whodunit while keeping us entertained and mystified as to how this interesting plot will play out. A big thumbs up!

Shelley Glodowski
Senior Reviewer