The Cheerio Killings [Hardcover]

Doug Allyn (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this surprising, uncompromising first novel, "cowboy" cop Lupe Garcia (with a rep for violence and no regard for the proper channels) investigates the throat-slashing murders of several women in the Detroit area. Under pressure to make an arrest, Garcia pegs guitar-playing redneck Lamont Yarborough as the killer, for a variety of insufficient reasons. While amassing evidence, Garcia pursues his romantic interest in Linda Kerry, a reporter with the Detroit Free Press who's working on a story about Yarborough--by whom she's both intrigued and frightened. After Yarborough disarms a gun-wielding madman in the presence of press and upper-echelon police, Garcia is told to investigate other possible suspects, and when he complains, is accused of conflict of interests: e.g., jealousy over Kerry. Hairpin twists add to an already solid plot. Allyn displays a flair for gritty, colloquial dialogue, a heartfelt love for music and its late-night, honky-tonk environment, and a talent for making even the most incidental characters flesh-and-blood originals.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 252 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1 edition (September 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312033028
• ISBN-13: 978-0312033026
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,102,089 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars He has written such better books, May 2, 2006

By 

L. J. Roberts (Oakland, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Cheerio Killings (Hardcover)

To me, Doug Allyn is one of the many underrated authors. I have enjoyed everything he has written, but this is not my favorite. These are not sensitive, new age cops; these are hard-bitten, street-smart, been-there-done-that cops. The dialogue, language and racial slurs are explicit but realistic. Garcia is a Viet Nam vet who accepts that he and his African-American partner were hired to fill ethnic quotas. My biggest problem was his absolute conviction that he knew who the killer, even though evidence didn't support it. The actual killer comes as a surprise, but it was a twist that just didn't feel right. I did enjoy the reason for the book's name, though. I believe this was his debut novel, and it shows. I'd recommend skipping the two Lupe Garcia books and move straight to Mitch Mitchell.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't stand out in this debut.., January 27, 2005

By 

Peter LaPrade (worcester ma) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Cheerio Killings (Hardcover)

In this average mystery, Doug Allyn's first novel "the Cheerio Killings", a gung-ho Detriot cop tries to find a serial killer, and finds that a mysterious man who may not be who he says he is named Lamont Yarborough may be his man. Yarborough has a tenuous enough link to the slayings, and he has a record of violence against women, but nobody else thinks Yarborough is the killer. Has Lupe Garcia, the cop, been blinded by his desire to get Yarborough? Who the killer is is a big surprise, and things don't seem to resolve just right. There is promise here, but Allyn falls short here.