Customer Reviews

The Cold Blue Blood (Berger and Mitry Mysteries)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What makes this mystery so enjoyable is not so much the plot (which is good, but perhaps a trifle far-fetched) as the characters & their interrelationships, particularly Mitch & Des. I love the way both of them are presented as less than perfect, & having their wounds from the past. When this detailing is combined with smart & sassy dialogue similar to that of a '30s romantic comedy, a seemingly illogical couple becomes completely convincing, & highly endearing. Kudos to Handler for a great series setup!

I usually don't read mysteries, but this one I liked. It wasn't too serious, but fun. I love the fact that it's an interracial romance and even though the mystery part is good, the romance developing bt. Des and Mitch is what draws you in. Mitch is open with himself and others while Des is afraid to do so. Mitch teaches Des about love and life. They help each other. I also loved the other characters in the book who were crazy in both good and bad ways. I can't wait to read other books in the series and hopes this series last a long time.

I loved this book. It has everything I like in a mystery: good story, great setting (Connecticut's gold coast), 2 very witty, personable and unique main characters with lots of imperfections, and easy-flowing writing. I look forward to more in the series!

The two main characters: Mitch Berger, New York film critic and reclusive curmudgeon; and Lieutenant Desiree Mitry of the Connecticut State Police, six-foot-one, long dreadlocks, legs up to there, and a rescuer of feral cats.

Hooked yet?

I was, but I was also in for a shock. For some reason when the term "curmudgeon" is used to describe someone, I automatically think of that person as being over fifty years of age. Mitch Berger is barely in his thirties, and has been thrown for a loop by the death of his beloved wife. He's lived and breathed movies his entire life, and being a film critic is the perfect job for him:

"I discovered that I come alive in the dark," he said. "Not so much like a vampire but more like an exotic form of fungus. A darkened movie theater is my natural habitat."

Enough time has passed after his wife's death that Mitch begins to feel a need for a change of scenery, someplace where he can work on his latest book. He finds a place on Connecticut's Gold Coast:

"Because this was no ordinary outbuilding. It was a genuine antique post-and-beam carriage house with exposed beams of hand-hewn chestnut. The room, which was a good-sized one, had a big fieldstone fireplace at one end, wide-boarded oak floors and floor-to-ceiling windows that afforded a totally unobstructed view of the water in three different directions. It was a bit like being on the bridge of a ship at sea."

Although Mitch had just thought of staying at a B&B for a couple of weeks, after seeing this carriage house, he couldn't help himself and rented it immediately from its blue-blooded Yankee owner. Mitch moves in, the sea air begins working its magic on him, he decides to put in a garden...and when his spade uncovers a dead body, he has the pleasure of meeting Lieutenant Desiree Mitry. What did the good lieutenant think when she first laid eyes on Mitch?

"Mitch Berger had the saddest eyes Des had ever seen on any creature that was not living at the Humane Society, its wet nose and furry paws pressed to the door of its cage."

A few pieces of the plot are well-known devices: the small town community that shuns outsiders; the rich folks who expect doffed caps and tugged forelocks and know that the laws do not apply to them. Well-known and well-worn or not, what drew me into this book hook, line and sinker were Handler's way with words and his characterizations. Handler has an eye for detail and a talent for snappy dialogue. Although Berger and Mitry are the stars of the book (each with a personal arsenal of life's scars), there are other characters that stand out and remain in my memory: the single mother who makes a fatal mistake, the old "Cranky Yankee"....

It's been a long time since I was so charmed by one book that I immediately started grabbing as many of the other books in the series as I could get my hands on, but that's what I did when I finished The Cold Blue Blood. I have the next three books in the series waiting to be read. I know I'm in for a treat!

a long-time lover of nero wolfe mysteries, i've been looking for something with the same qualities, where people and place are expressed with intelligent and quirky detail, humor and sympathy, and the story rolls along suspensefully, with no easy place to put the book down. i think i've found the replacement, and just wish david handler would keep them coming a bit faster.

Enjoyed the book a lot. I'm from the area the book is based on and it was fun to try and figure out what real life people the
author was using in his book.

Grieving over the death of his wife, Mitch Berger,teddy-bear NY film reviewer, moves to the New England countryside to write a book on westerns. There he encounters blue bloods, rents a fantasy carriage house complete with roaring fireplace and 270-degree ocean views and solves a local murder with the help of Lieutenant Desiree Mitry, gorgeous, intelligent lady cop of color.

Daniel Handler's fast-paced, well written story has outstanding characters - bursting with egalitarianism while remaining completely three dimensional. This fist entry was marred by a highly implausible solution to the mystery, but the book was so much fun I'm cutting it slack and charging off to get the next one!

Fell in love with this book, and with the delightful couple Berger and Mitry. Guess I've now read everything on them that's been written, and wish there were many, many more. Love an intelligent puzzle along with a touching love story!

the characters come alive of the page and are memorable. I love that. this is my second book by this author and I have ordered more.

This was a great book. I give one small warning, only by this book if you're more interested in mystery, plot than in a hot romance. This book delivers on the mystery, characters and plot, but is a little lacking in the hot, steamy romance department.