Customer Reviews

Cold Slice: A Working Man's Mystery

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

 

 

After going to jail for doing tremendous damage during a bar fight Terry Saltz loses his wife, his job, his truck, and his motor home. The only person to stick by him was his friend Danny who came to visit him in prison and offered to share his apartment with him after he got out. A couple of weeks after he is on the streets, he takes a job as a driver for Carlo's, a very popular pizza place.

He's right up front with everyone, telling them he's an ex-con but the manager is more interested if he can start tonight because one of their drivers was in an accident. Terry makes friends with Bump and Gruf who take him under their wing, find him and Danny a new place to live and get him his truck back. When one of the least liked drivers is killed, Terry and company decide to do a little investigating on their own because nobody messes with the people who work at Carlo's.

Anyone who doubts that men can bond with one another and be there in good times and bad must read COLD SLICE, an upbeat mystery that proves males have emotions and are not afraid to show them to those they trust. Terry and his friends are all blue-collar workers and their lack of pretentiousness will be enjoyed by a whole different segment of mystery readers. L.T. Fawkes has written a very exciting mystery starring a protagonist whom will appeal to men and women.

Harriet Klausner

What a great surprise this book is. I am generally nervous about reading new authors, but L.T. Fawkes has really started to make a name for himself. The characters are vivid and liekable with personalities with whcih everyone can associate. I couldn't put it down. Easy and fun to read. I can't wait for the next one.

Terry Saltz has just gotten out of jail. He'd gotten wasted and trashed a bar. While in jail, his wife divorced him and took his truck and mobile home. Losing his truck hurt the most!

So he's having to start over. His friend Danny lets him come live with him in an attic apartment. He gets a job as a pizza night delivery driver at Carlo's pizza place. He hooks up with Gruf, Bump and others there.

Terry also starts building a deck for Bump. He was a carpenter before jail. His new carpentry side business really takes off and soon Gruf is helping him.

When The Witness (Ed Hanus), another driver, gets killed out back, Terry and the guys decide they'd better help the police look into it. Especially when Seargant Alan Bushnell brings Terry in for questioning.

The guys decide they need to get to know The Witness' background, friends and family better. No one at Carlo's really hung out with him. And they need to do all this without Alan finding out and without putting themselves in danger - there is a killer out there!

When I first started reading this, I wasn't sure if I'd like it. By the end, I loved it! Terry is such a great character and so different than any other protagonist. I think the author has done a great job of interspersing enough cuss words, etc., to make these guys believable, but yet not so many it can't be classified a cozy.

Carlo's is the kind of place everyone would like to work. They have a lot of fun, but they get their work done. The camaraderie these guys develop is terrific. Breakfast at Brewster's is another great touch! Their curiosity to help solve the crime is natural.

I highly recommend this book (the first in the series) be read before the others. It's terrific, you won't be able to put it down!

I don't even know if "medium boiled" is a genre, but I don't know how else to describe a book which is not too dark, and not too light. You can read this book after something heavy, as a way to lighten up without shocking your system.... or you can read it after something light, so you don't get whiplash before that noir novel. Terry and friends are fabulous characters who evolve throughout the book. The plot is fast-paced -- but not at thriller speed -- and not at the expense of character development. A very satisfying read!!

Terry Saltz took a drunken rampage through a local bar, cooled off in the county jail, and has now decided to get a life. He moves to a small town at the other end of the county with an old friend, and starts his life over again.

On the main street of town, across from the cafe, Terry notices a pizza place. Nothing all that special about the place, but he knows he's got to get a job to generate some income, so strolls across the street. Inside, he meets a down to earth manager who hires him to fill a recently vacated job as a pizza delivery guy. His job training is hilarious as is the entire comedy-mystery.

Saltz know he has to remain sober and clean and employed, and that he has to meet with his probation officer once each week. He gets to know his co-workers at the pizza place and he is introduced to a wide veriety of people he might not have looked at twice in his former life. He's amazed to learn that one of his new friends is an attorney. Another new friend, a seemingly wasted Hell's Angle type, is also a very successful and well-known local small business entrepreneur. Slowly but surely, these and others begin to draw him into their circle and Terry finds himself surrounded by a very cool and incredibly funny group of friends. They like him. They respect him. He thinks they're awesome. His life is becoming richer and he feels great about it.

Saltz realizes he's got more time and talent than money, and stumbles into a carpentry job. This had been his profession. He had the time, tools and know-how, so he began working at building a deck at the lawyers house in the mornings and early afternoons. Late afternoons and nights, he delivered pizzas. He's aware that he needs the structure of a steady pace. He's also delighted that the deck building job generates some serious money. One of his friends wants to learn the carpertry trade and is will to work as his helper if Terry teaches him the job skills. The seemingly seperate parts of his life (breakfasts at the cafe, building the deck, meeting with the probation officer, moving into the trailer court and getting furniture) all begin to over lap. The more comfortable he becomes with himself, the more he appreciates what's growing into a busy and very interesting life. Right up till that night in the parking lot behind the pizza place....

"Cold Slice" is advertized as a "working man's mystery," and it is. But the great thing about it is that we all know Terry Saltz. He's the kid who sat in front of us in high school Spanish class. We've looked around the local hang-out, and wondered why we haven't seen him lately. Working man? Yeah. But you'll see in him a little bit of someone you've known and loved. This guy is everybody's hero.

On one level, this is the story of a soon-to-be-divorced man getting his act together. Much to his surprise, in the process he finds himself involved in murder. But on another level, L. T. Fawkes gives us an oppertunity to crawl under the skin of a young man who realizes that he has settled for too little in life; and, that if he doesn't learn how to get to know himself and live with himself, he'll drown.

Terry Saltz learns not to take himself or anyone else too seriously. He realizes that some people are complete jerks and others are totally cool and that you just can't tell who is which by looking. He realizes that what matters is what a person is inside, not what he says or how she looks.

When his process of starting over is invaded by murder, Terry Saltz and his buddies do what they think anyone in their position would do--they race to find a killer.

The plot of "Cold Slice" is strong and clever, just like the characters. The story is hilarious and fast. In the end, you'll want more. If you can figure out a way to pry a page open and crawl inside, do it. You'll love hanging out with Terry Saltz!

I have all 3 of these books in Paperback, and I love them enough that I won't lend them out. Do you ever get books back? Terry is an interesting character, self-aware without being a drag. It's a shame there aren't more books in this series. In this book, he is down and out at the beginning, and instead of whining about it, he picks himself up and starts over. He's always surprised when people accept him and help him. His values change as his life changes. Yes, I'd much rather he didn't smoke, but I'm sure the character actually would. The men I've met who are similar to him all do, and it's always Marlboroughs. He's a working man who loves his truck and his friends and being independent. Great reads. I just wish there were more than Cold Slice, Early 8, and Lights Out.

Cold Slice was an enjoyable little book. The whodunit aspect was a little too easy to figure out; hence only 4 stars instead of 5. But what I enjoyed most about this book was the idea of an average Joe starting from scratch and getting his life back together, making new friends and the cameraderie between them.

I'll definitely give L.T. Fawkes next book, Lights Out, a read. I understand there is a third book coming soon as well.

Right from the beginning you can picture tough guy ex-con Terry Saltz. His colorful narration at the beginning of the story grabs your attention--you just can't put it down. Then, somewhere around chapter 15 you get the idea that Saltz stepped out for a smoke and someone else picked up the story. No more tough guy talk--instead the supposedly blue-collar trailer park guys begin to plot like a bunch of women (James Patterson, anyone?) By the time you realize who the badguy is, you just keep reading to find out how they get him. No surprises, but a satisfying ending. Will I read the next L.T. Fawkes? Probably.
If he can keep the characteriztion going throughout the story I'll forgive him for this one.

Terry Saltz has made a hash of his life, and he's starting all over again. He's a carpenter, trying to build his business back up after getting out of jail. He's clean and sober, and has found a day job as a pizza delivery guy. When one of the other pizza delivery guys is killer, Terry and his new-found pals decide they can find the killer better than the police can. What mystery reader hasn't been down this road before?

Fawkes has written a decent mid-list mystery. Terry has his problems, and he's working on them, some days better than others. The writing won't strain most people's vocabularies, the setting is lower middle-class (at best), and COLD SLICE is worth the time spent reading it. I'm looking forward to reading more in the series.

Terry Saltz took a drunken rampage through a local bar, cooled off in the county jail, and has now decided to get a life. He moves to a small town at the other end of the county with an old friend, and starts his life over again.

On the main street of town, across from the cafe, Terry notices a pizza place. Nothing all that special about the place, but he knows he's got to get a job to generate some income, so strolls across the street. Inside, he meets a down to earth manager who hires him to fill a recently vacated job as a pizza delivery guy. His job training is hilarious as is the entire comedy-mystery.

Saltz knows he has to remain sober and clean and employed, and that he has to meet with his probation officer once each week. He gets to know his co-workers at the pizza place and becomes introduced to a wide veriety of people he might not have looked at twice in his former life. He's amazed to learn that one of his new friends is an attorney. Another, a seemingly wasted Hell's Angle type, is also a very successful and well-known local small business entrepreneur. Slowly but surely, these and others begin to draw him into their circle and Terry finds himself surrounded by a very cool and incredibly funny group of friends. They like him. They respect him. He thinks they're awesome. His life is becoming richer and he feels great about it.

Saltz realizes he's got more time and talent than money, and stumbles into a carpentry job. This had been his profession. He has the time, tools and know-how, so he begins working at building a deck at the lawyers house in the mornings and early afternoons. Late afternoons and nights, he delivers pizzas. He's aware that he needs the structure of a steady pace. He's also delighted that the deck building job generates some serious money. One of his friends wants to learn the carpertry trade and is willing to work as his helper if Terry teaches him the job skills. The seemingly seperate parts of his life (breakfasts at the cafe, building the deck, meeting with the probation officer, moving into the trailer court and getting furniture) all begin to overlap. The more comfortable he becomes with himself, the more he appreciates what's growing into a busy and very interesting life. Right up till that night in the parking lot behind the pizza place....

"Cold Slice" is advertized as a "working man's mystery," and it is. But the great thing about it is that we all know Terry Saltz. He's the kid who sat in front of us in high school Spanish class. We've looked around the local hang-out, and wondered why we haven't seen him lately. Working man? Yeah. But you'll see in him a little bit of someone you've known and loved. This guy is everybody's hero.

On one level, this is the story of a soon-to-be-divorced man getting his act together. Much to his surprise, in the process he finds himself involved in murder. But on another level, L. T. Fawkes gives us an oppertunity to crawl under the skin of a young man who realizes that he has settled for too little in life; and, that if he doesn't learn how to get to know himself and live with himself, he'll drown.

Terry Saltz learns not to take himself or anyone else too seriously. He realizes that some people are complete jerks and others are totally cool and that you can't tell who is which by looking. He realizes that what matters is what a person is inside, not what he says or how she looks.

When his process of starting over is invaded by murder, Terry Saltz and his buddies do what they think anyone in their position would do--they race to find a killer.

The plot of "Cold Slice" is strong and clever, just like the characters. The story is hilarious and fast. In the end, you'll want more. If you can figure out a way to pry a page open and crawl inside the book, do it. You'll love hanging out with Terry Saltz!