Customer Reviews

Come to Dust (Keith Moody Mystery)

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In need of something to read and only a few choices on my shelves, I finally settled for this little book I bought about a year ago in the bargain section of a local bookstore. After blowing the dust off the rather nondescript jacket, I settled down to my usual hour or two of reading after going to bed. Suddenly it was four hours later and I was halfway through the novel!

This quirky little mystery is like watching a Nick and Nora Charles Thin Man movie from the `40s. I pictured Keith (the protagonist) and Myra Moody as William Powell and Myrna Loy. The dialogue is full of that elegant, sophisticated banter they spoke so well. Keith, a failed novelist/former screenwriter, just can't keep trouble from finding him. Thus, his escapades, like having an imbecile threaten him with a gun on the beach in broad daylight to stealing a body from a nursing home, make this a laugh-a-minute twists-and-turns kind of novel that you can't put down. And there is a plethora of wacko characters, one of my favorites being the daffy desk clerk at the hotel Keith and Myra reside after their house is trashed. This fragile-egoed schizoid definitely deserves an award for best supporting character in a novel!

The novel goes through many twists and turns with several seemingly unrelated events suddenly coming together and making sense. And after you cut through the humor, there is a seriousness that raises the question of where the dividing line is between obligation to a friend and integrity to oneself. All in all, this was a most enjoyable read. This is a sequel to Greg Matthews' FAR FROM HEAVEN, which I intend to read soon. Let's hope this isn't the end of the series.

Another great Keith Moody mystery by Mr. Matthews.

Moody is the ulitmate anti-hero. Although he has become more sophisticated than he was when we first met him in "Far from Heaven," his sense of humor had me laughing out loud at several points.

But this is not solely a comic novel. It has moments of beauty,sorrow, and clarity that are uncommon in the mystery genre.

I certainly hope there is a third installment, although the novel's ending has me guessing there will not be. That is a shame. Keith Moody and his smart-ass wife Myra are two of the most likeable charactors I've ever encountered in fiction.

Walker is not known for publishing the best mystery novels, so the quality of COME TO DUST comes as a surprise. The opening chapters, in which a 4-F novelist comes across an equally 4-F thug while walking along the beach during WWII, are among the funniest I've read. The comedy slacks off a bit in later chapters, which begin to read a bit more like your average mid-list mystery (protag butts heads with a pair of sarcastic cops; protag comes across an injustice and rights the wrong; obligatory climactic twist, in this case ripped off shamelessly from the film "The Usual Suspects"), but even then the writing remains unusually strong (especially the crackling dialogue) and the novel sports an atmosphere of seriousness the average mystery lacks. The main character is a failure, and his sense of being a failure pervades the book. Far from being the turn-off this sounds like, it infuses the story with a richness not often found in its peers. A funnier and more sober mystery than the average, and well worth reading.

In May 1944 in Redondo Beach, California, writer Keith Moody had the dream encounter of a lifetime for a not so successful novelist. He ran into someone reading one of his books. However, Keith's dream encounter turns into a nightmare when the reader takes out a gun and demands his cash, not his autograph. This incident is a microcosm into the professional life of Keith Moody.

However, his professional life apparently takes a swing uphill when Keith is hired by Empire Productions to write the script to a movie. However, this dream assignment turns into a new nightmare when Keith finds that someone violated his home, looking for something. Subsequently, Nazis under the direction of Herr Fuhrer begin a deadly chase with the target being a bewildered Keith and his beloved spouse Myra.

The second novel, COME TO DUST, in the Moody mystery series is an interesting period piece that brings alive the World War II era, especially in Southern California. The story line is reminiscent of the movies of the forties as the theme seems to run all over the place. Still, this majestically works due to the genuine portrayal of the era and a flustered Keith, who is really a remarkable anti-hero. With this book and the prequel tale (FAR FROM HEAVEN) Greg Matthews demonstrates his talent as he hits his second home run with this amateur sleuth story.

Harriet Klausner