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Crazy Eights: A Jake Hines Mystery (Jake Hines Mysteries)
 
 
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Crazy Eights: A Jake Hines Mystery (Jake Hines Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Gunn (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)


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Book Description

Jake Hines Mysteries February 10, 2005
For Jake Hines, Captain of Detectives in Rutherford, MN, the fact that Benny Niemeyer was found not guilty of murder is an almost personal insult. He'd spent months developing the case, Benny's attorney almost sleep-walked through the trial, the DA had done a great job, even if several key witnesses had either disappeared or developed courtroom amnesia. Even so, when Benny is found dead two nights later, and it's clear there was nothing natural about his death, Jake does what he has to do.

At first there are more questions than answers, more blind alleys and stone walls than a growing city like Rutherford should have had. But detectives follow leads, no matter how ridiculous they appear; after all, what could missing silver at the Aldrich estate have to do with the death of a lowlife thug? What could the death of a prisoner in Stillwater have to do with a missing Beretta in Rutherford?

But Jake pieces together this puzzle meticulously, because even a killer deserves justice...


Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Gunn's engaging sixth police procedural to feature Rutherford, Minn., police captain Jake Hines (after 2002's Seventh-Inning Stretch), Jake is thrilled that smalltime hood Benny Niemeyer, implicated in the kidnapping and murder of IBM employee Shelley Gleason, appears to be headed for a long prison stretch. Benny is acquitted at his trial, however, and the Rutherford PD gets the blame for fouling up the case. Dogged and determined, Jake looks into the case again, trying to locate a missing witness and to figure out how the gun of a local philanthropist became the murder weapon. When Benny turns up dead in a skate-boarding park, Jake and his detectives are awash in questions and no answers. While Jake pieces together the last hours of Shelley and Benny by day, he finds escape from his grim profession in the arms of forensics queen Trudy Hanson at night. The two still commute to their rundown farmhouse, harvesting vegetables as barter for needed renovations. An appealing protagonist, a well-developed supporting cast and a thought-provoking plot add up to fine mystery entertainment.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* What makes Gunn's Jake Hines series such a joy to read? The answer is Jake himself, who happens to be one of the most compelling protagonists in the mystery genre--and not because he is gorgeous and brilliant. Self-described as having a "mixed-race face that looks like it was designed by a committee," Jake is also capable of some impressive blunders. What makes the Rutherford, Minnesota, police captain so endearing is his huge heart. He carries himself with dignity and humility and treats others with respect. By making Jake the narrator, Gunn allows readers to get to know the complex man even better than his fellow cops and girlfriend do. In this outing, Jake and staff investigate the death of a thug named Benny Niemeyer, who was recently acquitted of murder. The case involves drugs and takes the police from the richest neighborhoods in town, where the dealers cavort, to the poorest, where the users struggle to survive. The bleak and violent urban world Jake encounters by day is softened by the cozy and comforting evenings he spends in his old country farmhouse with girlfriend Trudy. Newcomers to the series will relish the fascinating police procedural, but longtime fans will most enjoy spending more time with Jake. Gunn's series has been garnering good reviews for a long time now, but it deserves to sit at the table with the genre's elite. Jenny McLarin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Forge Books; First Edition edition (February 10, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0765308061
  • ISBN-13: 978-0765308061
  • Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,451,987 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Start with the first and read them all, March 17, 2006
This review is from: Crazy Eights: A Jake Hines Mystery (Jake Hines Mysteries) (Hardcover)
These Jake Hines mysteries are THE BEST. The characters are real, the crimes believable, the setting well-described. They aren't "cozy," but they are definitely warm. Jake and Trudy are really cute couple with a real life together. I loved this one and am eager to read the next, and the next, etc.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars strong police procedural, February 26, 2005
This review is from: Crazy Eights: A Jake Hines Mystery (Jake Hines Mysteries) (Hardcover)
Rutherford, Minnesota Chief of Detectives Captain Jake Hines watches the trial of Benny Niemeyer, accused of carjacking, kidnapping, and killing Shelley Gleason. Benny's partner Dale Trogstad was already found guilty of the crimes. Benny informed the police where they could find the corpse, but that information is not admissible as evidence due to a technicality. There is no other link connecting Benny to the murder and the witness who put away Dale is missing. Not surprisingly, the jury states "not guilty".

The next day a freed Benny is dead; the medical examiner declares he was murdered. Although Jake wanted this vermin put away for life and commiserates with the killer, he searches for the culprit. His inquiries lead to the town's richest family who has done so much for the community.

This author is a top Gunn when it comes to providing some of the best police procedurals on the market today. There is enough romance in CRAZY EIGHTS to satisfy fans of that genre, but it is clearly the investigation that readers will appreciate. The story line is brilliantly filled with false leads, red herrings, and misinformation that take the audience down wrong trails (sounds like the political parties). Readers will like the ethical Jake, a mixed racial person who usually ignores the ignorance of racists; the news from his live-in lover sets up a freshness for his next appearance and giving his fans plenty to look forward to.

Harriet Klausner
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3.0 out of 5 stars Quick Read, November 11, 2009
This review is from: Crazy Eights: A Jake Hines Mystery (Jake Hines Mysteries) (Hardcover)
My first glimpse of Elizabeth Gunn and Jack Hines and, although I'm not yet addicted, this was a novel I enjoyed as it was a quick read and had very good aspects of it.

I found the beginning court room drama slow going but once the verdict was in things started heating up and became interesting. The relationship and struggles of Trudy and Jack remind everyone how things will work out in the end if they are meant to and give the reader hope of a better tomorrow.

Gunn's sixth Jake Hines mystery has me curious as how the tale of Jake began as well as how it will end.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
courtroom clerk, gas card
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Benny Niemeyer, Shelley Gleason, Reese Newman, Kylee Mundt, Dale Trogstad, Nelson Aldrich, Ford Explorer, Ray Bailey, Elizabeth Peabody, James Peabody, Sig Sauer, Jake Hines, Judge Dotzenrod, Milo Nilssen, Dan Frye, Roger Mundt, Sean Lynch, Hampstead County, Kevin Evjan, Aldrich Park, Chrissie Fallon, Rosie Doyle, Sergeant Betts, Andy Pitman, Captain Hines
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