From Crime to Crime: Mind-Boggling Tales of Mystery and Murder [Hardcover]

Dennis Palumbo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2008

Match wits with the Smart Guys Marching Society - a lawyer, an actor, a journalist and a psychotherapist - who use their diverse talents to solve the most baffling mysteries. And with the help of old-timer Isaac, they do just that! Also includes several stand-alone tales that will challenge your crime-solving skills and pique your powers of perception.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"Then what are we left with?" Bill asked.
Mark smiled. "D'Amato's knife magically left his belt, found its way into a sealed hidden closet, and stabbed Tommy Slick to death. All this in a matter of seconds, in front of witnesses."
--from The Smart Guys Marching Society

***
"The moment I woke up, I was in a panic," Lisa said. "I ran to look in the mirror, and...well.."
With a trembling hand, she unfastened her long silken skirt to reveal a spot on the top of her thigh. There, in the same black ink, was another tattoo.
--from Body of Evidence

***
"Before anyone can do anything, his head hits the table. Then, with his dying breath, he says `Take my wife'..."
"What?!" Fred almost shouted. "You mean, like the old Henny Youngman joke, `Take my wife---please'?"
--from The Last Laugh

***
Jo shrugged. "That still leaves a wound. A scar." She shifted in her seat. "But let's get back to Eddie."
He wheeled on her suddenly, hands slapping down hard on the desk, making her jump. He seemed to tower above her. Jo tensed, aware of the power in his huge arms, the bulk of his shoulders.
--from Patron Saint

***
These are just a sampling of the tantalizing puzzles and intriguing dilemmas that make up the twelve tales of deduction and suspense.
Welcome to the world of mind-bending mysteries, baffling whodunnits and unexplained phenomena. of cryptic dying messages, locked-room murders and impossible events. In other words, welcome to From Crime to Crime.

Blending wry humor with ingenuity, fast-paced narrative with delightfully original characters, the contemporary stories in From Crime to Crime recall the Golden Age of mystery writing, when clues and red herrings were more important than blood and gore. When the most unlikely of amateur sleuths could unravel what nobody else---not even the police---could figure out.
So, are you up to the challenge? Are you willing to match wits with the intrepid sleuths waiting inside the covers of this book?
Can you figure out...whodunnit?

From the Back Cover

CAN YOU FIGURE OUT...WHODUNNIT?

This intriguing collection of short stories features brain-twisting tales of murder and mayhem that will keep readers guessing until the very end...or will they? All the clues are provided to solve the crimes, just add ingenuity. Match wits with such unlikely amateur sleuths as:

* The Smart Guys Marching Society, a group of suburban "Desperate Husbands" who stumble into --and love --crime-solving.
* A brilliant female psychologist whose session with a patient threatens to turn deadly.

* A penniless patent clerk named Albert Einstein, who gets caught up in the search for a turn-of-the-century serial killer...

Entertaining, amusing and suspenseful, From Crime to Crime is bound to captivate mystery buffs of every kind.

"In updating the legendary Isaac Asimov's crime solving Black Widowers, Palumbo adds a touch of Neil Simon to the mix, gathering his odd quintet of armchair sleuths each Sunday for deli, theorizing, philosophizing, arguing and, thanks to one mutton-chopped brilliantly analytical member named Isaac, solving impossible crimes. Male bonding has seldom been more entertaining. A sparkling assemblage."
--Dick Lochte, author of Croaked! and Sleeping Dog

"Dennis Palumbo's gang of affable husbands solve some daunting mysteries with a combination of clever deduction and sly humor that is very appealing. Lots of fun."
-- April Smith, author of the latest FBI Special Agent Ana Grey mystery, Judas Horse.

"Palumbo's contemporary characters dig into these classic, brain-teasing whodunnits with humor and wit. It's a feast for crime-story lovers of all stripes."
--Bobby Moresco, writer/producer Crash; Million Dollar Baby

"Dennis Palumbo's stories are fun to read: smart, well-written and delightfully original."
--Peter Lefcourt, author of The Manhattan Beach Project.

"If only I were smart enough, I'd like to join the Smart Guys Marching Society! (Or should that be "If I was smart enough...") See, that's why I'm stuck just reading the stories and trying my best to keep up with the ingenious twists and turns. The Smart Guys are good company---and great story-tellers."
--Robert Masello, author of Vigil and Bestiary

. "Smart and funny whodunnits...as if my own life isn't hard enough to figure out."
--Garry Shandling, comic, actor, writer

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Tallfellow Press (April 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1931290601
• ISBN-13: 978-1931290609
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,188,859 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Formerly a Hollywood screenwriter ("My Favorite Year," "Welcome Back, Kotter," etc.), DENNIS PALUMBO is now a licensed psychotherapist, specializing in creative issues. Author of "Writing From the Inside Out" (John Wiley), his first novel was a sci-fi thriller, "City Wars" (Bantam Books), before he turned to crime. His mystery fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, The Strand, and elsewhere, and is collected in "From Crime to Crime" (Tallfellow Press). His first mystery novel, "Mirror Image," is just out from Poisoned Pen Press.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finding "versimilitude" in every story ..., June 9, 2008

By 

Erika Borsos "pepper flower" (Gulf Coast of FL, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: From Crime to Crime: Mind-Boggling Tales of Mystery and Murder (Hardcover)

Dennis Palumbo will have most reader's hooked from page one of each murder mystery. Move over Agatha Christie and Edgar Allen Poe, there is a modern writer who has nudged his way into the murder mystery genre. This author is dynamite! In his own inimitable humorous and wry writing style, Palumbo introduces the reader to a group of men, called "the Smart Guys Marching Society" (Smart Guys) who meet once a month, for socialization, food and drinks and most importantly to solve a "mysterious murder". It all began on a lazy Sunday as the men, their wives and families were barbecuing in the Hollywood Hills ...

The Smart Guys began discussing world events, healthcare and politics ... then Uncle Isaac, a distant relative of Dennis's wife joined the group. The conversation drifted to unexplained phenomenon until it settled on the the unsolved murder of Tommy Slick, a small time hoodlum, who in the past had killed a cop. It was the bizarre circumstances of Tommy's death, or rather murder that was baffling. Sargeant D'Amato had been trailing Tommy for a long time, unable to catch him breaking the law. He had a score to settle, it was D'Amato's partner that Tommy had killed. D'Amato interviewed Carla, Tommy's girlfriend, trying to get some leads. She was willing to talk because Tommy had been cheating on her. D'Amato always carried a knife on him, even though it was against regulations, everyone looked the other way. Mark, a journalist and one of the Smart Guys, along with Carla, Tommy's girlfriend, trailed along on a raid of Tommy's establishment. Carla had ratted out Tommy's location. The bizarre circumstances were that it was D'Amato's knife that was found in Tommy's body. Tommy had been stabbed to death, despite D'Amato not being near the victim. Tommy was holed up in a closet, at the time of the ambush. It turns out, Carla had run up to Tommy's body after he fell out of the closet, found the knife in Tommy and tried stabbing D'Amato with his own knife ... The Smart Guys discussed the different possibilities of how this murder could have occurred but it was Uncle Isaac who magically nailed the likely details of "whodunit" and how. The cops working Internal Affairs and Homicide had not a clue, so Mark the journalist, called Vince the cop who worked this case, to inform him of the plausible scenario proposed by Uncle Isaac.

Primarily, it is the author's writing style and uniquely intriguing murder mysteries which keeps this reader hooked, wanting more. Each story is genuinely interesting and contains a special twist or turn, with clues presented throughout as suspense is built, until the unexpected climax and conclusion. His off beat sense of humor and choice of words is totally captivating and mesmerizing. Here are a few samples of writing which made this reader admire the author, gasp or laugh out loud.
p. 51 "I'm tellin' ya, it's gotta be the most dead-a$$, dried out piece of real estate I've ever seen. Like Mayberry on life support, ya know what I mean?
p. 71 "I was suddenly aware of the scent of her perfume. How different from the usual aroma of beer, burnt popcorn, and half-eaten burritos that usually permeated a meeting of the Smart Guys."
p. 131 "To be honest it was pathetic, four middle-aged married men, gawking like awestruck teenagers as Lisa gracefully pulled up a chair. Tanned and glistening, she had the warm smile of a beauty contestant and the gym-toned body of a fitness model." These are mere appetizers. All the stories are mysterious, unusual, fascinating and a fun reading experience. Erika Borsos [pepper flower]

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a Crime Not to Read This Book!, April 28, 2008

By 

SLO Writer (San Luis Obispo, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Crime to Crime: Mind-Boggling Tales of Mystery and Murder (Hardcover)

There is always reason to celebrate whenever Dennis Palumbo breaks away from his busy psychotherapy practice in Los Angeles to crank out thoughtful essays on writing, or, in this case, to introduce us to the members of The Smart Guys Marching Society in this wonderful new collection of mystery short stories. For those of us who grew up on Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Palumbo strikes a familiar chord with these armchair detectives -- four regular guys who meet weekly to solve the great problems of the world, but end up solving mysteries instead.

As noted in the Introduction, this style of mystery writing dates all the way back to Poe and has been reinvented over the years from Agatha Christie to Issac Asimov. Palumbo hardly breaks new ground with his characters, but that's part of the joy of these stories. We all know the formula, but Palumbo gives us fresh characters and new problems to solve. Once you start a story, you stay with it, wanting, of course, to know whodunit, seeing if you can outguess The Smart Guys.

"Body of Evidence" and "Freud Slept Here" were my two favorite stories in The Smart Guys section. Three other short mysteries are added at the end and I absolutely loved "A Theory of Murder," which features the detecting of a young patent official named Einstein. This story has all the makings of a separate mystery novel and I would encourage the author to explore that option.

No gunplay here. No damsels in distress. No violence. It's all in the mind as four ordinary guys try to solve complex mysteries they stumble across, always to be guided by Issac who somehow seems to know it all. Bravo to Dennis Palumbo. Be sure to share this book with any friends or book clubs who enjoy a good mystery. I hope to see further adventures in future books.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding!, June 1, 2008

By 

Robert Corn-Revere - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: From Crime to Crime: Mind-Boggling Tales of Mystery and Murder (Hardcover)

This is a welcome update to the armchair detective genre, particularly for those of us who grew up on the tales written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie. The added bonus for readers who tag along with the Smart Guys Marching Society is the ability to participate in the deliberations with contemporaries -- the type of guys we can see ourselves hanging out with. A most enjoyable read. The book also showcases Dennis Palumbo's great versatility as a writer. Whether he is writing for the screen, for the writer to help him improve his craft, or for his fellow psychologists, Palumbo is always a pleasure to read.