Customer Reviews

The Dead Don't Lie: An Abe Lieberman Mystery (Abe Lieberman Mysteries)

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Without falling into a pattern, Kaminsky has produced book after book using Lieberman. Each one is different and each one is an excellent read.

The late detective novelist Ed McBain was known for his police procedurals set in the 87th precinct of Isola, a fictional city based on the borough of Manhattan. McBain, whose real name was Evan Hunter, wrote more than 50 books in the 87th Precinct series along with countless other mysteries. The personal lives of Detective Steve Carella and his fellow officers were intertwined with their professional crime-solving duties. With McBain's death in 2005, the 87th precinct closed up shop.

Those who miss the men and women of the 87th precinct and their travails through life can find a compelling substitute in the work of Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Stuart M. Kaminsky, who has written his 10th novel featuring police detective Abe Lieberman. Lieberman differs from Carella in many ways. While Carella is middle-aged and ruggedly handsome, Lieberman is near retirement, dog-faced and suffers from insomnia. Unable to sleep, the Chicago detective spends substantial time reading, viewing the History Channel and watching old movies. Those pastimes contribute to a wizened and cynical outlook on life. When a witness recognizes Lieberman as Jewish and remarks that he is one of the chosen people, Lieberman responds, "And an odd choice it is."

THE DEAD DON'T LIE follows a pattern that Kaminsky has established in all of the Lieberman novels. Lieberman and his longtime partner Bill Hanrahan are involved in multiple investigations. Although they generally work together, this particular book finds them working independently on two cases. Hanrahan's concerns a chef who is mugged for his wallet and then shot by an unrelated assailant. Lieberman is called upon to investigate multiple murders of members of Chicago's Turkish community. One of the deaths could have been prevented by Lieberman, a fact that pushes the detective to even greater efforts to find the killer.

While working the cases, the personal lives of the protagonists cannot be forgotten. For Hanrahan, a 54-year-old recovering alcoholic, it is impending fatherhood. His Chinese-American wife Iris is in labor and will soon give birth to a daughter. His two grown sons have not prepared him for what will occur. Lieberman must contend with his brother's threat to leave their synagogue as well as the burden caused by raising two grandchildren who have come to live with he and his wife when his daughter re-married and moved to California.

Even with multiple storylines and complex characters, Kaminsky keeps the plot moving toward well-crafted denouements. Lieberman, through his wisdom and philosophy, dispenses more justice on the streets of Chicago than ever could be handed out in any courtroom in America. For those who loved the 87th Precinct novels, all you need to do is journey 1,100 miles west. You will find yourself in an equally compelling and endearing crime-fighting world that is not to be missed.

--- Reviewed by Stuart Shiffman

Very Good Abe Lieberman Read. But if you are not familiar with the Abe Lieberman Series I would start with one of the older books, not this one. I could do without the "Alter Cockers", but the other main Characters are fun to read about. I like "Father Murphy" and his Oriental Wife. Love Lieberman's wife (Bess) and their relationship. The dealings between Abe and His Grandchildren is Priceless. Also like Abe's dealings with his Daughter and how he handles her Marital Situation.
If you are an Abe Lieberman Fan read this Book.

THE DEAD DON'T LIE: An Abe Lieberman Mystery, by Stuart M. Kaminsky (304 pgs., 2007). Kaminsky was a super prolific writer and this was his 65th published book. Sadly, he died earlier this year. He wrote four ongoing mystery series. Each was in different time periods or countries or cities. How he kept all his characters separate from each other, especially his large cast of supporting characters was beyond my ken. My favorite series was this one: the Abe Lieberman mysteries.
This is a contemporary novel that takes place in Chicago. The two main characters are longtime partners & detectives on the Chicago Police Force. Abe Lieberman is Jewish & his nickname unsurprisingly is Rabbi. His partner, Bill Hanrahan is Irish & for some reason his nickname is Father Murphy. Their office outside their Police Precinct is the T&L Deli that is owned by Maish Lieberman, Abe's big brother. Their periodic advisors are a group of eight regulars at the Deli called the Alter Cockers. All are Jewish, except for Howie Chen who used to own the local Chinese restaurant which he sold & it's now an Indian grocery. The only requirement seems to be that they like to congregate for meals at the T&L Deli & solve all the worlds' problem while speaking Yiddish, including Howie. Whenever the Rabbi & Father Murphy come in for a meal, the alter cockers become their unofficial sounding boards. Surprisingly both cops are happily married & while middle-aged both enjoy sex with their wives. Bess is President of the synagogue & Iris is a Chinese-American who is over 50 & has just given birth to a baby named June Mei Hanrahan. Abe & Bess keep young by raising their two grandchildren, the oldest of them, Barry, just had his Bar Mitzvah. Rounding out this list of characters is a psychotic & bloodthirsty Hispanic gang leader named Emiliano "El Perro" Del Sol & his gang, the Tentaculos. Abe is affectionately called, "El Viejo" (the old man) by El Perro & his gang. They view Abe with a combination of awe, friendship, loyalty, & respect. El Perro & El Viejo has a strange friendship between them. They help each other & protect each other. I think El Perro views Abe as the father he wished he had. I think Abe truly likes El Perro & thinks of him with a weird sense of kindness & friendship. I think El Perro knows that & appreciates the way Abe feels about him. They would lay down their lives for each other. Already, one of the Tentaculos lost his life defending the life of Iris Hanrahan. The mysteries & plot lines are always original & well thought out; however, they are merely the reason for Kaminksy to revisit this cast of characters.
Sadly, this is a very well written book; but emotionally it didn't move me as much of some of his earlier Lieberman books. It's fast paced & is a page turner. The plotting is tight. The characters are vibrant. The mysteries are very original & stem from long ago history that is quite relevant today. HOWEVER, the Rabbi & Father Murph didn't work together throughout the book. Early on, they each pick up separate crimes to solve. My favorite books are the ones in which the relationship between these two partners & their interactions with the supporting cast of characters take center stage. Thus, this was a good read. It was just not one of my favorite books in this series.

Everything Stuart Kaminsky writes (with the possible exception of the Toby Peters series, which I just seem not to want to read) is fantastic. I expect he's slowed down a little now, but during his prime he was one of the most prolific writers of truly great "detective novels" of our times. You wonder how he could possibly hold down his day job (Professor of Film at universities in Chicago and then Florida) while publishing more than sixty novels, most of which are truly thrilling to read. A master.

Got this book from my ship's library during a recent cruise and am very happy I did. I really enjoyed the author using a small ethnic community (the Turks in Chicago) as the focus of the story. The ins and outs of the political and social complexities of the community seemed real enough to me. I like the main character and his Irish partner. I also liked their "Huggy Bear" type figure, a gang banger who never the less helped them with information in return for favors. Lots of time is spent on the home life of the main character. This is OK and makes him human but it was pushing the limits of my interest. Another point is the protagonist must be the oldest member of Chicago PD and his "young" partner must be the second oldest. They'll be chasing perps in their walkers pretty soon.

Normally I find any of Kaminsky's books interesting in themselves but this one (which he wrote for a friend) is just to pat. Lieberman and Hanrahan are just too old to be running around the street (sometimes literally) and in the right spot at the right time to often. On top of that they are able to subvert and surround the meaning of the law way too easily.

From the beginning, Mr.Woo has been a cardboard Chinese character, and he has now passed into cartoonish. It's been bad enough the way that Kaminsky has written 'El Perro' and his gang as so uni-dimensional that the could be in clown costumes and not seem any stranger.

Unfortunately, he has taken a very serious subject, the murder of up to a million Armenians at the beginning of the twentieth century, and turned it into a side-light. Every since these Armenians were force out of there homes and into the Anatolian desert to die of thirst, starvation and exposure, the Turks have been looking for a way to distance themselves from the act. It was one of the first governmental sanctioned pogroms (ethnic cleansings) of the 20th century; no better or worse than Russia, Germany, Cambodia, Yugoslavia or Rwanda. Time to admit the truth and move on.