Customer Reviews

Dead in Red (Five Star Mystery Series) (Five Star First Edition Mystery)

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For all Jeff Resnick lovers and those yet to discover this unique sleuth, L.L. Bartlett's second suspense mystery, DEAD IN RED brings back a loved set of characters to a new mystery territory, closer to home yet one that takes them to the darker sides of society and the dark secrets of individuals nearby. The psychic sleuth gives a nice twist to the unfolding mystery, but this Jeff Resnick mystery also has an extra dimension as L.L. Bartlett peers deeper into the relationship and tensions between Jeff and his brother.

In her debut mystery, MURDER ON THE MIND, L.L. Bartlett introduced Jeff Resnick. Divorced and having just lost his job as an insurance investigator, Jeff is mugged. The attack leaves him brain damaged and psychic. His brother Richard, a doctor, and Richard's girlfriend Brenda care for him. Frustrated at his sudden incapacity and reliance on Richard, Jeff investigates the brutal death of a banker.

In DEAD IN RED, Jeff Resnick turns his eyes from a high society positioned victim to a murder closer to home. Tom Links, the owner of his favorite bar and hang out, The Whole Nine Yards, asks Jeff to look into the murder of bartender Walt Kaplan. Jeff sees a vision of a high heeled red sequined shoe, a shoe that leads him to investigate a friend from his brother's past, theater groups, foot fetishes and even the haunts of the Buffalo's drag queens, but not even a psychic vision can prepare him for the scenes that will unfold before him. As the clues and a new vision lead him closer to answers, Jeff must race to save an unknown person. Although fear and guilt haunt him, Jeff knows he can only save this person by solving the crime.

Humorous, fast-paced and full of surprises and emotion. Jeff Resnick is a great flawed sleuth. Although psychic, his vision does not make things simple or easy, not one bit! Psychic answers are no substitute or short cut to investigation. His visions give him an inside to the crimes that the police do not have but they can also lead him into dangerous paths that risk not only his life but the lives of those around him.

Jeff's relationship to his brother Richard chafes. As a half-brother, Richard had all the benefits that Jeff never had. Forced to rely on his brother as an adult, he recalls the past and yet the present circumstances forge a bond between the two. L.L. Bartlett gives the reader new insights into Richard, adding humor and spunk to his character. L.L. Bartlett's portrayal of family adds a richness to her Jeff Resnick mysteries. Dead in Red raises the level as Jeff and Richard must work together once more, adding a new glimpse of family in the midst of the dark mystery Jeff uncovers through his psychic vision.

DEAD IN RED takes the reader to the darker side of town and the darker regions of the mind. In DEAD IN RED, L.L. Bartlett give mystery and suspense readers a unique eclectic mix of hard-edged characters and scenarios mixed with intimate, tender family moments. There is no guaranteed easy resolution or happily-ever-after summation but wow, what a wonderful ending! Now --- when is the next Jeff Resnick mystery out? I'm hooked!

For me, Dead In Red by L.L. Bartlett has been the most anticipated book of the year. Yes, even more so than Sue Grafton's latest - which is saying a whole lot since Sue is my favorite contemporary mystery author. Honestly, I have been anxiously awaiting Dead in Red ever since reviewing the ARC of Murder on the Mind, the first Jeff Resnick mystery, a couple of years ago. I'm pleased to say that I wasn't disappointed. Thank you, Ms. Bartlett, for allowing us to once again share in the lives and exploits of your dynamic duo, Jeffrey Resnick and his half-brother, Richard Alpert, M.D.

Ms. Bartlett provides snippets of the past, bringing the reader up to speed on her main characters without wasting time or bogging down the new storyline with unimportant details. If you missed reading Murder on the Mind, you won't feel like you don't have a clue what's going on, however, it was such an excellent read, I'd suggest picking up a copy and enjoying it first.

In this installment of Jeffrey Resnick, et al., Jeff is hankering to get back to work, in more ways than one. He accepts a part-time position as a bartender at a local sports bar, The Whole Nine Yards, but he also promises to look into the murder of Walt Kaplan, who just happens to have held said bartender position before being brutally murdered. Jeff's investigation uncovers the victim's well-hidden secrets that were overlooked by the police, but he also discovers some troubling ties between the dead man and a friend of Richard's. Jeff is torn between digging deeper for the truth and his desire not to do anything further to hurt Richard, especially since he still feels guilty for nearly getting Richard killed just months previously.

As with the first book in the series, Dead in Red is a real page turner. There are plenty of plot twists and turns to keep the reader on edge, and plenty of subplots that help better define the characters and make the reader feel emotionally vested in what's going on in their lives.

Jeff is having a difficult time adjusting to his psychic abilities, especially since he is still having a hard time accepting them. The fact that his intuition can strike at any place and time is more than a little unnerving. I enjoyed especially the character of Sophie Levin, an elderly woman who lives in a bakery on Main Street who has befriended Jeff, understands his gift of sight, and helps him decipher the meaning behind many of his visions. The fact that the reader, and even Jeff himself, is unsure whether or not Sophie really exists or is a figment of Jeff's imagination, is a very interesting tidbit.

I said it before, and I'll say it again. Someone in Hollywood needs to pick this up as a new drama series. Paranormal entities are very hot right now, and I dare say that L.L. Bartlett wrote the manuscript for Murder on the Mind long before any of the storylines we're watching now were written. Besides, her characters are far more interesting and their exploits far more exciting. I would LOVE to be able to watch Jeffrey, Richard, Brenda, Maggie, Sam, and Sophie on a weekly basis. I have no trouble at all picturing Michael T. Weiss (as he was in The Pretender) every time I think about Jeffrey Resnick. But, if that isn't in the cards (I sure wish I had Jeff's psychic ability!), I hope that L.L. Bartlett won't make us wait so long before sharing further adventures of the fascinating Mr. Jeffrey Resnick. I can hardly wait (especially after the book's cliffhanger ending!!!).

Carol Ann Hopkins, 3/9/2008

L.L. Bartlett's Dead in Red starts fast, picks up speed, and finishes with a bang. Jeff Resnick is flawed, human, complex and tenacious enough to earn this reader's loyalty. The book explores unusual terrain (for most of us!) without pandering or getting prurient, while the sibling dynamics between Resnick and his half brother offer other another layer of interest. There's a touch of the paranormal here with Resnick's unusual talent, but not so much to move the book into the fantasy realm. Bartlett manages to straddle the line between realism and supernatural handily. Resnick is more conscious of his short-comings than confident about his abilities, and that makes for a very interesting protagonist indeed. A fast-paced read with plenty of twists and turns.

DEAD IN RED is a clever mystery filled with plenty of suspects - some male, some female, and some who are a little of both. The intricate plot drew me in, but the very real and complex relationship between amateur sleuth Jeff Resnick and his brother Richard is what kept me reading. After surviving a near-fatal mugging, Jeff develops inexplicable psychic abilities. Besides the well-written mystery, DEAD IN RED also offers an intriguing character study of a man who's been given a truly mixed blessing - a new lease on life, but with the burden of perceiving just how much deceit and falsehood surrounds him every day. I enjoyed this book and I hope to see more Jeff Resnick stories in the future!

Love the setting. The characters are endearing. I read this in one evening and looking forward to the next adventure with Jeff Resnick.

So far this is a really good series. I liked this book slightly more than the last. Ms. Bartlett's writing is refreshing, there are hardly, if any, of those "fluff" paragraphs that I usually skim over. I'm going to start another of her series, to see if the style carries over.

I like Jeff and the way he relates to the other people in his life. The storyline and even the whole psychic ability seem very real and believable.

I still have that feeling of wanting more . . . maybe more of a connection, I don't know, maybe it's that I don't usually read cozies with male leads? But something that brings a tear or a smile to me would elevate this book to Really Great!

Jeff Resnick is back after MURDER ON THE MIND--not only thought-provoking (and in his own unique way!), but compelling and memorable. If you want to spend a good read immersed in spare, evocative prose and characters so realistic you'll expect--and want--to meet them on your street corner, DEAD IN RED will do it for you.

What a great read. I usually sus to the killer around about page 10, but happily L L Bartlett keeps you guessing until the last chapter, and in my book, sorry no pun intended, makes it worth every penny. The psychic element isn't overplayed, you can believe that a viscious knock to the head has unlocked an unwanted talent to pick up on the feelings and thoughts of others. As well as being a murder mystery where you want to know "who dunnit" you become involved in what makes Jeff Resnick tick, you empathise with him and his characters they become real and at the end of the book you hope very much that you will meet them again and again.

A brutal attack left Jeff Resnick with a head injury that forces him to rely on his half-brother, the responsible and more successful doctor. The inevitable sibling rivalry resulting from this forced dependency is accompanied by a strange residual effect of Jeff's brain trauma; unpredictable psychic flashes. Although his brother Richard hopes that Jeff would be content working as a temporary paralegal, a favor for a friend has Jeff working undercover in a bar investigating the murder of the owner's bartender. Aided - and hindered - by a psychic flash of a red, high-heeled shoe, Jeff begins investigating the dead man's involvement in the cross-dressing/foot fetish community. Although a homeless man is soon arrested for the murder, another flash implicates Cyn Lennox, the owner of the town's mill, where the murdered man's body was discovered. That Cyn is a former ex-girlfriend of Richard only complicates matters, especially considering that Richard has made himself Jeff's unwanted guardian and investigative partner.
While Jeff does less actual detecting than somewhat blindly following his psychic images, Bartlett provides the reader with fun glimpses into the world of drag queens. Dominating the story though, is the relationship between Jeff and Richard. Bartlett has developed a very realistic and complicated sibling relationship that has them each wanting to protect the other even as they resent those same inclinations in the other. Jeff is angered by how his health problems have forced him to rely on Richard for financial aid, while Richard disapproves of Jeff's resistance to accepting help and adopting a more stable lifestyle. The romantic element tentatively introduced in the previous entry of the series, Murder on the Mind, is largely ignored here with the focus instead falling on Jeff's fear of endangering Richard(understandable considering the injuries he suffered in that debut novel). Overall, the brothers' complicated interactions carry the novel in this entertaining and lively mystery that has contains sprinkling of the paranormal.

This book was well written and great to cuddle up next to before going to bed. I just couldn't put this book down until I finished it.... much like the previous book in the series. If you like murder mysteries with a touch of romance, but not alot of smutt then this is the book for you. I can't wait for the next book in the series.