Customer Reviews

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

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Even roommates Skip Moore and James Lessor are shocked when the Florida Department of Agriculture issues them their private investigator license though each understands the Sunshine State has been out in the sun too long. The pair opens up the Moore or Less Investigations form.

To keep from becoming starving sleuths James obtains a position as marketing director of the Moe Show traveling carnival; owner Moe Bradley must have worked for the state. Moe also orders James to investigate who is causing the accidents on the rides culminating with the death of a thirtyish woman when the safety bar on a ride failed. Skip joins James, but most of the carny employees provide Lessor cooperation as they learn first hand on the Dragon Tail and Moore insult in Freddy's Fun House. When worker Kevin Cross is murdered in his trailer, the two new official sleuths bring in the big guns, Skip's girlfriend Emily, and P.I. Jody Stacy.

Over the top of Tallahassee, the enjoyable Moore or Lessor tale (see Stuff to Spy For) has the Dumb Dicks (they are humorous unlike the 1930s movie) legal while causing the same jocular havoc with terrific asides that skewer the state. The story line is faster than the Dragon Tail ride as the duo seems to land constantly in excrement that only a fly would appreciate. With a fabulous cliffhanging finish, Don Bruns' fans will welcome the return of the zany pair and their more effective female buddies while wanting the next Moore and Lessor thriller immediately.

Harriet Klausner

There's a lot to like in the pages of this book. No, it is not literature by any stretch of the imagination. But it is a fast-paced, convoluted mystery that takes place in a traveling carnival show. Two less than qualified detectives stumble, mumble, and bumble through their first case trying to learn if there is evil afoot or just bad accidents. The fast pace is helped by the fact that this all takes place over three days, there are 50 chapters in the book averaging less than 6 pages each and most of the chapters end in cliffhangers, demanding that the reader keep going. A dozen or more interesting characters people the book, and you won't come across any word that needs to be looked up in a dictionary. And the mystery is kept unsolved until the final pages. What's not to like? It could have been a little bit smarter with not so many obvious red herrings. But, it took less than two days to read, so not a great waste of time. Would I read any of the other three books in the "stuff" series by Bruns? Yeah, I think I might. I might even go out of my way to look for one.

This is a must for an Easter read. Take this book with you on holiday. Share it with family and friends - you'll have them saying, 'I couldn't put the book down even for a breather...'

If you like a murder, mystery and suspense thriller, this is one which ranks along a Miss Marple's (an Agatha Christie character) 'case solved and dusted' episode.

From the moment Skip and James get their PI's (Private Investigator's) license from the DOA of Florida (Department of Agriculture), they were onto a case of such complexity, you began imagining the popcorn seller at the carnival was a suspect - that thrilling.

Along with the usual suspects of the embittered small time zoo keeper, Winston Pugh and two cocky rides operators, Bo and Charlie, we get glimpses of other characters such as Agent Angie Hotpants, a beautiful blond who works for Moe Bradley, owner of the Moe Show Inc. and Moe's sisters who throw in a spanner or two which really gets the readers wondering of the 'whodunnit' conumdrum.

Skip and James are ideal characters in the plot - who we sympathise with but can't see how they are going to solve the mystery of the mechanical errors in the fatal accident leading to the death of a young female rider on the Cat's Pajamas carnival ride, plus a couple of other near fatal accidents on the rides.

'Who did it?' is the question on the readers' minds as the plot thickens and we get no where near to solving the murder/mystery/suspense until Chapter 18, almost half way into the novel when Skip gets the spy gadgets from Jody Stacy, a specialist in all things investigative.

The drama intensifies with Skip and James, threatened a few times but undeterred, they staunch on regardless and nearly getting killed themselves in the bid to find the killer before they're caught up more in the mechanics of the chilling drama.

It is a thriller, with light hearted relief from such characters as Emily. Skip's on/off girlfriend and shop owner Jody Stacy, not to mention the operating duo, Bo and Charlie. In some ways, this action-packed thriller reminds me of the escapades of the Die Hard Bruce Willis character and a must-read for the Easter Holidays.

James Lessor and Skip Moore finally received their PI license after applying to the Florida Department of Agriculture, surprising not only themselves, but everyone around them. Now, they are working hard to get More or Less Investigations up and running.

James is a line cook at Cap'n Crab fast food restaurant and Skip sells home security systems. Because James needs to pick up some extra money to replace Skip's truck, the one that James accidently blew up in a previous case, he accepts a weekend job. First approached by a mysterious woman who calls herself Agent Hot Pants, James is hired by Moe Bradley, a traveling carnival owner with his two disagreeable sisters.

James cover for the job is that he is helping with marketing the carnival while privately he is checking into why a couple of people have been killed or injured on rides. Moe wants to find out who is sabotaging his business.

While searching for the culprit they meet quite an odd assortment of carnival workers including Winston Pugh Charlemagne, operator of Winney Pugh's Zoo. He is in the midst of a copyright infringement case with Walt Disney World because his business sounds too much like Winnie the Pooh.

Other carnies include the surly operators of the Dragon Tail ride where most of the injuries occurred. Even the boyfriend of one of Moe's sisters gets in on the act by threatening Skip and James with a stern warning to leave things alone.

The boys finally decide to get serious about the case and enlist the help of their friend Jody Stacy who provides them with a couple of tools of the trade. Skip's gal, Em, also joins them when she realizes the bumbling boys need guidance in their quest to find the culprits.

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff is the fourth book in Don Bruns popular series about the hapless newly minted PI's. There is never a dull moment when James and Skip are around and this fast-paced story keeps them, and their readers, on their toes. Bruns does a bang-up job of fleshing out the two characters to the point that readers might feel like they are reading about someone they know.

Fans will enjoy the surprise ending and will surely look forward to the next installment.

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

"Don't Sweat the Small Stuff", the latest mystery from South Florida novelist, songwriter, musician and advertising executive Don Bruns, is a rollicking up and down tale from start to finish. Two school buddies, Skip Moore and James Lessor, have combined their talent for bumbling to form a brand new detective agency, More or Less Investigations. Think of Tom and Dick Smothers running "Mom Always Liked You Best" investigations instead of pursuing a television career and you get the general idea. Skip tells the story and takes us all along for the ride.
With the ink barely dry on their P.I. licenses, the hapless pair accept a job trying to uncover who is sabotaging a local carnival, the Moe Show. The carnival "staff" is, to put it mildly, a bunch of hard-drinking misfits who delight in doing whatever they can to throw Skip and James off track. Which is pretty easy to do.
Skip, the brighter of the two, spends much of his time saving James from the folly of his many, ill-advised business and personal decisions. But hey, they're amigos, right? There's also a death-trap of a ride called the Dragon Tail, whose description reminded me once again of why you won't find me at a carnival very often. Like never.
Amazingly enough, the pair do manage to crack the case before they both get put out of business. Permanently.
Lots of fun, especially with a bucket of popcorn or a corn dog to snack on while you read!
Reviewed by: Susan Santangelo, Author of "Retirement Can Be Murder" for Suspense Magazine

I really enjoyed reading this book. I found out (after the fact, and no I didn't see the blurb before I read this book....lol) that this book is part of a series of books featuring Skip Moore and James Lessor. After reading this book I am so going out and buying the rest of this series. Skip and James were too funny of a duo. They both have their own way of doing things which makes for hilarious hijinks's. This bumbling duo find themselves in way over their heads when James drags Skip into another one of his great hair brained schemes. This time they need to visit a traveling carnival called the Moe Show so James can learn the ins and outs of the business and what not as their new marketing director. Having just gotten their PI licenses they are rather shocked to be approached shortly after arriving at the Moe Show by Moe Bradley himself with a proposition. Moe needs James and Skip to investigate the recent troubles his traveling carnival has been having but he also needs them to keep it on the down low so as not to cause a panic among the other carnies. How James and Skip go about it is truly a work of comedic art. One thing after another thing happens to these two which takes this book to a whole new level of the blind leading the blind. Their investigation style is so inept that a monkey could do it better but that is the pure gem of this book. Their total lack of knowledge and stupidity keeps you coming back for even more. I so can not forget to mention Jody Stacy the PI pro who helped get Skip and James their licenses. He is too funny because he sells surveillance equipment to this dynamic duo time and again and he can't seem to give them a price for it. His famous lines are usually something like "I'll send you the bill" or "if you don't like it you can always return it" which to me is priceless (pun intended....lol). How they fall for this time and again is any ones guess but it makes for some funny situations. I am afraid to say any more because I don't want to give away any of the suspects or spy gadgets. If I did that it might spoil this awesome story for some people and I wouldn't want to do that. On a scale of 1-10 I give this book a 10 even though it is part of a series I read it without any problems keeping up. Any reference to other situations they were in seemed just like regular back story stuff and didn't hinder my reading (although now I know it is referencing other books in the series). If you like a quirky duos, crime novels, mysteries, or just a great story all together I urge you to pick up a copy of Don't Sweat The Small Stuff it truly is a great book and well worth the read.