Customer Reviews

The Dutch: A Milan Jacovich Mystery

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a real live 100% Slovak. I have lived in Cleveland my entire life. I can relate to lot of Milan's memories, though I think he eats a lot better than I do and I've never smoked a cigarette in my life. I've enjoyed this series since the first book, "Pepper Pike". I wish Mr. Roberts had stayed with naming the books after the Cleveland 'burbs. (For you non-Clevelanders, Pepper Pike is one of Cleveland's wealthier suburbs). We have lots of neat city names in this area and that would have been fun. Anyway, I stopped reading the series for awhile after Mr. Roberts killed off Marko. I still don't see the point of that. Milan is a good guy who does a good job. Except for some street names (Avenue vs. Road, etc.), Roberts gets the Cleveland stuff right. This was a good story. It's well worth your time and money, especially if you know Cleveland. I read a lot of mysterys and I usually don't figure 'em out, but I did on this one. Must be my Slovak blood, right?

Les Roberts has become one of my favorite mystery writers. His character is Cleveland private investigator, Milan Jacovich. Milan is asked by William Carnine to find out why his daughter, Ellen, committed suicide ("did the Dutch") by jumping off a bridge. Most thought that Ellen did the Dutch because she was overweight and unattractive. She was 3rd in command at Wheetek Inc., a computer graphics designing firm. Milan discovers that she is very bright and a decent, caring person. Ellen also spent quite a bit of time in chat rooms on the Internet. As Milan talks with her friends and investigates her on-line friends, it becomes likely that Ellen was murdered. Milan sets out to find the killer knowing that his own life is in danger. "The Dutch" has a very strong plot and the suspense builds until the very end. I also like the main character, Milan Jacovich. This novel is highly recommended.

I am not sure if reading this Roberts book first is a good thing or not. On the one hand with no previous knowledge, Milan Jacovich is a fresh character, fairly well developed in this book, exciting and complex. However reading the other reviews it seems that reading his earlier books would be the prudent thing to do to really know our hero. As a stand alone this book is certainly a strong piece, but once I read his other works, I may change my mind.

This was a quick read for me (one day), but a very good one as well. Being familiar with Cleveland and her landmarks adds greatly to this book, but the thrilling nature of the story should grasp you even if you've never been to the Rock and Roll City. It turns out to be a bit more kinky than I was expecting, but then surprises are usually just that!

Two minor problems I had with the book had to do with Roberts overuse of the word "bucolic" and the ending. I counted his use of the word 3 times and lets be honest here, it's a great word, but when overused, as it is here, it loses its flavor. Secondly, the ending comes too fast and leaves a few things dangling. I don't want to ruin any of the plot; however he could have tidied up a few of the "relationship" strings.

I've heard that this will be the last Cleveland based book (something about his publisher or agent saying he's worn out Cleveland). I hope this is not the case and I really look forward to reading his other works.

This is a solid effort and well worth you time if you like thrillers.

Industrial security expert Milan Jacovich heard about the suicide of Ellen Carnine on the news, but it meant nothing to him because he did not know her. When Ellen's father, Professor William Carnine of the nearby Bryarly College Biology Department, asks Milan to find out why his daughter committed suicide, the sleuth wants to say no. This is not his line of work. However, police officer Martusen sent the doctor who desperately needs closure for him and Mrs. Carnine.

The twenty-nine-year-old vice president of Wheetek Inc. seemed contented. She was a big success with her firm, an internet company, and had a male roommate. Milan begins finding discrepancies that make him wonder if Ellen really jumped off the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge or did foul play occur and if the answer is yes, by who and why.

The latest Jacovich mystery is a powerful entry in a strong series. Once started on the case, the star sleuth refuses to give it up until he learns the truth. Besides the usual whirlwind fun tour of Cleveland that Drew Carey would enjoy, Les Roberts provides his audience with another entertaining investigative tale.

Harriet Klausner

I have enjoyed all the books in this series, but found this one exceptionally enjoyable, not only for the mystery itself, but for the contemporary insights into our changing times and mores as well. Milan is slowly coming to terms with the computer age and its many implications for society, morality and lifestyle. His continuing reflections on life, aging, and fitting into a society that values only young, beautiful people is insightful and moving.
Milan is at heart an armchair philosopher, and his musings are always deeply reflective and beautifully spoken (in the written word). This book, like the others in the series, are for those looking more for solid story value and good writing than for shoot-'em-up action. I'm glad there's a new story in the works, soon to come!!

This book made very little impression on me, and if it had been the first one in the Jacovich series, I probably wouldn't have read any more. I came to admire Milan Jacovich in stories like PEPPER PIKE and A SHOOT IN CLEVELAND. With his last two books, one about baby-selling and this latest about physical appearance and computer sex, Roberts has gotten so preachy he should probably write a self-help novel next. Milan is flat and seems to have lost much of his hard-edge. He has no lover, just a woman woman he uses for sex and in this book, he isn't even really that into his sons' lives anymore, except for leering at Milan Jr.'s girlfriend. That's not Milan! We want our Milan back!

Milan has been great, but getting to preachy, Roberts is
using Milan as a pulpit, Milan needs to have a few flaws,
and be human, his morals are to black and white. Its time to see Saxon return, he seemed more realistic.

Les Roberts gets better and better with each outing, as his appealing Slovenian private eye, Clevelander Milan Jacovich, wrestles not only with bad guys but with moral and ethical choices and responsibility. "THE DUTCH" may be the darkest and most disturbing book in this long-running and successful series, dealing not only with the perils and terrors of the Internet, but with the shameful way in which our society treats people who are not pleasing to look at. "The Dutch" is street parlace for suicide, and on the first page it is apparent that successful but overweight and homely dot.com executive Ellen Carnine has thrown herself from one of the many bridges which crisscross downtown Cleveland. Her grieving father is looking for answers, fearing that he might have done something to prevent his daughter's taking her own life, and hires Jacovich to probe into the last months of her life. Milan, a veritable innocent when it comes to the Internet, learns more than he ever wanted to know, and finally uncovers a crime breathtaking in its savagery and pure evil. The climactic scene will take your breath away. This one is a don't-miss, and not just for private eye aficionados. It's a full-blown, disturbing, and gripping novel.

A young female internet executive seems to have committed suicide by jumping off a bridge at 4:00am. Her father hires private eye Milan Jacovich to clarify what really happened. The police have already classified the case as a suicide. Jacovich interviews her friends and work associates. Something doesn't ring true to him about the case. As he delves deeper he discovers an important clue. He feels in his gut that this was no suicide. He uncovers an internet snuff site that showed porno and finished with the actual murder of the prostitute actress. This was a quick moving page turner. I must say that my first thought before reading the book was who cares about a drama in Cleveland. Well, I was wrong. I thought it was a great read and look forward to reading more of the author.

Very dramatic story. Unexpected events. Very detailed. Another well written novel by Les Roberts. Peggy Ann