Fat Tuesday (Thomas Black Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Earl Emerson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 12, 1988 | Series: Thomas Black Mysteries

When Fred Pugsley receives a dead rattlesnake in the mail, ex-Seattle cop Thomas Black and his friend, lawyer Kathy Birchfield, are called in to investigate. But when they get there, Fred is dead, and his stunned wife sits huddled in the kitchen, clutching a tool used on racing bicycles -- the murder weapon. But the wife says she's innocent, and suddenly there are plenty of other suspects. Just as Seattle stages its own Mardi Gras, Black is getting ready for a wild blow-out of his own . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Emerson's previous mysteries include the Edgar nominee Poverty Bay and other praise-winners. This one, though, seems to have been thrown together. Series hero Thomas Black, the Seattle private eye, narrates events surrounding the murder of Fred Pugsley, but the story is lumpy with excess verbiage. An executive with a lucrative computer company, Pugsley had been an associate of brilliant Eric Castle, who was fired on evidence that he molested children. Black and his friend, lawyer Kathy Birchfield, investigate Eric and others during the frantic festivities in the Northwestern city's Mardi Gras, which are dimmed by the detective's fight with an outraged bull, attacks from a villain on the Space Needle, other murders, etc. Emerson seems so enamoured of figurative speech that he uses the same likeness twice: "a grin on his face where else? wide enough to slide a 747 into."
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

When Fred Pugsley receives a dead rattlesnake in the mail, ex-Seattle cop Thomas Black and his friend, lawyer Kathy Birchfield, are called in to investigate. But when they get there, Fred is dead, and his stunned wife sits huddled in the kitchen, clutching a tool used on racing bicycles -- the murder weapon. But the wife says she's innocent, and suddenly there are plenty of other suspects. Just as Seattle stages its own Mardi Gras, Black is getting ready for a wild blow-out of his own . . .

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett (June 12, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345352238
• ISBN-13: 978-0345352231
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.8 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #814,257 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Entertaining Book, December 19, 2000

By 

C. Irish "Read On!" (Placerville, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fat Tuesday (Thomas Black Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Fat Tuesday was my introduction to Earl Emerson and I intend to read all of his books. Fat Tuesday was funny, refreshing, and I found it to be a great page turner. Wonderful characters. The plot I didn't figure out. I enjoyed this book very much.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fat Tuesday, February 27, 2001

By 

Ricky N. "Ricky C. Nelson" (Commerce, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fat Tuesday (Thomas Black Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Fat Tuesday is the fourth Thomas Black novel by Earl Emerson. When Black and his friend, lawyer Kathy Birchfield go to meet with Fred Pugsley, they find him dead in a pool of blood. His wife, Maggie is found holding the murder weapon, a bicycle sprocket remover. The police think Maggie killed him because of Fred's numerous affairs. Another prime suspect is Eric Castle, a cycler and former co-worker of Pugsley at Micro Darlings, a manufacturer of computer games. There are other suspects who may have killed him because Fred may have slept with their wives or girlfriends. Black's life is also in danger from a motorcycle "mama", a 3000-lb. bull named Aunt Mabel, and a crazy man. This is the most complex Black novel to date, and is an excellent read.

2.0 out of 5 stars Fatuous in Seattle, February 11, 2012

By 

Booker G "ultimate reader" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fat Tuesday (Paperback)

Earl Emerson's "Fat Tuesday" is a step backward in this series. While I found myself fully engaged initially, the story peters out into a disappointing ending with poorly executed typical elements, in particular a group confrontation of all the suspects and an unlikely chase scene. The idea of a mystery involving a group of suspects from a high tech software company in Seattle was a good beginning, though the underlying premise for the murder was weak and rather creepy and doesn't fit with the high tech conception.

Emerson somehow managed to make this book interesting despite a number of missteps. The poor title, "Fat Tuesday," suggests that the pre-Lenten celebration of Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) actually plays a role in the story, and it doesn't. It isn't a necessary backdrop to the story--it only gives his "girlfriend" Kathy a chance to be annoyingly zany yet again. A subplot involving biker women and a dangerous encounter for Thomas with a bull just seem too unbelievable and hokey.

As to the characters, the suspects in this case are interesting, which definitely helps the story. However, as in previous books, Thomas and Kathy are overly cute as a quasi couple. Thomas's own dialogue with other people in the story tends to be overly clever also. Finally, Emerson makes Thomas a man obsessed with women's bodies, which is a rather disgusting trait for a mostly likeable character.