Customer Reviews

Hardware

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

 

 

In keeping with the last few Carlotta Carlyle mysteries, "Hardware" is much less fun and much more serious than earlier outings. This story involves the Mob, a possible hit that targets someone near and dear to Carlotta, and a murder that affects the Green and White Cab Company, and its wonderful proprietor, Gloria.

Carlotta's on-again, off-again lover, Sam Gianelli, may not be able to escape his heritage this time around--his father is head of a major Mob Family. And Sam, like it or not, is trapped in some nefarious goings-on. Only Carlotta can save him, and she is facing the wrath of two Families, not to mention the usual cast of characters, from her pre-teen and increasingly difficult "little sister," Paolina, to her raunchy roommate, Roz, to a possible new lover.

All in all, the story is a good one, and Carlotta's solution to the puzzle that has threatened so many lives is brilliant. Carlotta still plays killer volleyball, still drives like a maniac (in and out of the cab), and still keeps her cool under pressure. But she has changed a great deal since the earlier books, and is a much more serious--and believeable--person than she ever was before.

A good read, and a strong key to what makes Carlotta tick.

i have read previous linda barnes books and they were not that long, but i enjoyed this 6th novel in the carlotta carlyle series. carlotta is a very dedicated p.i it is a pity she does not take sam her on and off again boyfriend seriously. i also like the relationship she has with her little sister paolina. all the characters are well placed and it makes for interesting reading. linda barnes keep up the good work and i look forward to reading. for anyone out there that have never read a linda barnes novel please do so.

Carlotta Carlyle, part-time investigator and part-time cab driver, is asked to investigate some attacks on other drivers. At the same time she decides to update her "hardware" by buying a new gun and a new computer. Her old friend, police lieutenant Mooney helps her with the former and her sometime lover Sam's friend Frank helps her with the latter. Added to this is Carlotta's angst at receiving large sums of money for her Little Sister Paolina from Paolina's mobster father which she doesn't know what to do with before Paolina goes to college. Her tenant and sidekick Roz is tired of having the money stuffed into her mattress. The plot thickens when there is an attack on Green & White, the cab company owned by Sam whose family is also connected with the Mob. All of these elements are woven into a very complex plot which is a little hard to follow at times. However, the overall book is up to Barnes' usual standards for this series and is a good read.

This was my first Linda Barnes novel. Her main character is interesting and intriguing. The plot flows quickly with plenty of action, yet it is by no means simplistic. She kept me turning pages and "guessing whodunnit" continuously. I'll definitely try some others. Best female PI character since P.D. James' Cordelia Gray.

#6 Carlotta Carlyle mystery. Winter's approaching in Boston, and someone is beating up cab drivers. Carlotta, who drives cab part time to help pay the bills when her PI business doesn't do well enough (which is most of the time) is approached by two different people to investigate--an official in the local Hackneys association, and her boss and friend Gloria, who is part owner of G&W cabs. Gloria isn't sure whether someone is targeting just her small company or cab drivers in general, and can't quite figure out what they would stand to gain by intimidating drivers. Is it something personal or something to do with the politics of the cab medallions--the license issued by the city to own and run a cab, of which there are a fixed number.

Meanwhile, Carlotta's on-again, off-again lover Sam Gianelli, son of a mob boss though not involved in mob business himself, has been spending a lot of time away from Boston in recent weeks and Carlotta's wondering why. Sam owns the other half of G&W, and would prefer that she not investigate at all, which also puzzles her. He also insists that she needs to get into the computer age and introduces her to an old friend who gets her set up with a state of the art system for next to nothing. Once again, Carlotta's puzzled as to the motivation for this move.

I've come to really enjoy this series a lot and this one was quite enjoyable with an ending I didn't expect and more plot twists than I could count. Very much looking forward to the next in the series.

This series gets better with every book. The characters gain in complexity, the plots "thicken", you care more about what happens. Good writer, good book

I listened to the audio of this book and as always enjoyed C.J.Critts reading. Hardware however was not one of my favorites. Tension has popped up between Sam and Carlotta which seems to be just thrown in as an after thought. Nothing was really explained. Green and white cab company has been targeted, so has Sam. The story doesn't really pick up till near the end. Now if you are a Barnes fan you will probably want to read this, but if you haven't read any of her books try starting with the first one "Trouble of Fools".

After reading other women PI books (eg Kinsey Millhone) this one just didn't cut it for me. The dialogue was inane and I really didn't even care about the ending which was hard to understand. The alleged tension between Carlotta and Sam was not developed or believable. Completely mediocre, i read it because i was on vacation and there weren't any other books around.