Customer Reviews

Herr Schnoodle & McBee (Five Star First Edition Mystery)

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

 

 

In New York, fortyish Alexander McBee changes vocations from accounting to private investigative work based on a correspondence course, Magnum reruns, and the DNA of his father and grandfather, former cops. He literally picks up a new partner when the lone sleuth finds an injured ugly canine that is a horrendous mixing of a schnauzer and a poodle, who he calls Herr Schnoodle.

With Schnoodle at his side they recover a missing Persian cat, stolen grocery carts, and solve the case of a missing person. However, McBee admits to himself that Schnoodle is the brains of the operation as the dog solves the case though it seems to outsiders that McBee accomplishes the feat. They meet homeless Apple Sally and both are intrigued by her. As McBee's rep grows, reporter Darcy takes a personal interest in him even as he finds himself needing to know more about Apple Sally. Before Schnoodle, McBee had no friends; now hehas plenty, but first he and his partner want to make things right for Apple Sally.

This is a lighthearted private investigator tale with a serious subplot involving Apple Sally. WC Field's theory of not performing with animals or children as they will steal the scene comes through as Schnoodle constantly stars. McBee is a fine person just coming out of his shell thanks to his partner and Apple Sally. Fans will appreciate this humorous detective tale summed up by McBee when he reflects how Herr Schnoodle is the brains of the operation.

Harriet Klausner

Alexander McBee has become a private investigator. He has trained by watching re-runs of Magnum P.I., Rockford Files, and other old detective series on the television. He comes upon a strange dog who becomes his partner. Herr Schnoodle is not the most attractive mix of schnauzer and poodle, but he knows how to investigate.

They begin to get more cases as they are able to solve them quickly. They meet Apple Sally, a local street woman. McBee is intrigued by her, but he can't figure out why. Then there's the beautiful Darcy, the gossip reporter out to scoop McBee's cases.

Soon McBee realizes there is more to Apple Sally than meets the eye. Can he uncover her past without alienating her or letting Darcy break the story before he's ready? Can he keep investigating his cases without letting on about Herr Schnoodle's part, especially to Darcy?

McBee is definitely a quirky character, but that's what makes him interesting. I really enjoyed this first book in this series. I look forward to reading many more. The setting and other characters is well written and I feel as if I've been there and met everyone. I highly recommend this book.

This is a rather odd little book.

In form, it's familiar enough. A private eye has just established his business. He endures the slow days until clients start trickling in. He solves some cases. He meets some people, among them a homeless woman with a mysterious past, a glamorous reporter who works on a low-life, unethical rag; a handful of neighborhood characters, a few paying clients. So far, so good, but the tone of the book is somehow all wrong ... even strange.

Pleasantly strange, though.

If anything, "Herr Schnoodle & McBee" reads like a screen treatment of a Raymond Chandler novel prepared by Frank Capra at his most misty-eyed and goo-ily populist. It's "Mr. McBee Goes to Town to Become a P.I." It's all sort of, well, warm ... and cozy. Mr. McBee's mean streets are the type of mean streets that might be prowled by Elwood P. Dowd and his friend Harvey, that six-foot tall, invisible rabbit.

And a big, ugly, lovable dog that's at the center of everything.

Mr. Dowd once expounded on the fact that he had been told that to get along in this world, he had either to be very smart or very pleasant. He had chosen pleasant.

This book has chosen pleasant, too. I think it deserves four pleasant stars.

LEC/AM/8-08

Alexander McBee is a New York private investigator who doesn't have much flair or luck in solving his cases. One day, Her Schnoodle, a very unattractive dog, appears by the pier next to McBee who was quietly contemplating on his unhappy life. Alexander rescues the dog and brings him home. Her Scnoodle proves to be a gifted dog who finds the missing evidence in McBee's cases. With his help, the investigator gains confidence and becomes successful at catching the offenders.
The story takes a romantic twist when Darcy, a charming reporter, is sent by her boss to spy on McBee. Darcy's determination to get a story to publish, leads her to find important information on the investigator's friend Apple Sally, a bag lady on the run with a dangerous history. With the help of the reporter, Alexander unravels the mystery behind Sally's past. Throughout this time, McBee also finds himself attracted to both women and in the end he goes for the one he deeply cares for.
P.K. Paranya is an established author, who writes very well: Her novel `Herr Schnoodle & McBee' is an intelligent and humorous story. Moreover, the author portrays the main characters in the most creative way: a bag lady suffering with amnesia, a gifted ugly dog solving mystery cases, a grumpy private investigator with many phobias and an attractive reporter, willing to risk it all for a good story. Overall, the plot is captivating and the reader will find himself trying to solve the puzzles along with McBee and his Schnoodle.
I enjoyed reading this novel to a great extent. I thought it has wit and all the ingredients necessary to make a wonderful and entertaining detective tale. This book is with no doubt a fantastic read!

[...].

Private Investigator Alexander McBee's heroes are TV's Magnum, Mannix and Barnaby Jones. McBee fancies himself a loner, but that comes to an end one evening when he rescues a dog from drowning. McBee takes the mutt home to clean him up and a partnership is born. Herr Schnoodle, as McBee names the dog, has a propensity to solve crimes, and within a short time, McBee's business is booming. Before he knows it, this loner is helping the down and out while trying to figure out why Apple Sally, a homeless woman suffering from amnesia, can't remember her past. But once she does, McBee's intent on saving her from the person who wants to kill her.

McBee is an engaging man who shuns germs and is afraid of commitment, and whose perception of himself changes over the course of the book. Herr Schnoodle is absolutely lovable and rounds out this cozy mystery to perfection. The partnership between the two makes this a fun read, with winning characters and a compelling storyline.