Customer Reviews

The Highly Effective Detective Goes to the Dogs: A Mystery

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For the second time Teddy Ruzak fails the Tennessee private investigator licensing exam; he also failed the police exam. Already despondent, he knows the two strikes your out state rule. He is notified to shut his practice.

Teddy leaves his office only to notice a homeless man just outside; he gives the man his hat. The next day, Teddy returns to his office only to see the same man dead in the ally behind the building. Someone beat the homeless person to death. Rationalizing that he does not have a paying customer so he is breaking no violations, Teddy begins to investigate even as he is joined by Archie the clever sleuthing canine so intelligent he was residing at the pound and the pound desk assistant U of T philosophy student Amanda.

Teddy is terrific in his second appearance as THE HIGHLY EFFECTIVE DETECTIVE who bumbles his way through the investigation. The story line is driven by Teddy who's "Noir-lit" asides and his sleuthing companions make for an amusing Tennessee waltz as he struggles to solve the case, feed the dog, and get the woman. His successful ineptitude makes for a fun anti-hardboiled detective.

Harriet Klausner

Teddy Ruzak, the "Highly Effective Detective", has a bent for musing on philosophy, a knack for falling short of his ambitions, and a keen and refined ability to take what appear to be unadventurous circumstances and make them fraught with unexpected complexities. He also has a deadpan narrative style which conceals, and then adds nuance to, his ability to unravel a mystery. I had not read the introductory volume in this series, but found I could easily find my way into the Ruzakverse.
Author Rick Yancey takes delicious liberties with the detective genre, creating a light, comic detective novel which is an enjoyable read. This is (and this satirizes) the type of mystery novel that one might read in the era from 1920 to 1940. The dialogue is a bit more modern, so that
a word or two of the "seven words" banned from broadcast media do appear.
The result is a light comic novel with mystery trappings which amuses--an intelligent middle-brow bit of fun.

Having thoroughly enjoyed Yancey's first entry in this "detective" series starring the bumbling, ineffectual, but charming and ultimately triumphant Teddy Ruzak, I picked up the new story with eager anticipation. I was not disappointed at all. Yancey continues to add detail to Teddy's daily life and background on how he got to be the way he is. Even when not officially "detecting", but only consulting, Ruzak not only unravels the mystery, after some delightful twists and turns, he also amuses the reader greatly while doing so. Yancey at his best reminds me of Donald Westlake--quirky, ironic, and full of wit. I'm impatiently awaiting new entries in this enjoyable series!

Just finished The Highly Effective Detective Goes to the Dogs and can't really say that I either enjoyed or disliked it. I was however extremely disappointed in it! The qualities of the main character, while fun and quirky in the first outing have become irritating in his second adventure. If anything Teddy has regressed in his ability to move through his life. Eunice, his funny but independent compulsive confessor has morphed into a sad, needy and pathetic senior citizen. Is Bob the boyfriend real or just a means to put distance between Felicia and Teddy? As far as going to the dogs, it's just a dog...no special crime solving ability or spark of excitement to Archie the pound puppy. All he does is stare at Teddy, further unnerving and distracting him. Can't decide what direction the author is taking the series. Hopefully #3, if there is one, will answer that question. In my opinion, if this series is to continue with any success, the author needs to get Teddy back in the office, pass the PI exam and provide him with some type of structure.

If you can do without blood, gore, up-close autopsy scenes, this is a wonderful little mystery. The hero never ceased to amuse me in a gentle, thoughtful way as did most of the friends in his life.

It made for a wonderful breathing space and feel-good time in between most of the other mystery suspense novels I read.

I will most definitely be looking for other works by the author, although must caution you that he has written some novels directed at teens and am a few years beyond that now so prefer not to buy teen books. *wink*