Customer Reviews

The Hot Pink Farmhouse: A Berger & Mitry Mystery

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

 

 

Fans of Stewart Hoag, as am I, worried when Handler moved on to cases involving new crime-solvers, but Mitch Berger and Des Mitry shine in this second Sister Island mystery. Pink Farmhouse is rich with exotic characters and intriguing plot twists. Plus Handler is creating a very compelling universe in Dorset, CT, a new England village with a Norman Rockwell appearance but Peyton Place kinks. We needn't have worried about being left Hoagless, in fact, I am already eager for the next Berger mystery.

A very satisfying 2nd installment to this series - which I hope will have a long, successful run. The characters are so engaging, and the depiction of them in this small town, with all of the idiosyncrasies of small town people, is wonderful. Mr. Handler's insight into each of them is nothing short of masterful. I absolutely loved visiting this place with these people, and look forward to reading more about them.

I enjoyed it so much, in fact, that I couldn't so much as remove 1 star even though I cringed every time Desiree (Des) broke out into `black speak.' It wouldn't have been so disturbing I suppose, if her background hadn't been mainstream/middle class. It just felt inconsistent that she spoke 3rd generation ghetto. When people, even black people, are born and raised in an environment where proper English is spoken, they typically talk like their peers - trust me, I know. Unless they're having an identity crisis and incorrectly assume they must talk like an uneducated thug in order to feel black. However, this character was portrayed as strong and self-assured, sans identity issues. Normally, I steer clear of books where the black characters are portrayed so stereotypically, but Mr. Handler managed to make this one so interestingly multidimensional that I forgive him.

I'm also glad I ignored the review that referred to the romance in the story as `gratingly cute.' I thought it was one of the most emotionally honest depictions of two wounded people falling in love that I've read - and I read a lot. It adds an additional endearing element to this mystery that is absorbing and well written.

New York film critic, Mitch Berger and aspiring artist, former Homicide Detective, Desiree Mitry live in idyllic Dorset Connecticut. Mitch meets eccentric local artist Wendell "Hangtown" Frye at the local dump. Before you know it they become bosom bodies. Tragedy strikes the Frye family when Hangtown's daughter is killed in a car explosion when driving home from a rendezvous with a lover.

Mitch and Des are a rather unique crime-solving partnership. Their new romance is at times rather touching, and frequently cloying and sickly sweet. There are plenty of quirky characters to keep you entertained. A well-paced plot keeps the action moving. I look forward to the next entry in this series.

This is the first David Handler I've read. He's been on my reading list for awhile, although I almost didn't buy it because of the cute "cozy" cover. However, I'm glad I did. I loved the setting for the book and the true to life characters. What I most enjoyed was that the story shifts back and forth between Mitch and Des. I figured it would just be told from Mitch's point of view. Also, there were subplots that Des was dealing with in trying to do her job that were not related to the murder(s) which I found interesting. Another reviewer mentioned that they felt Des' "ghetto speak" was not realistic. I respect the opinion, but found the dialoge throughout to be true to each character. I will definitely be reading more David Handler.

Enjoyed the book and feel like he really gets the characters down to a "tee" in that they are so much like the real people that live in then area the book is based on.

A good mystery. Did not know the murder(s) until the end. At times too much description of the area/characters and not enough dialogue - especially with the main characters. Still a good read though and I will read the next in the series.

Mitch Merger is a New York film critic and author of two movie reference books. His lover, Desiree Mitry, is black, younger, very tall, and a former homicide investigator for the State Police. They both live in small town Dorset, Connecticut, where Mitch is spending his first autumn on Big Sister, a private island. "Des" has resigned from the State Police and is now a small town cop, which allows her the time she needs to take art classes.

Both of them get caught up in a dispute between pro-development locals and those residents who want Dorset to stay just the way it is. One person who's in the Leave Dorset Alone Camp is eccentric world-famous sculptor Wendell "Hangtown" Frye, and Mitch finds himself spinning in the old man's orbit.

Handler's plot of small town pleasures and developers who plot to destroy those pleasures is a very familiar one, but what saves it is the author's wonderful talent for description and characterization. Handler is one of the few authors who actually make me want to head East to live with his vivid portrayal of coastal Connecticut in autumn:

"The summer people were gone now, the kids back in school. The water was bluer and colder, the sky clearer and spiced with the smell of wood smoke. Migratory barn swallows and monarch butterflies filled his trees by the thousands, pausing to feed on insects before they took off again like a cloud for the Carolinas."


Pairing amateur sleuth Berger with police officer Mitry is a good move because the investigation can be seen from both points of view. The chemistry between the two is almost perfect. There's enough spice there to satisfy most lovers of romance, but not enough to put off those readers who prefer their mysteries sans lip lock. Perhaps in the next book, Des will realize that it's a complete waste of time to try to hide their relationship in a small town.

I'm quite glad that I grabbed the first four books in this series because, so far, I'm enjoying every page.

This is the first book I've read by David Handler & it won't be my last. When the characters in the story are described so you may picture a actual person & become interested & care about what happens to them, that's my hook. I did pick out 'Who Done It', early on but wavered off & on through out the story. Liked the romance between Mitry & Berger, very sweet. The detailed description of the locale was also interesting. P.S. The Author was recommended on one of the Amazon Mystery discussions is why I took a chance on buying the book.

Dorset, Connecticut is a quaint New England town, which is home to world renown sculptor Hangtown Frye. He has two daughters living with him, Moose the apple of his eye and Takai an evil slut. Moose is coming home after a night of sex with her married lover when someone using a sniper's rifle shoots out the engine causing it to explode.

When the police determine somebody murdered Moose, Resident Trooper Desiree Mitry finds herself in the middle of homicide investigation that confuses her because the victim was driving her sister's car and Takai had more enemies than anyone else in town. Before they can flush out the perpetrator they have to find out who was the intended victim. Mitch Berger, Desiree's lover and Frye's movie critic pal finds himself in the unique position of being able to give Des all the answers to her questions if he doesn't get himself killed first.

Mitry and Berger are a great team both personally and professionally but the star of the book is the town of Dorset, which looks perfect on the surface but has all the problems and eccentric characters of the inner city. There are a surplus of suspects who could have killed Moose but the actual perpetrator will come as a total shock to readers, who will enjoy this regional mystery.

Harriet Klausner

This lamentable tome is the work of a frustrated wannabe. Handler's asperations to be the next Elmore Leonard fail from his utter lack of talent, as well as the derivative nature of every paragraph that's culled from so many other works.. the man should include a bibliography. Yawn. A truly crummy ripoff. I only give it one star because it least there were no spelling errors.