The Hotel Dick (Five Star First Edition Mystery) [Hardcover]

Axel Brand (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 259 pages
• Publisher: Five Star (ME) (September 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594146764
• ISBN-13: 978-1594146763
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,698,508 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great regional historical police procedural, September 30, 2008

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hotel Dick (Five Star First Edition Mystery) (Hardcover)

In 1948 at the barber shop in the Lakeshore Towers Hotel in Milwaukee, someone entered and killed customer J. Adam bark, THE HOUSE DICK. Homicide detective Lieutenant Joe Burgess leads the investigation, but has a difficult time with who the barber Damon Barbara insists killed Bark; Spencer Tracy does not seem like a cold blooded killer nor why would he murder Bark.

Still he has the department check where Tracy is even as he begins searching Bark's office for clues. He soon realizes Bark had a lucrative business with a few cops as they would bust in on unmarried couples illegally using a room. Heeding his wife Lizbeth's suggestion that one of those victims sought revenge, Joe begins to make inquiries in that direction, but soon Greer Garson and Veronica Lake are shot.

This is a great regional historical police procedural starting with the insistence of the eye witness that Hollywood Spencer Tracey killed THE HOTEL DICK and never slowing down until the final spin. The story line is character driven mostly by Joe and the late Bark. This is one brand of a detective that the audience will want more of as 1948 Milwaukee comes to life in a superb whodunit.

Harriet Klausner

5.0 out of 5 stars Liked this one!, October 30, 2011

By 

Cyn - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Hotel Dick (Five Star First Edition Mystery) (Hardcover)

A good period piece, a Maltese Falcon kind of feel. Milwaukee in the late 40's is an interesting setting. Brand gets all the details right. Let's hope Joe will be around a long time.

5.0 out of 5 stars A great no-frills mystery, April 21, 2010

By 

[e-mail] "Marty" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hotel Dick (Five Star First Edition Mystery) (Hardcover)

I don't read many mysteries but this one was fun. The setting (Milwaukee) was new to me, and the time (1948--before DNA was invented) gave it a pleasant noir feeling. Also, the club--I won't reveal of what--was intriguing. Makes you wonder if such a group of people really exists. Also, a surprisingly satisfying ending for us feminist types.