Customer Reviews

Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed: A Novel

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

I just finished reading this book. What a read! I just zipped through it. Vivid characters, tight action, multi-level humor, mayhem, cruelty, stupidity, and a whif of love.
The book works great as a detective novel, but it's also a love letter to New York City.
I found it interesting how the depiction of so many unsavory characters left me feeling good about belonging to my species. That's the writer's gift to us.

Humpty Dumpty was Pushed is mystery story that's truly original. The characters are very cool, and Marc Blatte has an impeccable ear for crisp, street-wise dialog. His blend of police action and hip hop music makes for a book you just can't put down. I loved it and so will anyone else who appreciates a good, offbeat thriller.

For any mystery fan who enjoys hip hop, the good life, or a darn good tale with interesting characters, this is for you. This is a story set at the crossroads of our cities with characters from the tenements who have broken away from poverty and those who want to break out but end up doing everything they can to remain as street thugs; the wealthy who enjoy rubbing elbows with the thuggy types but don't acknowledge their existence, and immigrants trying to find a place in this strange world. Standing in the midst of this chaotic mixture is the policeman who must deal with the results of clashes among these groups--murder, theft, stabbings, drugged out rich kids who have no thought for those they hurt.

Talented author Marc Blatte has crafted a story in easy-to-read language that is well worth the time of any mystery or thriller fan. The settings and mix of characters found in any large city are a blend guaranteed to keep you turning the pages.

Detective Black Sallie Blue Eyes and his team must simultaneously find the killer of an immigrant and the gang that stabbed a music producer. With a rich man throwing threats at him, his captain wanting the crimes solved yesterday, and his suspects being freed by a publicity seeking civil rights attorney, the detective is feeling the pressure.

Street thug Scholar and his gang have decided they are going to be hip hop stars and his successful cousin will (or else) make their dream come true. When they are told they need to work on their presentation, they cut up the producer. That Scholar is suspected of murder doesn't help them.

A rich kid has a confrontation with a bouncer and the bouncer ends up hurt with his cousin slain. His rich father hires a top attorney to free him on bail.

I'm pleased to recommend this tale to anyone looking for a good read. There are twists in the plot and the personalities of the characters to make for an excellent tale. You won't want to put it down. Enjoy. I sure did.

...because I couldn't put it down. Blatte tells a more-than-intriguing story, utilizing beautiful character development and brilliant plot lines to fully engage the reader. The seedy underbelly of the New York hip hop scene comes through in convincing form as Blatte tells the story of a murder mystery surrounded by the struggles of musicians and immigrants in New York. His in-your-face writing style will entertain you as much as it will make you consistently pull your eyes away and say "...wow."

I highly recommend this book to any fan of mystery, music, or great writing.

For someone like me, *a person who had no idea what the underground of New York world of hip-hop life was all about), this novel held new, lively pleasures. I wasn't lost for a second. Marc Blatte's natural ease with the genre, his language-rich prose and snappy dialogue held me wrapped in suspense and filled in the spaces of my ignorance with tender playful notes. Always galvanized, his energy made my own rise up and follow. I enjoyed this eye and ear-popping journey immensely.

It's a galloping sort of novel, told with skill and a great deal of wisdom.

Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed by Marc Blatte.

I think this is Blatte's first book(?) If so, keep it up playa and get busy on the second.

HDWP has it all - the crimes, the character development, the NYC vibe. But it also features some deep background on the hip hop industry and a number of subtexts concerning racism, classism and other urban issues. Blatte - thankfully - weaves his commentary into the main story line so it doesn't get overbearing or distracting.

Bottom line: Page turner with more than average depth. Great read - highly recommended. Would be a great movie too.

"Humpty Dumpty was pushed. Nothing happens by accident and lightening can strike twice in the same spot."

Who murdered the big man with the yellow socks? This story takes us from a hip-hop recording studio to a New York City nightclub to a socialite's home in the Hamptons.

Detective Salvatore Messina, aka Black Sallie Blue Eyes, is a smart cop with a criminal profiler mind. He dreams of keeping the streets safe, but this case has got him working to keep his captain, the record producers and the socialites from breathing down his neck AND, as fate has it, his ex-wife is back in New York City.

Scholar, gritty ex-con, has a dream to be a top hip hop executive, but money and the higher ups are getting in his way. Even his cousin Biz, record producer, can't help him reach his goal.

Vooko, Albanian nightclub bouncer, dreams about finding his cousin's killer. Moving from a war torn country to the streets of New York City wasn't much of a transition. It's bad enough with the language barrier, but the traditions and ways of life are even more challenging.

Kal Kessler, wealthy socialite drug addict, dreams of earning his father's approval. Unfortunately, he hangs with "the boys", enjoys fast cars and hard drugs.

Marc Blatte's first novel is "da bomb". The suspense, colorful hip-hop slang, character nicknames and humorous banter kept me turning the pages. He has created the first "wonderful hip-hop noir mystery" that even a farm girl from Iowa couldn't put down.

Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed by Marc Blatte. This is a smallish book and a quick read. It is a quick read because it is so good. I am not sure what it was about the pre-release literature that made me request this book, but boy am I glad I did. It had me at the first sentence. "When Scholar showed up at the studio and threw ten G's in cash down on the automated faders of the classic forty-eight channel Neve mixing board, Biz new there was no way out of the deal." I have sat in front of that Neve, I remember the first time I saw a board that big, the memory puts a smile on my face. But this book is not all geeky music business stuff.

The Music Industry plays a part, the desire to succeed is fierce. The book is so much more. The characters are deep and complex and wonderful. They are rich and poor, newly immigrated and long suffering. Well connected and well meaning, all at the same time. The scene where Vooko drives to the Hamptons and finally finds the "real" America is so touching. It drops you to your knees. At that moment you realize not only life as the characters have lived it, but life as the rest of us view it. Very powerful stuff.

This book deserves your time. The slang will not get in your way and you will find as you read that the slang is important for the characters. The look of the book is very Kindle. Bright white pages and crisp font. Give it a read. Listen to what it says and how it says it. SO satisfying. Will it turn out to be my favorite book of 2009? Maybe.

Loved the book. As a New York City public school teacher, I found it lively and authentic. It was a thorougly exciting read and impossible to put down.

When something goes afoul, look for someone acting unusual. That's a hard nut to crack when everyone is so unusual to begin with. "Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed" is a story set in the underground of New York, but with a noir twist permeating all of the seedy and strange elements that encompass New York's counterculture. With Eastern European revenge plots, hipsters, questionable wrestlers, and more, "Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed" is a truly unique mystery.