Customer Reviews

Kick Back: A Kate Brannigan Mystery

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

 

 

This is one of those books I read on a whim, and I'm very glad that I did. The character of Kate Brannigan has become one of my favorite private eyes (Philip Marlowe is still my number one) over the few days it took me to finish the story. Kate is perky, polite with words but pleasantly cynical in thought. Her workout of choice is kickboxing, but Ms. McDermid doesn't turn it into an over-the-top [method] of destruction while encountering no-goodnicks in puruit of her cases. She has a [carefree] rock journalist boyfriend who enjoys smoking [illegal substances], and their greatest bond seems to be the perpetual quest for palatable Chinese food.

This is the first work I have read by V.L. McDermid, and I absolutely love her story telling, characters and use of dialogue from start to finish. The spark of the novel is an odd case of disappearing and/or phantom conservatories; a bland subject to start with, but blends into a fascinating tale of low profile [con] artists. Detective Brannigan is close friends with a lesbian couple, and I love how Ms. McDermid introduces them as one would introduce any loving couple, without trying to make contrived statements regarding alternative lifestyles.

The only thing that keeps me from delivering that final fifth star is the proofreading. There are enough typos and errors in this edition that it really started to make a great story look, at times, amateurish on paper. I rarely make an issue when I see a typo here and there, but the frequency of mistakes here was distracting.

Do not let that criticism stop you from picking up this book. The pace, characters and plot twists keep this story slick! I plan to read every Kate Brannigan caper in existence.

It's too bad Val McDermid's mysteries are so difficult to find in the U.S., because she's a terrific writer, and Kate Brannigan is a terrific private eye. "Kick Back" is the first of the Brannigan series and can be addictive. Based in the county of Cheshire in England (near Manchester), the very cool Kate encounters all manner of English dirty dealing and bad Chinese food. Every time I go to London, I pick up whatever new Val McDermid paperbacks are available, with Kate the first priority.

In Kate Brannigan's second novel she is investigating (as Kate puts it) the mystery of the missing conservatories. She is working for a contractor who is being pressure by the bank to pay off his loan because the bank suspects him to be involved in a fraud. He has made his payments on time and has not had any previous problem with the law, however when he does his own investigation he notices that the conservatories (greenhouses) he has put up have just vanished.

Kate's friend, Alexis, also has a problem. She has been conned out of 5,000 pounds from a real estate scheme and she wants Kate's help. What makes this a bit unique is that the two cases are somewhat related to each other as the story moves along. The story is full of twists and turns and a lot of action. I am sorry this was a quick read but I just love her work.

Kate is a firecracker. She is ready to go at bat for her friends and does not like to leave any stone unturned. She is resourceful and she knows how to kick butt when the time comes. If you want to get on her good side, you do not serve her substandard Chinese food. You might regret it.

McDermid knows how to tell a good story and it is great to know that her earlier novels are just as good as her most recent work. I highly recommend A PLACE OF EXECUTION if you still have not read it. It is her best book up to now bar none.

I 'm fond of the very caustic humour of V mCD : each sentence an uncontrollable laugh. The main character, a young woman detective, is engaging. In this book, there are two investigations about estate agency and notaries swindlings which intersect.There are a little bit too similar. But a great pleasure to read.

Almost simultaneously, PI Kate Brannigan begins the investigation into the rip off of her best friends deposit on a house and then why the bank has mysteriously withdrawn its support from a local, and very successful, conservatory builder. As she delves further into both cases, with the aid of electronic equipment, all night survelliances and general noseying around, it becomes evident that the two cases are connected and that a major scam is going down. A brother and sister team has worked out a scheme where houses are sold and resold illegally, with even the conservatories being removed overnight and sold again. Kate is an adept at Thai kick boxing which eventually saves her life and the whole story moves along at a cracking pace. Parts of the plot got a bit too bogged down in the details of corporate crime for my taste but overall it's a good story.

Kate Brannigan is V.I. Warshawski in Brit clothing. Like her
American counterpart, P.I. Kate only investigates white-
collar crime, but inevitably ends up investigating a murder.
In _Kickback_ Kate is intrigued when a contractor who builds
conservatories (greenhouses) hires her to find out why and
how the buildings disappear a short time after construction.
And, while involved in that mystery, Kate lends a hand to
a couple of friends who have been rooked on a real estate
deal. Kate Brannigan is funny, flip, intelligent, and
believable. McDermid's got a winner with this P.I. series.

While usually a reader who takes her books on the serious side (no humor, thank you very much) Kate Brannigan mysteries are a rare exception.

Val, her readers' fondly call her like a friend from childhood, has a sense oh humor that wipes the "ordinary" right out of "extraordinary". It's sarcastic, without being bitingly so, and I think you'll find yourself smiling, if not outright laughing, incessantly throughout this novel.

Like the paintings the plot revolves around, this first little story is quite a masterpiece. It's not hard to follow and introduces us to the need-to-know characters for the rest of the Brannagan novels.

This book deserves a place on every reader's shelf!