The Kidnapping of Rosie Dawn: A Joe Barley Mystery [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Eric Wright (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2001

Joe Barley, a part-time lecturer in English Literature and part-time security guard, is alerted by his maid to the disappearance of another of her employers, Rosie Dawn, a student of classics who is working her way through school by being an exotic dancer and the mistress of a fast-food entrepreneur. The novel also involves campus politics--a student tries to exploit the nervous administration over its minority policies.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Waggish comedy is the keynote in this inaugural entry in Wright's fourth series." -- Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2000 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

From the Back Cover:

From the Halls of Academe To the Waterfront of Toronto

Rosie Dawn, whos working her way through college as an exotic dancer and mistress of a fast-food entrepreneur, has disappeared. Joe Barley, an English teacher and sometime private eye, looks for her in high and low places. Meanwhile, the universitys political-correctness police are after Joes office-mate, and his live-in lady, Carole, is acting very peculiar indeed. . . .

Advance Praise for The Kidnapping of Rosie Dawn

This book is fine in every sense of the word, for Eric Wright has always been the kind of writer whose art conceals art. The things he does well he does so well you hardly notice them, and Kidnapping of Rosie Dawn leaves the reader with a sense of effortless ease. Its witty, intelligent, elegantly shaped, beautifully paced, and every page is generously sown with pleasures of phrase and insight. Read and enjoy! --Reginald Hill, winner of the CWA Diamond and Golden Daggers, and author of Arms and Women

Eric Wright is intelligent, engaging, and stylishly funny. So is his detective, Joe Barley. Together, they provide a very satisfying read indeed. --K.K. Beck, author of the Iris Cooper series, the Jane da Silva series, and The Revenge of Kali-Ra --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 296 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786234784
• ISBN-13: 978-0786234783
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,754,587 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exquisitely written with witty metaphors and saucy dialogue., November 22, 2000

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Kidnapping of Rosie Dawn: A Joe Barley Mystery (Joe Barley Mysteries) (Paperback)

Eric Wright is a London-born Canadian. He is a former Professor and Chair of the English Department at Ryerson Institute of Technology, as well as a former Dean of Arts. Also the author of the Charlie Salter mystery series and the Lucy Trimble mystery series, he's won the "Arthur Ellis Award for Best Mystery published in Canada" several times over. Professor Wright is "retired," but is as busy as ever in his capacity as the creator of Canada's most beloved mysteries.

Joe Barley is a permanent lecturer in English literature at Hambleton College who makes ends meet by working part time as a security guard. His cleaning lady, Helena, an illegal immigrant from Portugal with lots of intelligence, halting English, and a network that would be the envy of any corporate executive, asks him to investigate the disappearance of Rosie Dawn, another of her accounts. Rosie Dawn is clearly a phony name, and it is up to Joe to discover who and why:

"She was clearly a tart. I'm choosing my words carefully. Rosie was evidently `kept' in the old parlance, or the apartment was kept for Rosie. She put out for money. The obvious word is `mistress,' but although I used to word to get through to Helena, I don't like it because I'm sensitive to the word's other connotations, shadings that include school mistress and female master, two images that quickly coalesce into a single picture of a middle-aged bond trader being caned by some old slag in a gym tunic."

Joe puts on his detective hat and follows a trail that leads either to Rosie's body or a good explanation for her disappearance. We're treated to Professor Wright's delightful jabs at an education system that locks talented teachers into low wages while working beside fat cat scholars. Joe juggles a secondary "problem" when his office mate, Richard Costril, faces a bogus charge of harassment by a disgruntled student who earned a bad grade. Wright adds to the mix by weaving comedic intrigue into the story when Joe's girlfriend Carole mystifies him by suddenly launching into the role of bumbling seductress.

The Kidnapping Of Rosie Dawn is a cozy type of mystery with the big question...where is the body? It is exquisitely written as a monument to witty metaphors and saucy dialogue. Joe is a delightful character, and readers will no doubt clamor for more.

Shelley Glodowski, Reviewer

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Will kidnap your attention, March 28, 2001

By 

Kathleene Thomason "katreads" (Dunbar, KY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Kidnapping of Rosie Dawn: A Joe Barley Mystery (Joe Barley Mysteries) (Paperback)

When Joe Barley's cleaning lady asks him to find one of her clients who seems to have disappeared, Joe, a part-time teacher, is not sure he wants to help. Joe also works part time for a security agency as a watcher, they pay him to watch a doorway, a park, and a street and then report back on what he saw. But Helena is convinced that he is a real detective so what could he do but agree to help. Rosie Dawn, is a college student paying her bills by doing exotic dancing on the side and being the mistress of a fast-food entrepreneur, is missing. While trying to find Rosie Dawn, Joe must also solve the mystery of why his live-in love, Carol, is acting strange and help his office mate defeat the campus political-correctness police. With a great deal of understated humor, witty phrases and plots within plots, Eric Wright's The Kidnapping of Rosie Dawn, is a very enjoyable book to read. Wright has the ability to make complex plots easy to understand while at the same time leaving you with a sense of wonder at the layers he has created. Wright has a real talent for fleshing out his characters and capturing both their strengths and weaknesses. You are left with the feeling that Barley could easily be your next door neighbor or co-worker, just the average guy you meet every day.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not your typical mystery, January 24, 2001

By 

Kinsey Millhone (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Kidnapping of Rosie Dawn: A Joe Barley Mystery (Joe Barley Mysteries) (Paperback)

Leave your preconceptions behind when you pick up "The Kidnapping of Rosie Dawn." Yes, it's billed as as Joe Barley Mystery, but this is definitely not a typical murder mystery whodunit. There are three plots. First and foremost, there's the storyline described by the title, where Joe, a part-time college professor who does a bit of stakeout work for a detective firm, searches for a missing call girl at the behest of his Portuguese cleaning woman. Then we meet Joe's officemate, a fellow part-time prof who's being sued for racial discrimination by a black student. Finally, there's Joe's live-in lover, who suddenly starts acting very, very strange indeed.

Yes, the latter two plots have nothing to do with the main one, but I enjoyed the fact that this is not a normal whodunit. For one thing, it's wildly funny -- I almost dropped the book at a couple of points, I was laughing so hard. And Joe is a pleasant fellow to spend some time with. The wrap-up to the title mystery is a bit convoluted, but on the whole, "The Kidnapping of Rosie Dawn" is a refreshing read.