Customer Reviews

King of the Holly Hop (Milan Jacovich Mysteries #14)

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This latest episode of hunky Milan Jacovich, the Slovenian P.I. is a great addition to the series. This time Milan is hired to investigate a murder at his own High School reunion. The dead guy turns out to be a nasty, tomcat malpracticing doctor who also abuses drugs, women (and animals) and pretty much needed killing anyway. Lots of Cleveland neighborhood color and great characters continue to make this series a must read. Unlike other popular series writers who turn out thin and bad installments to cash in on prior popularity, Les Roberts has maintained the richness of this gumshoe character. Good read!

In this, the 14th in the Milan Jacovich series, Les Roberts still shows his mastery of the mystery genre. The plotting, characters, sense of place and suspense remain taut. Fans will forbear as there is a lot of repetition of former books and characters. The background only adds richness to the series in my opinion.

As usual, there is much more to this book than "who done it". Milan's musings about making peace with the past, growing older, the nature of friendship, social class and race relations are deep. He also has a nice way with a phrase that makes the reading smooth as butter.

King of the Holly Hop is Les Roperts most topical book, touching on some of the ethnical breaches at the world renown Cleveland Clinic that have made the news in recent years.

Most of all, King of the Holly Hop makes for pleasurable summer reading. I sincerely hope there will be a 15th Milan Jacovich mystery in the future.

It's such a great feeling to encounter a friend of long-standing whom you've not seen for a while. Milan Jacovich is a tad older, a tad tetchier, a tad more profane than the last time we encountered him, but he's still welcome to share my space with me! Special thanks, then, are due to Les Roberts (Milan's creator) and Gray & Company (Milan's new publisher) for this early holiday gift. Picking up with a friend is one thing; attending one's high school reunion is quite another. In this new book King of the Holly Hop -- the private eye's 14th adventure since Roberts moved here some 20 years or so ago -- Milan attends his truncated 40th class reunion. Bless his heart! It ain't fun, that's for sure.

All the favorite hang-outs are here, and the local touches make it so much more personal. Chances are most Clevelanders will have been to at least one of the places Milan likes, or maybe all of them. And why not? His creator has great taste! Roberts hasn't lost any of his dry wit or writing skills while he's not been writing Milan stories, however. His pungent remarks, analysis of people and perceptions of society are still top-notch.

Milan hasn't really stayed close to most of his high school classmates; too much water under the bridge for that to have happened. That doesn't lessen the shock when one classmate is found murdered, and another is the prime suspect. There's no real reason for Milan to become involved in the case, but the suspect (probably the most famous and well-to-do graduate) has other ideas. He appeals to a local attorney to hire Milan in the hope of uncovering someone else's secrets. And of course, Milan does just that.

Milan's class has a wide assortment of characters -- as do they all, mine included -- so he has enough investigating to do that he enlists a local free-lance investigator to help him out. Suzanne Davis is a terrific character, and it would be nice to see more of her in future books. (hint, hint!) To balance her out, Milan tangles again with Police Lieutenant McHargue, who, according to Milan gets irritated just seeing his name in the phone book, let alone sitting on the other side of her desk.

There's no question that it was murder. But there are so many possible perps, it keeps Milan hopping! Phil Kohn, smarmy even in high school, hasn't improved any with age and his medical degree, providing Milan with plenty of reasons for his sudden demise. He's irritated so many people through the years that finding the culprit isn't nearly as easy as it might be. Too many choices tend to complicate things.

Class nerd Tommy Wiggins is now a successful playwright, with one supremely unhappy memory of his high school years, thanks to Kohn. Class hippie/druggie Ted Lesnevich has moved up in the world to handling higher cost stuff these days. Class beauty Alenka Tavcar is a successful real estate agent, newly separated from her husband, while Jack and Barbara Siegel's marriage nearly floundered over Kohn's finagling.

There's Danielle Webber for whom Milan had carried a torch. She's now Mrs. Magruder (wife of the attorney). And of course, along with Milan's ex-wife, Lila, there's the super-efficient Sonja Kokol, whose social attitudes haven't changed in forty years, and Bernie Rothman,who obsessed over Alenka. Stupan Godic went to Nam and never recovered, emotionally. Maurice Paich, who only ever wanted to be an actor, ended up on the radio, trying desperately to keep his secrets hidden. Cleveland is still a small town, after all. Some never outgrew their suspicion of those who looked 'different' such as Shareeka Washington Worthman. She's now a wealthy and prominent African-American business owner, who was never really invited to the reunion.

Milan works his way through these and other more familiar characters as he tries to sort out who did what and why. There's Ed Stahl, and (Louie) Vuk, plus Victor Gaimari and his uncle, Don Giancarlo D'Allessandro, formerly of Little Italy.

It's most satisfying reunion, except, of course, for Milan's classmates.

Roberts does an excellent job of introducing you to the plot and all of the key characters in the first chapter. I finished it with a grin, as it looked like a preview of a coming reunion.

A doctor is killed at a 40th high school reunion and everyone who was at the soiree is a suspect, including Mylan Jacovich (pronounced MY-lan Yock-o-vitch), much to the delight of Cleveland police. The book has a universal theme, at least to anyone who's facing a high school reunion after more than 15 years (the 10-year reunion doesn't count because everyone is still establishing career and family).

By mid-book you'll have your own lead suspect. And knowing how the slights of high school carry over to adulthood, you know that if there were a murder at your own reunion, the killer would be a classmate.

Roberts, who went to school in the 1960s in Chicago, does a good job of catching the tenor of those race-charged years. He only misses how smitten Cleveland was with the music of Motown. The local color is perfect, with restaurants and other local institutions of the Forest City. He even mentions Mitchell's Candy, the leading confectioner of Cleveland Heights since the 1950s. Billy Mitchell, like me, celebrates his 40th high school reunion soon and hopefully it will go smoother than it did for "The King of the Holly Hop".

Les Roberts's Milan Jacovich series books are always easy to read and entertaining. This is no exception. However, this is the last in a long series, so if you are going to read them all, start with the first one, "Pepper Pike."

The series is based in and around Cleveland, Ohio, and Mr. Roberts adds good local color, with Milan traveling to verious local places, basically authentic and correctly described. This adds nice color to the books, particularly if you are from Northeast Ohio.

Milan is an interesting character, and it is fun to follow his development through the series. The only negative I would suggest is that the books are somewhat predictable and the same things and issues seem to happen in every one. Milan's ethical dilemma in his relationship with his Italian mob friends is one example. As in Sue Grafton's books, there is always a horrific occurrence at the end where Milan is usually injured and nearly killed, usually due to a situation that comes about because Milan does something incredibly stupid. But as with the rest of the series books, this one is excellent light entertaining reading.

Having read this series from the beginning, I've watched it go slowly downhill. Roberts' latest contribution is cliched, bland, annoying, self-righteous (even more than usual), and simplistic (never mind that it's clear almost from the start who the murderer is). I have to admit that I never loved the series or the main character, but I couldn't wait to finish this book, which is just about the worst thing I can say about a book of any kind. I'm hoping this is it for Milan J. (I can't take any more) though it's a shame if he has to retire after such a dud.

Once again Les Roberts and Mylan Jacovich team up to bring us crime drama, mystery and suspense. This time the action surrounds a 40th class reunion and of course the scene is set in Cleveland. Having just attended my 45th reunion, I really enjoyed this book. As usual, Roberts does a fine job of dangling some facts and giving us a chance to do our own investigating, and as usual I almost caught the culprit myself. Good read...nice dedication to young Shannon McBride...thanks again Les for taking all of us away from our everyday routine to run around Cleveland with you and Myland trying to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. I think its definitely time for a Les Roberts movie.

For those of you who have attended a high school class reunion, you'll readily relate to the experience of our central character, Milan Jacovich, on a variety of levels. Join other steadfast Milan Jacovich fans who turn page after page, late into the night, to unfold the murder investigation plot with plenty of complex and surprising twists and turns.

The mystery begins at, of all places, Milan's high school reunion in Cleveland, Ohio. A famous classmate is found dead, and the first "person of interest" in his murder is a classmate who is now is a very rich and famous playwright. Coincidentally, earlier in the evening this same classmate settled a score with the deceased in front of his classmates.

Milan is wrapped up in the murder investigation at the beckoning of the rich and famous classmate's attorney. Aptly applying his wit, sarcasm, and finesse, Milan begins his investigation, with the awkward task of interviewing his classmates-all of whom have direct or indirect knowledge of the events of that fateful evening. Unknown to him otherwise, his investigation leads to the discovery of how intimately the relationships of his classmates and the deceased are intertwined.

The author takes you on a journey around Cleveland and the surrounding suburbs. You know immediately that this important part of the storytelling gives the book an in-depth sense of realism. This realism propels you into the different cultures, history and colorful characters necessary to complete your discovery and insight into Milan, the way he thinks, and what makes him tick.

Milan is not without his enemies and distracters. Naturally, you think that his bold and somewhat invasive questioning tactics could land him in harm's way.

Read on and harm's way is a certainty. Our tough guy, Milan, discovers, at his own peril, that the killer has him cornered. Does Milan escape, does he capture the killer, and does anyone intervene to save him?

Armchair Interviews says: Enjoy the read and discover the answers to these questions and more.

Les Roberts does it again. Another outstanding Milan Jacovich adventure. Keep them coming Les.
It is great to have my good friend Milan back.

High School reunions can bring back all the fun of high school - and all the terror of it as well. "King of the Holly Hop" follows Milan Jacovich attending his 40th high school reunion. The festivities fall short as one of his classmates is found shot to death and accusations are flying all over. Jacovich soon finds that it's likely because of an old grudge - but what kind of grudge is held onto for four decades? "King fo the Holly Hop" is a fresh and original mystery, highly recommended to those looking for a classic whodunit with new ideas.