Customer Reviews

Boca Knights (Thorndike Mystery)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This amazing debut introduces us to two great characters: the author, Steven Forman, and his alter ego, a sixty-something Boston cop, Eddie Perlmutter, who retires to Boca but brings Boston with him, in his bones. Perlmutter is destined to become a classic off-beat hero with one foot in the neighborhoods of Boston and the other in the golf courses and strip malls of Boca. Forman knows both worlds intimately and because he's such a good writer, they both crackle with authenticity. This is not only a terrific crime thriller, it's also a very funny book, with a pleasant mixture of wry observations and laugh-out-loud dialogue, the kind you'd expect from a polished Hollywood screenwriter. Hopefully, we'll see a lot more of Forman and Perlmutter, and if Harrison Ford is looking for an age-appropriate role he should look no further than Eddie.

I saw an advertisement for this on one of the Shelf Awareness newsletters, and since I thought it sounded good I decided to check it out. For a first novel, it's not so bad!

Miss Marple Eddie is not. If you were expecting a sweet old man solving mysteries while trying to deal with arthritis, think again. Eddie Perlmutter is a foul-mouthed hothead, and he doesn't take nothing from nobody. The first third of the book is spent setting up the background of Eddie's life, including the very interesting of his grandfather. Then it focuses on Eddie's move down to Boca Raton, the history behind the place and what sort of people live there. The mystery part doesn't show up until page 103, but even then it doesn't play a big role. Instead, the plot meanders from Eddie's settling down in Boca Raton to his love life, his encounters with drug dealers, Neo-Nazis, snobs, and various conversations with his penis (which has calls Mr. Johnson).

It's an interesting book, for sure. I liked Eddie, even though he talks to his penis like it's a separate being from himself, and I liked some of the other people living in Boca Raton. I especially liked the history of Eddie's family; his grandfather was so fascinating! I was a little sad he was gone from the story so quickly, but I understood why.

There is, of course, the problem of the huge difference between Eddie and myself that kept me from understanding him completely-- he's a 60-year-old retired Jewish cop from Boston, while I'm a 20-year-old college student living in New Mexico (and my genitals don't talk to me)-- but from what I did understand, I liked him.

The writing was pretty good; some parts of the dialogue seemed more realistic than others, but it conveyed the events clearly and it was good enough to keep me reading. There were a lot of infodumps, though, especially in the last half of the book. I learned more about Boca Raton, Haiti, Boston, the Aryan Nation, and busing than I learned in all my time in school. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or what.

Er, anyway. Like I said, Boca Knights is a good first novel, though not so much a mystery novel (nor a thriller, as the summary says, nor a crime caper, as another reviewer said). I do plan on reading the sequel Boca Mourning-- I want to see who Eddie settles down with!

This wonderful book is deeper than it may seem to be. I am an economics professor and economics journal editor. I spend most of my time doing research, while reading and writing nonfiction. Because of the constraints on my time, I limit my reading of fiction to those novels from which I am told I can learn something important. I was told that about this book. It is true.

Yes, this book is a fun read. The book is hard to put down, once you start reading it. But if you take the time to think about what you are reading, you will find that you are acquiring remarkable insights into the history of Russia, Boston, Providence, Boca Raton, the Mafia, and Haiti. Much of that history dwells on the dark side, fits well within the book's gripping story, and is embellished skillfully by the story; but the ending breaks out of that mold and is very positive about the future. Once you have finished the book, you will likely find that you have learned more than you had anticipated about hate groups and intolerance and its manifestations over more than a century of history on two continents, as well as about human nature in general.

This book, by a brilliant new novelist and exceptionally perceptive observer, could not be more topical to the world today.

Eddie Perlmutter was always a street brawler, a "puny Jewish kid from the upscale suburb of Brookline," Massachusetts, and from the time he was very young he wanted to be a cop. It is not too surprising, therefore, when he becomes first a boxer and then a cop, professions not high on his parents' list of ambitions for their only child. As a boxer he was fierce: twenty-one Golden Gloves bouts, no defeats, three championships in two different weight divisions; as a cop he only wanted 'good things for good people and bad things for bad people,' in the process receiving two Police Department Medals of Honor, two medals for valor, three medals for merit, and a Mayor's Commendation.

When he retires with arthritis and his pension from the Boston P.D., he is "a fifty-five-year-old, unemployed widower with the long term prospects of a moth around a bright light." At the suggestion of one of his best friends, he takes a job at a country club in Boca Raton primarily handling security. He is told "Boca is great. It's just not perfect . . . Boca is unique. You'll see." And indeed he does. But who would expect serious crime there? Eddie, however, finds exactly that, or perhaps it finds him.

The story of Eddie's forebears in the Ukraine Peninsula is a fascinating one, some of which the reader learns in the book's first pages, but which Eddie himself learns only in his middle age. It seems he shares many of the traits of his grandfather, who was a hero and fearless.

There is much in this book about the choices one makes in life, some of them good, others not so much. The author displays a wonderful and offbeat humor and sense of irony, as well as a love of alliteration. The protagonist is a totally original and somewhat whacky character, and a true mensch. I must admit that I at first found it a bit off-putting when Eddie occasionally has conversations with a body part, one which I think it prudent not to identify, but that just became one more endearing part of his personality. It could be the shared Russian-Jewish heritage, but this reader was totally captivated by the novel and its protagonist, and I hope that Eddie Perlmutter returns in future books. I loved this one, and it is highly recommended.

After a long and lauded career in the Boston PD - 34 years, two medals of honor, two medals for valor, three medals for merit, and a Commendation from the Mayor to boot - Eddie Perlmutter was finally forced into retirement for medical reasons.

Though he'd love to stay in the old neighborhood, the traumatic arthritis in his knuckles and bum knees just isn't tolerating the cold Boston winters very well. So what's a New England Jewish retiree to do? Move to Boca Raton of course!

A friend lines Eddie up with a cushy security job at a posh country club, but as Eddie soon learns things are anything but laid back in sunny south Florida. Before he knows it Eddie is roped in to trying to solve the year-old murder of one of the gated community's residents.

Along the way he stumbles upon a counterfeiting ring, which is funding a meth lab, which happens to be run by the Russian mafia. Oh, and there's the small matter of the white supremacists that have moved in and are terrorizing the neighborhood. Hardly a relaxing, carefree retirement.

Forman's depictions of the petty posturing and backstabbing involved in country club politics are literally laugh out loud funny. When Eddie's not dealing with "Boca Bullies" ("Men who simply hadn't mellowed with age. They maintained an aggressive attitude and turned every situation into a confrontation."), he's juggling "Boca Babes" ("An unmistakable combination of a bad attitude, chic clothing, beauty-parlor magic, and surgical surprises."). And Eddie tackles it all with a matter-of-fact demeanor and wicked sense of humor that turns the little corner of Boca Raton he's settled in on its ear.

The only slight quibble I had with the book is that the ending was a tad on the feelgood side for my tastes. Not that I'm against happy endings per se, but I found this one to be just a little over-the-top. Then again, I am admittedly a bit on the bloodthirsty side in my normal reading, so it could just be me. And that's not to say there isn't plenty of action and some downright nasty violence in Boca Knights. Eddie has a very deep-seated sense of honor and justice, with an almost compulsive need to fight - literally if needed - for the little guy and those who can't fight for themselves. His encounter with the Russian mafia thugs in the meth lab is as explosive and brutal as you'll find in any crime fiction.

With Boca Knights author Steve Forman has introduced a wonderfully original character into the modern crime fiction / private investigator genre. Though he's a sixty-year-old, arthritic, Jewish retiree, Eddie Perlmutter is also a tough talking, wise cracking, former cop who's still ready, willing and able to throwdown when needed. I for one hope Eddie keeps kicking ass and making me laugh until I'm receiving AARP mailings. Long live the Boca Knight.

Eddie Perlmutter grew up in Boston's North Side as a Jew in a sea of Italian Catholics. He became a cop who cared. He used his experience in the Golden Gloves to teach youngsters to box. His confident since early puberty is his stand erect penis who always talks back. After years of honorable services late fifties Eddie retired due to arthritis. He leaves the cold New England climate for the heart of Boca Ration assuming that the warmth will be good for his sore bones.

However, Boca may be an elixir physically, but mentally he feels out of place. As his retirement ennui grows, he gets involved in local criminal matters so to avoid legal trouble he gets a private investigator license. Excited by the sudden change in venue, Eddie gets involved with the Russian Mafia, the homicide of a golf pro, neo-Nazis and a lovely nurse earning him the title "Boca Knight" at least for his encounters with the first three contacts.

Over the top with a zany offbeat humor, BOCA KNIGHTS is a delightful satirical crime caper that enhances the already capital of quirkiness, the South Florida private investigative world. The story line contains several suspenseful subplots that are fun to follow although at times can be humorously campy. With a strong cast of eccentric and dangerous individuals causing havoc, readers will enjoy this fast-paced tale; superbly held together by Eddie, who finds his niche stirring up seemingly anyone who resides along the I-95 corridor south of the Palms and north of Lauderdale after he failed miserably at retirement 101.

Harriet Klausner

In a debut novel sure to both excite passions and elicit laughter, a different kind of hero emerges in that most unlikely criminal hotbed: Boca Raton.

Like his grandfather, Eddie Perlmutter is capable of fighting with fearless frenzy, but only does so to defend the defenseless, fighting for the little guy. Eddie's career as a much-honored Boston cop has come to an end. At sixty, he's still energetic and virile, but decades of harsh New England winters and collaring the pug-uglies of Boston's underworld have taken their toll--especially on his knees. His wife, the love of his life, died twenty years ago, and he has no close ties to Boston. So what does a lonely, retired cop with arthritic knees do? Head to sunny Florida, of course.

Country-club politics and early-bird specials are a far cry from the street toughs, scuffles, and arrests of his former life. Some things never change, though. Instead of enjoying a relaxed, laid-back retirement, Eddie quickly discovers the darker side of Boca Raton's endless sun and palm trees, where hate crimes, counterfeiting, and worse lurk beneath the deceptively calm surface of cushy retirement communities.

With his no-nonsense crime-fighting skills and roll-with-the punches attitude, Eddie hits Boca Raton like of a Nor'easter from Hell, fast, fresh, and unstoppable. A compulsively readable comic thriller with an egalitarian message that will inspire readers of all ages, Boca Knights will have readers in stitches and keep them on the edge of their seats.

I would have loved this first novel if it was only for the fact that it takes place in my Boca area and I recognised all the places its hero Eddie Perlmutter goes. I would have loved this first novel if it was only for the homage it pays to my uncle's cousin Barney Ross. I would have loved this first novel if only because it points out what I have constantly pointed out: That "sophisticated" Boca Raton means "the Rat's Mouth". But this first novel also happens to be one of the fastest, funniest, most engrossing, most HUMAN, crime novels I've read in a long, long, time and doesn't read ANYTHING like a first novel. Yes, I know Eddie Perlmutter is already in his 60s (of course, so is Spenser) but I still want to shout to the rooftops: LONG LIVE EDDIE PERLMUTTER, and may his tribe (of books) increase!

Not sure why a publisher or agent picked up on this book because in many ways it is written very amateurishly. Lots of beginners mistakes. I really wanted to like it as I live in the area that the author does and like to support local authors. It's one of the few books I didn't finish because there was no incentive or interest to go further. I may pick up a second book to see if his worked has improved.I'm hopeful that his other books make for better reading. I don't like to "diss" any author, but this book is predictable, and too many stereotypes. Wish I could have liked it.

Boca Knights was a very enjoyable fiction book filled with surprises, action and humor. I could relate to the locales since I had grown up in Boston and I have spent time in Southern Florida. After reading this novel I immediately bought the sequel, Boca Mournings, which I enjoyed equally as much. One evening while reading the book, my wife came running into the study to see why I was laughing so loudly. I am usually not an emotional person but another passage literally brought me to tears. I ordered Steven Forman's third book, Boca Daze, but Amazon told me it will not be released until January. For exciting reading, I highly recommend Boca Knights and Boca Mournings.