Customer Reviews

The Man Who Liked to Look At Himself (American Crime)

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Mario Balzic is back as the Rocksport, PA Chief of Police. He is frustrated by having to work on a murder case with the new and hardheaded Lieutenant of the local State Police Barrack. Mario knows how the people of the town tick and is confident in people skills being the best crime solving strategy. But the new Lt. is intent on storming in and showing everyone who is in charge regardless of what that might do to derail the investigation.

Meanwhile, Mario follows up leads of his own to determine who belonged to the sawed up bones that have been discovered scattered and buried over 8 local farms. He begins with individuals that have had access to the farms in the past but when the identity of the victim is discovered there are more questions than answers.

This is the second book in the Mario Balzic series of books that is set in Rocksburg. Constantine's plot is once again extremely simplistic, almost to the point of boring. The amazing luck that Mario has wrapping up a 15 month old murder investigation in a matter of days is too good to be true. And for him to do it in a completely effortless laid back way makes the story so unbelievable as to be a disappointment. There is language and dialogue that refers to women and black people in a less than "PC" manner. That type of writing may have been acceptable in 1973 when the book was written, but as reader that is not easily offended, the references are uncomfortable at best in today's day and age. I don't go so far as to say that it is a bad book, but more that it just doesn't hold up to the test of time.

Constantine's second (if I have my facts straight) Mario Balzic mystery, _The Man Who Liked To Look At Himself_ is as good as his debut.

Like _The Rocksburg Railway Murders_, this book centers about Balzic, the chief of police in a small Pennsylvania town. Parts of a body are found on farms which are leased as hunting lands by a local hunting club.

It's not long before Balzic has figured out the identity of the victim, but pinning the murder on the killer is another matter. Again, sharp attention to detail and a good appreciation for local color make Constantine's writing so special. He really gets the small town cop character right. Or, at least, I think he does. It sure has the ring of truth.

Characters such as the defense attorney Mo Valcanas reappear in this book. They're certainly welcome; Balzic isn't the only interesting character from the first novel. I'm hoping for a reappearance of the priest character from the railway murders novel. The priest was my favorite character, aside from Mario, in the debut. I don't recall the priest having any role in this book.

The title seems unrelated to the story, until late in the novel, when it's presented by Balzic himself in a clever turn of the plot.

All in all, this is a good small-town police-chief murder mystery.