Customer Reviews

The Man With The Iron-On Badge

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I bought this book because it was recommended by Amazon when I purchased an Andrew Vachss novel. The cover looked kind of cheesy, like an old Mickey Spillane paperback, but once I started into it, this book was unlike any other mystery I've ever read. The main character was incredibly refreshing. He is not a "hard boiled" detective- He's just a regular guy. In fact, I felt like I could identify with him in many ways. That was the appeal. Unlike Batman, whom I like because he represents what a human in peak form could accomplish to solve crimes, the main character of this novel is able to proceed through the mystery without any advanced training or skills of any kind. As a bonus, though, he's incredibly humorous and self-deprecating as he makes his way through the plot. If you enjoy Elmore Leonard, Lawrence Bloch or would just like to read a mystery that's a great variation on the standard genre, I highly recommend this book!

I came across this book while I was searching for ebook downloads of John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee Series (I'm still searching.) Lee Goldberg has an interesting resume, and he offered the opportunity to download and read this book for free--the only catch was that the reader is expected to publish an online review. I took him up on his offer. BTW, he threw in a second book, The Walk, which I am currently enjoying.
Because of the implied connection to Travis McGee, I guess I expected a hero with the same characteristics but in a different setting. Travis is a big, muscular man with a brilliant economist sidekick. Travis has incredible reflexes that allow him to dodge bullets. He knows about weapons, martial arts and all the tricks of the bad guys. For Travis, sex is something noble and therapeutic. He always considers the woman's emotional state and the traumas that have occupied the tale. He offers and accepts a sexual relationship only when it means something deep and cosmically relevant to the moment.
Goldberg's Harvey Mapes dreams of being Travis McGee, but there is little noble about him. He has the world's least interesting and least relevant career. He works the midnight shift manning the security booth at an upscale gated community. He thinks (often) of sex in Anglo-Saxon simplicity.
Then, out of the blue, Harvey is given the opportunity to fulfill a dream born of thousands of hours spent with book and tv detectives. As the case unfolds, he finds that physical attacks really hurt, imminent danger really scares, and bad guys are really bad.
Most importantly, he discovers reserves within himself that rise to the realities--not just the fantasies--of being a private eye. As the case unfolds and as Harvey discovers his own inner steel, his casual, occasional sex partner reveals herself to be a woman of character and substance, a perfect partner for the newly reconstituted Harvey.
Harvey Mapes is not Travis McGee. Mape's story is more of a coming-of-age tale. It is a romantic comedy. In some ways, it is reality tv. Most of all, it is just a way to spend a couple of enjoyable hours with an unappealing guy who becomes someone you would really like to know--or emulate.

This book has suspense, intrigue and more twists than Lombard Street in San Francisco. Harvey Mapes is a security guard at a wealthy apartment complex,low man on a low totem pole. His only excitement is watching Cop shows and reading detective novels. He fantasizes the exciting life of a PI. In almost Wizard Of Oz fashion, a tennant decides to have Harvey trail his wife to which he finds out that their is an added dimension to the trade--pain.

I was drawn into the story from the first paragraph. This is a definite 'fish out of water' story but the lead character grows legs quick. The book kept me guessing the entire time and I found myself laughing quite often.

I hit a goldmine when I found this book. I look forward to reading his other books.


Posted by Bakari Akil, author of M.U.S.C.L.E. - The Cheatin' Security Guard (Short Story) (The MUSCLE Firm Series)

Harvey Mapes, a humorous fellow, is a 29 year old college dropout with a job as a night security guard at a gated community. His boss is obnoxious but he says that there are worse jobs. Not your typical protagonist he lives, without ambition, the life of a loser in a crummy apartment. His love life is almost nonexistent though he has one friend, with occasional benefits, Carol a young woman who lives in a nearby apartment. Harvey reads detective stories. He day dreams of the life of Travis McGee, a fictional detective created by John D. McDonald. One morning he is offered a "detective" job by Cyril Parkus a resident of the gated community. Cyril explains that his wife Lauren is acting strangely and he wants Harvey to follow her during the day to determine what is going on. Harvey sees this job as a chance to live the life, however briefly and incompletely, of his fictional heroes
Harvey follows Lauren for a few days and photographs her as she engages in nothing but innocent pastimes which he reports to Cyril. He also observes that she is a very beautiful woman and develops protective or romantic feelings about her. One day he sees her passing money to a strange man. He suspects that Lauren is a victim of blackmail. He follows the blackmailer and is beaten for his trouble. Harvey allows that he is not one of the tough guys like Travis McGee or Joe Mannix. The last time he had a fight, which he lost, was in the fourth grade. He responds to the beating by wetting himself and crying. When he returns home he is comforted by Carol, they have sex and the relationship appears to be evolving into something more serious.

Shortly, with the help of Carol, he discovers the name of the blackmailer, Arlo and reports it to Cyril. Cyril claims not to know Arlo but Harvey suspects that he does. Cyril pays Harvey off with a bonus and tells him that the job is complete. Harvey is not satisfied. His curiosity causes him to continue following Lauren. She leads him to a freeway overpass where she abandons her car. Harvey jumps out of his car and sees Lauren standing on the wall at the edge of the overpass. She makes eye contact with Harvey and jumps into the traffic below.

Harvey is both horrified and dissatisfied by the suicide and is determined to discover the secret that was the basis of the blackmail. To this end he pursues Arlo all the way to Deerlick Washington where the mystery unravels with a wonderful twist. This is a great story with characters and relationships that evolve nicely, an intriguing mystery and painful tragedy. Harvey's self deprecating thoughts and daydreams are both satirical and comical and add a lightness to the darker moments of the tale.

My first Lee Goldberg book was a compilation of the Jury series. I love revenge stories. In my review of that series I said that I looked forward to reading his later work. Always on the hunt for new authors I found something in that series that held my interest. He reminds me somewhat of Lawrence Bloch. This is my second (or fifth) Goldberg book and I am pleased to discover that the promise of the Jury series has been fulfilled and also that Goldberg is prolific. Goldberg is a writer and/or producer of many of the better TV series, including the wonderful Monk series, and a number fiction and nonfiction books. As I have with many authors I will probably read them all.

Since I no longer find the time to read like I use to "a fun read" is one of the best compliments I can give this book and its author. I found out about "Watch Me Die" when Lee Goldberg appeared on TV Confidential and since years ago I had enjoyed his book "My Gun Has Bullets" I decided to buy "Watch Me Die". I already knew it dealt a character (Harvey Mapes) who watched all the private investigator shows that I enjoy watching and I love all the humor that comes from Harvey finding out things aren't the same way in real life but what I didn't know was how wrapped up I would get in the actual mystery. I found myself saying "just one more chapter" and then I couldn't put the book down until I had read all the way to end. I love the way the mystery was solved especially since it took me by surprise. Now that is what I call entertainment!

Watch Me Die is a fun, fast read. When Harvey Mapes gets a chance to step out of his job as a security guard to be a private detective, he relies on a legion of TV PI's, from Magnum to Spenser, using the tricks of the trade he learned by watching them on TV, to solve a case. Sidestepping dead bodies and a killer that wants to add him to that exclusive club, he finds courage he never thought he had and the malleable conscience every successful PI needs. And, he falls in love. Not a bad way to start a new life. If you're looking for a great read, look no further. All you need is Watch Me Die!

The Man with the Iron-On Badge (2005) is the story of Harvey Mapes, a boring man with a boring life. Mapes loves private eye novels and tv shows and, of course, dreams of being a real life PI. Don't we all? When a neighbour hires him to watch his wife, who is behaving strangely, Harvey watches episodes of Mannix to prepare for his investigation.
The Man with the Iron-On Badge by Lee Goldberg is a classic PI novel full of great lines and twists and turns with a touch of the Rockford Files and The Big Lebowski about it. There are loads of references to PI novels that I've never read but it didn't stop me enjoying it very much.

I read Watch Me Die under its original title, which I also liked a lot: The Man With The Iron-On Badge. Great concept and great execution, in some ways presaging what was done for superheroes in Kick-Ass. It's funny, thrilling, and quirky, with a completely satisfying ending you won't see coming. If you haven't read it yet, you've been missing out on the proverbial thrills, chills, and laughter. Give it a try!

This is the first book of Lee Goldberg's that I have read, and I thoughouly enjoyed it. It was a good story that moved along at a nice pace. Not your usual protagonist, definately some unexpected plot twists and an ejoyable ending. Some romance, some humor - worth a read.

I will be reading some more of Goldberg's books now.