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The Man Who Killed His Brother [Mass Market Paperback]

Stephen R. Donaldson (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)


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Book Description

October 19, 2003
Mick "Brew" Axbrewder was once a great P.I. That was before he accidentally shot and killed a cop-worse, a cop who happened to be his own brother. Now he only works now and then, as muscle for his old partner, Ginny Fistoulari. It's a living. And it provides an occasional opportunity for him to dry out.

But their latest case demands more than muscle. Brew's dead brother's daughter has disappeared. His brother's widow wants him and Ginny to in-vestigate. And both of them seem to expect him to sober up. Because the darkness they're finding un-der the surface of Sunbelt city Puerto del Sol goes beyond one missing teenager. Axbrewder will need all his talents to confront that darkness. Most of all, he'll need to confront his own worst enemy-him-self.

Over two decades ago, bestselling author Ste-phen R. Donaldson published three novels about Mick Axbrewder and Ginny Fistoulari, as pa-perback originals under the pseudonym "Reed Stephens." More recently, under his own name, Donaldson published a new novel in the se-quence, The Man Who Fought Alone. Now, for Donaldson's millions of readers worldwide, the first of the original books The Man Who Killed His Brother appears under Donaldson's own name, in revised and expanded form.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The author of the bestselling Chronicles of Thomas Covenant SF series delivers a pretty good tough guy yarn in this minimally revised reissue, the first of Donaldson's mysteries to feature alcoholic ex-PI "Brew" Axbrewder, who dries out occasionally to assist Ginny Fistoulari, his former partner and romantic interest. Axbrewder can't overcome his guilt and shame over the accidental slaying of his policeman brother. When Fistoulari rousts him from his drinking this time, it's because his young niece, Alathea, has gone missing. Fighting withdrawal through much of the book, Axbrewder joins Fistoulari in helping the girl's mother-talking to unsympathetic policemen, hostile school officials and, as their investigation expands, parents of other children who have simply disappeared from school only to turn up as dead junkies and whores. The book is dated in ways important and not: Axbrewder rents a Torino to drive; the large urban school district is just beginning to computerize records; the police seem indifferent to a bunch of 12- or 13-year-old schoolgirls disappearing from school and later showing up as corpses. Fans of the author's most recent Axbrewder story, last year's The Man Who Fought Alone, might relish this peek at his origins, but readers seeking a contemporary mystery are likely to be disappointed.1980 under the pseudonym Reed Stephens.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Authoritative." -Publishers Weekly on The Man Who Fought Alone

"Fun...He ought to follow this up." -San Jose Mercury-News on The Man Who Fought Alone

Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (October 19, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0765341255
  • ISBN-13: 978-0765341259
  • Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,374,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars As Noir as it gets, October 25, 2002
By 
718 Session (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews
...Former P.I. Mick Axbrewder has been having a very tough time of things since he accidentally shot his brother, a cop. He can't find regular work and has taken to bouncing, providing muscle, and alcohol--lots of it. Now, however, his neice is missing and his brother's widow and his ex-partner are expecting Mick to sober up and figure out what is going on in the sunny town of Puerto del Sol.

This book works on a couple of levels. It's a hard-boiled Chandleresque mystery (complete with those dark metaphors that sit in a paragraph like a black widow spider on a freshly painted white wall). It's a study in overcoming alcoholism. And it is a study in contradictions: the darkness in sunny Puerto del Sol, the noble acts of a tortured character.

I think the only flaw is that the book is incredibly bleak at times, something that can be said of some of Donaldson's other work. Mick is painted in many shades of self-loathing, but only rarely reaches the darkest despair. Some readers might find that a bit of a tough, at times wondering how Mick can go on...I don't know if this version will be better than the original or not, and I'll edit this review when I'm able to compare. ...

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Strange Brew, March 13, 2005
By 
This review is from: The Man Who Killed His Brother (Mass Market Paperback)
Part of the genius of this hard boiled detective book is that its author is so well known for another genre (fantasy/sci-fi) that one may expect this to be the adventures of Tom Covenant, private dick, but it absolutely isn't. Other than having the hero with a tragic flaw (this time being an alcoholic rather than a leper), this book is so different in style and substance than Donaldson's other works that it could have been written by another author. Very grim. Very hard boiled. Very decent detective story. Very angst ridden. And very good. Axebrewer starts the book in the throes of his alcoholism, a malady so bad that he once accidentaly killed his brother while under the influence, but when his brother's little girl is kidnapped and slated for murder, he must claw his way up through the pain of sobriety to track down her abductor. Come at this looking for good crime noir rather than a detective book by a fanatsy writer and you won't be disappointed. My closest comparison is Andrew Vachss, which I consider very high praise indeed.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Mediocre effort, February 2, 2005
By 
Caeriel (Berlin, Germany) - See all my reviews
While not entirely lacking in emotional resonance, this book is definitely a drop in quality from Donaldson's science fiction and fantasy. I got the impression that he tosses these mysteries off, for fun and without much attention to detail, between writing the books he really cares about. It's not that it's entirely unworthwhile, but mostly the characters resonate only in two dimensions, and come off as insanely obtuse. The plot is so simplistic as to be laughable. You'll have it figured out by Chapter Two. This can be a fun, quick read nevertheless, but don't expect the grace, dignity, and care that Donaldson generously lavishes on his sci-fi/fantasy works.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
I was sitting at the bar of the Hegira that night when Ginny came in. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
duty room
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Carol Christie, Puerta del Sol, Señor Axbrewder, Sergeant Encino, Martha Scurvey, Ruth Ann, Ginny Fistoulari, North Valley, Astin Greenling, Canyon Road, Detective-Lieutenant Acton, Mary Christie, Murchison Building, Paul Stretto, Policewoman Rand, Alathea Axbrewder, Captain Cason, Central High, Dottie Ann, Eighth Street, Fistoulari Investigations, Flat River, Marisa Lutt, Paseo Grande, Teresa Sanguillán
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