The Man Who Liked Slow Tomatoes [Paperback]

K. C. Constantine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2002

K. C. Constantine's Mario Balzic is one of those police chiefs so close to his people that nothing moves or even sits still in his town without his knowing how and why. His town is Rocksburg, a small coal mining town in western Pennsylvania where most of the coal has run out. In this, his fifth case, tomatoes curiously ripening out of season are the key. It begins at Muscotti's Bar, Balzic's refuge, when Jimmy Romanelli sells several baskets of tomatoes to Vinnie, Muscotti's barkeep. It ends some weeks later after three deaths and a drained, disgusted Balzic, unable to take any satisfaction in his solution of Romanelli's murder, the proximate cause for Jimmy's twisted passion for growing tomatoes.



As in all Balzic novels, the Chief is the center of consciousness. He's fiercely unpretentious, in absolute command, without an officious bone in his head or phrase in his mouth. And so fundamentally gentle and good at what he does that not even his Mozartian profanity succeeds in hiding his detective genius. If you've not met this Serbo-Italian, profoundly American cop, it's time you did.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: David R Godine (July 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1567921922
• ISBN-13: 978-1567921922
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #623,899 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Among the best of modern mysteries, December 30, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Man Who Liked Slow Tomatoes (A Mario Balzic Detective Novel) (Paperback)

K.C. Constantine is a mystery writer wrapped in a mystery. Writing for 20 years or more, no one knows who he really is and, at his best, he is the best mystery writer in America. The Man Who Liked Slow Tomatoes is his best work. The characters, ordinary people living ordinary lives, come alive across the pages. You understand their strengths and sympathize with their weaknesses. Plot is secondary to character in Constantine's Rockburg mysteries, but the plot here will not disappoint. His recent works have had some ups and downs, but he seems back on track now. This book is the best introduction you can get to a master of the trade

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of the Best, July 30, 2009

By 

Pragmatist (Minneapolis, Mn USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Man Who Liked Slow Tomatoes (Paperback)

Constantine is one of the finest writers in America. Period. He has a stunning gift to bring basically ordinary people and bring them to full humanity. You can see their faces. You know what their houses and furniture are like. You have had a beer next to them at a neighborhood bar. Their lives matter to you. They are imperfect and struggling towards being better people, better fathers and mothers, better neighbors, better friends. And they often fail. His books have the smell and feel of life. And this is the best of this amazing lot. He gets weaker later in the series. All series authors do. But even at his worst he is brilliant. Je is the Richard Russo of mysteries, bringing the small town to life.
As to the negative reviews, well all I can is they must have had specific expectations that were incorrect. You simply cannot fault this book.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Original Right Off the Vine, October 13, 2003

By 

cortright Mcmeel (baltimore, md United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Man Who Liked Slow Tomatoes (Paperback)

K.C. Constantine's 'The Man Who Liked Slow Tomatoes' came highly recommeded by one of the best crime writer's to grace the genre, James Crumley. He lists this book as a classic and I can confirm that it doesn't disappoint. Constantine weaves a tapestry of small town crime in PA. where local politics, family affairs, and ex-coal miner petty hoods grate on the nerves of boozy, hard nosed fireplug detective, Mario Balzic. Like the slow tomatoes that remain at the thematic heart of the book, the charaters here take their sweet time in revealing their intent, developing at a pace which allows the reader to get a full taste of what they're all about. Balzic ain't no Marla Maples cozy, but he also isn't Sam Spade lurking in noir shadows with a tommy gun about chatter at any minute. More like he is the penulitmate small town detective, relying on a few smooth moves, a hangover cure, and a knowledge of his environment and its PA. locals to win the day.