Customer Reviews

The Mango Opera

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Corcoran is right up there with the best in the genre. The Mango Opera is a good mystery set in Key West with a little Miami thrown in and one good trip to Georgia. While the character development can be confusing - as none are well developed except Alex Rutledge - half the fun is created by your not knowing who is a good guy and who is a bad guy. The string of suspects is as long as some of the bridges connecting the Keys to the South Florida peninsula.

Alex Rutledge is our hero, and, like most of his buddies, is a true native to the Key West - a "bubba", all of whose lives are intricately woven in and out of each other's. There are dark secrets, grudges and camaraderie all in one friendship. When Alex's ex-lovers start turning up dead it is hard to believe that it isn't personal.

The story will have you guessing until the bitter end. This is a quick, witty, wonderfully colorful, south Florida tale packed with a punch.

If you're a Jimmy Buffett fan and like whodunnits, you're about to become a Tom Corcoran fan. This debut novel by the long time Key Wester and Buffett pal instantly transports the reader "down island", leading them through the streets and alleyways of Old Town.

Like the unlikely heroes of Carl Hiaasen, freelance photographer Alex Rutledge finds himself embroiled in murder and mystery as several former girlfriends are found dead in gruesome circumstances.

Corcoran skillfully leads the reader through a plot that twists and turns as often as the Florida weather changes. As the hero becomes the suspect, he also becomes detective as he tries to cope with the deaths of his former lovers and how to warn those who are still alive that someone may be after them.

An engrossing tale complete with good and bad cops, Cuban expatriates, various thugs and a few good friends, 'The Mango Opera' delivers an excellent whodunnit experience.

Looking for a book for the plane ride home, I found Mango Opera on the last day of a recent stay in Key West. It hooks you early, moves fast, and it's difficult to put down.

Tom Corcoran does a great job of capturing the offbeat flavor of Key West and the people who live there. If you don't know Key West it's a great read, if you do then Corcoran's descriptions will make you feel as if you're back there again. It's a great book with some unique twists and turns where the characters act like real people. I'm looking forward to his next book.

The Mango Opera is a book that can be very confusing at times. Tom Corcoran does an excellent job of keeping the audience guessing all the way up until the end of the book. The Mango Opera is a mystery involving a forensic photographer, Alex Rutledge, who comes to terms with all of his ex girlfriends deaths. Corcoran implements many characters into his plot to keep the reader constantly guessing. It is also the thing that is confusing about the book; there are so many characters to keep track of. Throughout the book, I had to go back and reread certain sections to understand what Corcoran was talking about. Corcoran's purpose in the book I think was to show the extreme side of something. The entire book was all about revenge and the destructive things that come along with it. Hatch, Fernandez and Kemp all wanted revenge on Anselmo and Rutledge was just a coincidence. I think Corcoran did an excellent job of showing what happens when people are desperate for revenge. People should learn to either let things go or confront them at the moment. Walking around with all that hate for to long, it can affect someone eternally. His writing style is very traditional to other writers. What was confusing about it, it was talking a lot about the Miami scene and Key West. If you live nowhere near that, it can be confusing at times. The universal truth in The Mango Opera is to keep your enemies close to you, so you know who they are. It would also be to try and not make so many enemies as you go through life.

Now that summer is "officially" here and we have (or take) the time to read those books so often put away or put off until a better time, Mango Opera is a great book to top the "must read" list. Being a land-locked midwesterner that yearns for the spray of saltwater and the taste of fresh seafood, Alex took me on many a "tour" via motorcycle, bike, or on foot to these places. Unfortunately, hang around with Alex too long, and you might be taking the final tour, so to speak. This book's only flaw was the sometimes confusingly large cast of characters. I would find myself having to review by going back a few pages. But happily, once I began reading again, the characters and the plot all took shape nicely. It's a great first try by the author, and for this Parrothead, any reference to Jimmy Buffett, the sun, the sea, or Key West makes it a winner!

This book rates highly on my boring list and should have been accompanied by a street map of Key West! Practically every move that's made is a left, a right, or down White street, Flagler or some other stretch of macadam.

Today is September 14, and last night I finished this Florida mystery novel after stuttering through it for over a month. This kind of novel should be a breeze, but for me the reading turned out to be very tiresome.

It is Corcoran's first novel, and the book was duly hyped in the author's home town, namely Lakeland, Florida. However, I notice the book is on sale in Britain too, though I doubt whether it will gain much popularity there.

Women are murdered in and around Key West. They are all ex-girlfriends of crime site photographer Alex Rutledge, the main character. The book concentrates on his conquests while he and the police think and talk about who was responsible. There's not much action. An therein lies the mistake, the author tries too hard to let the reader know he is more than familiar with Key West, turning out detail after detail, such as overdoing the lefts and rights of the streets as Rutledge rushes around. There's a confusing cast of characters too, some of whom seem to go under numerous names. Because of these factors the novel drags terribly. While in itself the writing is competent enough it is pedestrian and the humour often falls flat.

No, I did not think this was a good novel, but I understand the author is writing another Alex Rutledge novel and I trust this time he will have learnt the importance of pace in his chosen genre.

Throughout the years, many authors have written mysteries that involve Key West. In the past, Tom Corcoran has lived in the Key's and knows what the culture and life style is there. In this book, The Mango Opera, Corcoran uses a unique writing style. While reading the book, you would get the feeling that you're watching a movie, rather than reading because of the number of people in which are involved. Corcoran's main idea is to get the reader thinking, and wondering who the killer is. Everything the reader knows is from the main character, Alex Rutledge's perspective. He gives the reader about a multitude of different possible suspects that keep you on the edge of your seat. As the author, Corcoran does a great job at making the reader think about what is going on in the book, sometimes the reader has so much to comprehend, that it's almost confusing. The reader often might question if Rutledge could be a prime suspect, because of his connections with the first murder, and then the rest of the girls that follow. Throughout the book, you will learn to trust your good friends, rely on them, and trust them with your life. Along with this book, it connects to two other books that Corcoran has written, all of which involve Key West mysteries, and are made to keep the reader wondering who the murder is. If your looking for a mystery and murders, along with some laughter, this book is a great choice for you.

I was a fan of the Travis McGee series by John D McDonald. I found this book measures up quite well. Alex Rutledge is a character that has quirks of his own. He is not a Policeman or detective or even a doctor, but a photographer that feels he needs to help solve murders because he knew the victims and perhaps potential victims.
Alex does not own a gun, nor does he feel the need to use one. He uses logic and his brain to get to the bottom of the case, despite the complexity of the number of characters he must deal with, and the complexity of the characters themselves.
I just finished the book and promptly put more of the books in the series on my wish list.

As Corcoran's first Alex Rutledge novel, the author introduces a dizzying array of characters and relationships. Almost too many. Rutledge himself is well fleshed out, but the other characters seemed a little weak -- we weren't allowed a true insight into their personalities besides the occasional quirkiness. I read "Gumbo Limbo" first (a later Rutledge mystery) and found "Mango Opera" to be better.

Yes, Corcoran is still obsessed with food, drink and giving specific directions on Key West ("I turned right at St. Licky's Church and caught Spinnaker Blvd") as if to prove he's a true "bubba". Or perhaps it's Rutledge who's obsessed with food & drink, but to the reader it becomes tedious.

The plot, although a crazed grab bag of a true Soap Opera (hence the title) was enjoyable enough. But it does have a tendency to become confused with so many characters and unsupported plot twists.

Bottom line? I will continue to read Corcoran's other offerings. It's a great setting, and the characters and storyline have a real potential. We can only hope that Corcoran continues to develop as an author and give meaty, satisfying substance to a recipe that sounds good and looks good, yet leaves the customer mostly unfulfilled.

I loved the Travis Mcgee series from John D. MacDonald and was hoping Alex Rutledge could come close. While the main character Alex was tolerable, the story line was confusing due to the number of characters and the number of law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation. Other than Alex, I did'nt feel that the characters were well developed and by the end did'nt know whether they were good guys or bad guys. Despite this, due to the setting of Key West, I would be willing to give another shot to an Alex Rutledge story.