Customer Reviews

Manhattan Is My Beat

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Manhattan is my beat is one of the early novels by Jeffery Deaver, and at times you can see the reflection of the brillance that you find in his latest novels. However at times the book is a wee bit slow for my taste and in particular for a Deaver novel.

Rune, the heroine in this novel is actually a great character and you will find her to be quite enjoyable. The main premise of a crime solved via an old movie is interesting and could have been better developed, but I feel Deaver just did an adequate job.

I do recommend that you read this novel because it is an enjoyable read and it contains the trademark Deaver twists, but you shuld be forewarned that this book will not enthrall you like Bone Collector, Coffin Dancer, Empty Chair, Maiden's Grave, or Devil's Teardrop. It is good but not great.

Having read the Lincoln Rhyme novels, I was anxious to get my hands on anything Deaver. While some of his other work was 5 star material, MANHATTAN IS MY BEAT left me a little dissapointed.

Rune is a homeless girl squatting in a skyscraper and working in a vido store. She loves old movies and fairy tales. When picking up a tape, she finds a favorite customer dead. She believes that his killer and the location of a long lost million dollars is hidden in the film he rented so often. Her prying exposes her to a world of danger and she manages to bring her few friends into the mix with her.

As with any Deaver tale, there are twists and turns, and plot flips. The ending leaves you with literary whiplash. The main character Rune's obsession with fairy tales leads to forced analogies and the book can drag as a result. The ending is too tidy as to be somewhat unbelievable. I do wish that Deaver would have devoted more of the narrative to the villain(s) as he does with some of his more interesting works.

Overall, it is a quick read with a good amount of suspense and intrigue, but it falls short of Deaver's better novels.

I've been hooked on Deaver since I read THE BONE COLLECTOR. I was pleasantly surprised by MANHATTAN... I found it to be an excellent example of some of the basics that make Deaver novels so much fun. He has created one of the most enjoyable lead characters here in Rune, a somewhat kooky, plucky 20-year-old with a vivid imagination and romantic ideals. She meets up with even more interesting characters in Mr. Kelly, Tony (her boss), Stephanie, Raoul Elliott, Sandra, Haart, Zane, Richard, etc. This is a classic in-the-wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time story as Rune accidentally interrupts the murderer of her friend, Mr. Kelly. Throw in some assumptions about the killing, some crime-solving techniques Rune has learned from movies, cops, bad guys and lusty roommates, and you have a formula for a light, fun mystery. And with most Deaver novels, you never really know who anyone actually is until the end.
I truly enjoyed reading this novel. As an earlier Deaver work, it's not as polished as some we've seen more recently. However, I liked that this one seems to be all about the joy of writing a good story rather than the chore of writing for the masses. I recommend this one; it's quick and it's fun. I, for one, vote for a series starring the very loveable Rune.

Manhattan Is My Beat is a great thriller by the master of suspense, Jeffery Deaver. I didn't like it as much as his latest one's like The Empty Chair and The Bone Collector. It seems like the each book gets better with him. There was a great conclusion to this book. You couldn't trust anyone and it turned out really well. I am looking forward to Shallow Graves in September 2000.

Fast Pace, wild full out read..... I don't think I've read a better mystery. Suspenseful, original, very entertaining. Don't pick this book up unless you have a wee bit of time. I couldn't put it down. Rune is a very interest & different "Hero", one I hope will be around awhile.

i loved this book. It was obvious that the book was written before the invention of lincoln rhyme, but there is something more magical in this book that becomes more logical in deaver's later novels. i especially enjoyed the character development of rune. living in nyc, i could definitely relate to her character and fantasy world. sometimes reality is not what you want and it was interesting to see how far someone might take their imaginary persona. also, in the true spirit of jeffrey deaver, this book is filled with twists and turns leaving you usure of the ending til you get there.

Suppose you were a 20 year old sparkplug of a gal, living in a loft in NYC, writing poetry, working in a video store, and one of your eccentric customers was murdered--would you just say what a shame? Or jump right in to solve a terrifyling twist of a tale based on an old black & white film?

In, "Manhattan Is My Beat", Deaver delivers a fast paced dangerous thriller. We meet Rune, she is as lively as a cocked pistol. She does work in a video store to support one of her passions; movies. She does find the dead body of Mr. Kelly, an elderly man who keeps renting the same movie--over & over. And she does hit the Manhattan mean streets to connect all the pieces of this diabolical puzzle plot.

I thouroughly enjoyed this crime novel. Rune, as a female sleuth is perky, weird, sassy and bright. Not as graphic or gripping as other Deaver classics, yet a good one.

other reading suggestions: "Hot Six" by Janet Evanovich and "The Devils Teardrop" by Jeffrey Deaver

Thanks for your interest & comments--CDS

We see the roots of Deaver's work in this early effort from him featuring Rune (later to be seen in "Death of a Blue Movie Star" and "Hard News"). While not perfect - I personally didn't see the point to the whole Richard sub-plot - it's overall a satisfying mystery with enough twists to keep you guessing until the end - all three of them.

Rune is a young woman who has come to New York from Ohio and is squatting in a gazebo while the building is being renovated around her. She works for a video store and one day while out to pick up a video from a customer, she discovers the customer has just been murdered. She had been friends with the customer - Robert Kelly - and they had shared a love of movies; she decides that the murder has something to do with Mr. Kelly's favorite movie - "Manhattan is My Beat," which was based upon a true story about a bank robbery. She decides that Mr. Kelly had found the money from the robbery (which had never been recovered) and therefore had been killed for it. So she sets out to solve his murder herself, and to find the money.

There isn't much else of the plot that can be outlined without spoiling the plot for those who haven't yet read it. Suffice it to say that those who are fans of Deaver, those who enjoy mysteries and thrillers - they should enjoy this book. Just keep in mind it is an early effort and Deaver hadn't quite shaken all the knots out of his style yet. That said, I enjoyed it a great deal. Recommend from me!

This plot is rather simple, but kept my interest.Deaver has produced better works.The greatest thing (to me) in the story line was the beautiful city setting,which sets the scence for crime and mystery.

I found the main character (Rune) to be most annoying and unsuitable as a mystery solver. I thought Rune was a bit unrealistic as a character.Apart from that,it is not a bad read.

this being an early Deaver, it is natural to suspect taht it wouldnt be as good as some of his later ones. In general, its right. THis is not as good as some later books, but its still pretty good.

The plot is nicely simple. Not too much complicated stuff to get your head round. The characters are good, and he leaves space for them to be further dweveloped. Presumably, this will come in the next two books (as it would in any good series).

Rune is a nice lead character, nicely contemporary. Some people've said she's annoying, but personally, i didn't think so. On the surface she comes across as naive, but gradually you see that she isnt as so as you first thought. she might have got her head in the clouds, but her feet are still firmly on the ground...

as always with a deaver novel, there are twists a-plenty. and ill admit, here they werent quite as complex as some of his later novels twists, but they are just as viable. and still i didnt guess them. (I gave up trying long ago!)

The writing is good, the plot is good, the characters are good. What more could you want?

As, presumably, this was his first novel, it's a very worthy effort. I look forward to the next Rune novels.