McMansion [Hardcover]

Justin Scott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 15, 2006

Even the cozy New England town of Newbury, onnecticut, is not immune to the relentless spread of McMansions carpeting the countryside. Ben Abbott, realtor and private detective, is so incensed that he refuses to sell them. That Ben is not the only citizen of Newbury who is provoked by over-sized, ugly, wasteful houses becomes apparent when the corpse of Billy Tiller, Newbury's greediest developer, is discovered underneath his bulldozer.

The young and troubled eco-activist Jeff Kimball, who is arrested while sitting at the controls of the bulldozer, protests his innocence. Connecticut's state's attorney sees the opportunity to prosecute an open-and-shut TV murder trial that will vault him into the U.S. Senate. While Ira Levy, the small-town criminal defense lawyer hired by Jeff's hip-hop mogul father, longs to impress movers and shakers in New York City.

Ben Abbott, deep in debt to Attorney Levy for an expensive horse he gave to 12-year-old Alison, is forced to pay off the debt by trying to prove Jeff Kimball innocent of a crime that State Police Major Crime Squad Lieutenant Marian Boyce styles "perpetrator on bulldozer on victim."

It looks that way, says Ben Abbott. But in what order did they really stack up?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Scott's satisfying fourth installment of his Ben Abbott series (after 2003's Frostline) hinges on the murder of Billy Tiller, a greedy developer determined to ruin the smalltown charm of Newbury, Conn., with a string of tacky starter palaces. When he's found dead—run over by a bulldozer—the police arrest a young environmental activist, Jeff Kimball. Ira Levy, Kimball's lawyer, asks Abbott, realtor-cum-PI, to dig around. Abbott doesn't want to take the case—he despised everything Tiller stood for and worries that his loathing might hamper his investigation—but Levy twists his arm. Abbott determines pretty speedily that Kimball couldn't have committed the crime, but figuring out who did is a tad trickier. Though the reader never gets to know Abbott very well, this novel will resonate with those in the countless communities that are beset by real estate monstrosities. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Ben Abbot, a somewhat disgraced native son of Newbury, Connecticut, makes his living as a real-estate salesman and a private detective. The greedy developers constructing huge mansions where open space used to be anger him to the point that he refuses to sell them. When Billy Tiller, the greediest of local developers, is found dead underneath his bulldozer with environmental activist Jeff Kimball sitting at the controls, the local police think they have an open-and-shut case. Kimball says he is innocent, but the prosecutor sees his gateway to a senate seat, and the defense attorney sees an opportunity to impress the New York movers and shakers. Ben lands the job of helping prove Jeff's innocence. The salesman-sleuth premise works surprisingly well in this appealing series, now in its fourth installment; readers who like their mystery plots closely tied to current events will find much to enjoy here. Barbara Bibel
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 254 pages
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (December 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159058063X
• ISBN-13: 978-1590580639
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,025,731 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Justin Scott has written twenty-four thrillers, historicals, and mystery novels, including The Shipkiller and Normandie Triangle. With many books set at sea, he has been called "the Dick Francis of yachting."

He created the Ben Abbott detective series (HardScape, StoneDust, FrostLine, McMansion and Mausoleum), and was twice nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award by the Mystery Writers of America.

His main pen name is Paul Garrison under which he has written five modern sea thrillers including Red Sky At Morning, Sea Hunter, and The Ripple Effect.

The Wrecker, a collaboration with Clive Cussler is being published Fall of 2009. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, filmmaker Amber Edwards.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A long wait, but worth it., February 7, 2007

By 

L. J. Roberts (Oakland, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: McMansion (Hardcover)

Ben Abbot is a realtor and private investigator in Newbury, Connecticut, a town whose history dates back to the Colonies. Billy Tiller was a developer and the nightmare of every preservationist. His only concern was making as much money as possible in any way he could and the number of those who hated him is impressive. Billy's body was found crushed under a D4 Bulldozer and although Jeff Kimball, a 20-year-old kid and member of ELF (Earth Liberation Front) opposed to development, he says he stumbled on the scene and was trying to get the D4 off the body when the police arrived. Now Jeff's lawyer has hired Ben to find a defense for his client.

It has been nine years since the last Ben Abbott book, and I'm delighted he's back. Ben is a great character--he comes from an old, New England family, has his Aunt Connie who is showing early stages of dementia, loves his town, became involved with the wrong people that landed him in prison for 3 years, is clueless about relationships with women but has befriended a young girl being raised by a single mother and is a somewhat unwilling PI. The story is a well-plotted traditional mystery with plenty of suspects and motives through which to be sorted. The issue of preservation versus development is certainly timely but doesn't overwhelm the mystery. I found "McMansions" to be a very good read, with a very bad title, and sincerely hope the next book will be soon than nine year's away.

5.0 out of 5 stars McMansion, March 25, 2010

By 

Sally Reed (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: McMansion (Ben Abbott Novels (Paperback)) (Paperback)

McMansion is a very good book. I enjoy all Justin Scott's books. I only have one comment to make that isn't really positive and that is that he seems to just leave his stories "hanging" without actually coming to a conclusion. It's like he gets tired of them and just quits.

5.0 out of 5 stars Libraries strong in mystery collections will want to add this thriller., April 12, 2007

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: McMansion (Hardcover)

Domestic mystery, murder, and terrorism meld in a new Ben Abbott mystery revolving around one Billy Tiller, who is crushed by a massive bulldozer in a seemingly straightforward murder in which an eco-terrorist is found at the scene of the crime. But what seems cut-and-dried turns into a bigger puzzle as Ben Abbott finds too many suspects and plenty of mystery. Libraries strong in mystery collections will want to add this thriller.