Mind Scrambler: A John Ceepak Mystery (John Ceepak Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Chris Grabenstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 23, 2009 | Series: John Ceepak Mysteries

John Ceepak and Danny Boyle are making the rounds in Atlantic City when Danny runs into his former crush, Katie. She’s working for a magician named Rock, and her life seems to be in better order than Boyle could have hoped for. But Ceepak and Boyle soon find themselves on another case when Katie is found strangled to death. It is up to Ceepak and Boyle to find out who killed her. Their lives and the lives of others depend on it.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Grabenstein's appealing fifth John Ceepak mystery (after 2008's Hell Hole) finds ultra-straight-arrow cop Ceepak and his laid-back partner, Danny Boyle, on leave in Atlantic City. Soon after a former girlfriend of Boyle's, the nanny for a smarmy stage magician's children, approaches Boyle for advice, she winds up dead in a bizarre s&m ritual before she can explain the problem. The local police deputize the two Sea Haven, N.J., cops as more corpses pile up. Ceepak and Boyle aren't too surprised that everyone is lying in a murder case involving professional illusionists with nasty secrets. Grabenstein has a good eye for the grit under a glitzy setting and a good ear for character-defining accents, including Boyle's wry narrative voice. In less skillful hands, Ceepak might come across as a mere hybrid of Sherlock Holmes and Dudley Do-Right, but the author succeeds in making his hero's earnest devotion to a rigid code of behavior both believable and moving. (June)
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From Booklist

The fifth installment in this popular series set in a New Jersey beach town continues the process of making the crimes darker. Sea Haven cop Danny Boyle and his straight-arrow partner, Iraq War vet John Ceepak, are in Atlantic City on police business when Danny meets Katie, a beautiful Jersey girl he once had a crush on. Katie is working as nanny to the children of master illusionist Richard Rock, who is a headliner at the Xanadu casino. Within hours of seeing Katie, Danny and John are investigating her death; she’s been found bound and gagged and wearing fetish gear. One murder leads to others and to evidence of torture and pedophilia. Grabenstein’s portrait of Atlantic City, its casinos, and the gamblers who flock there is harsh but accurate. The Springsteen lyrics he always employs are darker than usual, overtly political, and clearly aimed at the Bush administration. Mind Scrambler may be a meatier novel than the more amiable early installments in the series, but this reviewer looks forward to finding Danny and Ceepak back in Sea Haven during another sunny summer. --Thomas Gaughan

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (June 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312382316
• ISBN-13: 978-0312382315
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #964,243 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Chris Grabenstein did improvisational comedy in New York City with Bruce Willis before James Patterson hired him to write advertising copy.

His first John Ceepak/Jersey Shore mystery TILT A WHIRL won the Anthony Award for Best First Mystery in 2006 and was followed by the critically acclaimed MAD MOUSE, WHACK-A-MOLE, HELL HOLE, MIND SCRAMBLER, ROLLING THUNDER (nominated for The Best Sidekick award) and, coming in 2012, FUN HOUSE. A Ceepak short story RING TOSS appeared in the June 2010 issue of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.

Chris has also published two holiday thrillers: SLAY RIDE and HELL FOR THE HOLIDAYS and became a New York Times Best Selling author thanks to his short story "The Demon In The Dunes," which appeared in the anthology DEATH'S EXCELLENT VACATION, edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner (thanks Charlaine and Toni!)

FOR YOUNGER READERS....

His fist book for middle grades readers, THE CROSSROADS, won both the 2008 Agatha and Anthony Awards as Best Children's/YA novel, appeared on several "Best" lists, and has been optioned to become a movie. The second book in the series, THE HANGING HILL, also won the Agatha Award. The third Haunted Mystery, THE SMOKY CORRIDOR, all about a zombie who lives in the basement of a middle school, was published by Random House in August. The fourth book in the series, THE BLACK HEART CRYPT, will be published in 2011.

Chris wrote CURIOSITY CAT, the play within the book from THE HANGING HILL, for friends at the Children's Theater of Knoxville. The script is now available for production everywhere through world renowned play publisher Samuel French.

Chris's new middle grades caper series, RILEY MACK AND THE OTHER KNOWN TROUBLEMAKERS (an Ocean's Eleven starring eleven-year-olds) will be published by HarperCollins in January 2012 with the sequel slated for 2013.

Chris has also written for Jim Henson's Muppets and co-wrote THE CHRISTMAS GIFT, starring John Denver, a made-for-TV movie that first aired on CBS in 1986 and still shows up somewhere on cable very early in the morning every holiday season.

Chris's dog Fred, however, has the best credits in the family: Fred starred on Broadway in CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grabenstein fearless with controversy, July 3, 2009

By 

V. Sharol Cutrell "Sharol" (Kansas, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mind Scrambler: A John Ceepak Mystery (John Ceepak Mysteries) (Hardcover)

This review refers to the Audible recording narrated by Jeff Woodman

I have to hand it to the author. Chris Grabenstein isn't afraid of the difficult issues. Just when I was thinking that this book was just another story, he brought out the real story. The private lives of sanctimonious famous people are always of interest to the general public, but as we have seen recently with our unlamented politicians, sometimes private actions can become public. AS Ambrose Bierce said, "Hypocrisy: prejudice with a halo."

I generally dislike the "holier than thou" attitude I occasionally see with acquaintances and more often see with politicians. In this book, the author takes this hypocrisy head on.

As usual, the story is told by Danny Boyle, Ceepak's young, naïve deputy. When Ceepak and Danny are in Atlantic City to take a deposition from a witness, Danny's friend Katy (from the first book) is apparently killed in especially unseemly circumstances. Ceepak and Danny are deputized to assist in solving the crime. Simple, right? Not so simple. In fact the story takes an ugly turn into areas almost more revolting than the circumstances of Katy's death.

I highly recommend this book and especially in audio format. Jeff Woodman has a great versatility (he also has narrated numerous other books including *The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time* and Gabaldon's Lord John series) that is well showcased in this book. Don't give up on it - it takes nearly 2 hours of the 8 hour book to really get into the meat of the thing. I can't say more without completely spoiling the book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nothing Scrambles the Mind More Than Mysteries, July 24, 2009

By 

Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mind Scrambler: A John Ceepak Mystery (John Ceepak Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Ceepak and Danny are in Atlantic City. It's just supposed to be an overnight trip to take a deposition. But Danny runs into former girlfriend Katie Landry. Katie is now working for magician Richard Rock, and his show is in town. Katie manages to score them some nice tickets for that evening's performance. Later, she calls Danny asking to meet him as soon as the show is over. When he goes to meet her, he finds her brutally murdered. As more and more things about her death don't add up, Danny feels more and more confused. Can Ceepak sort through the lies to find the truth?

I love Sea Haven and was a little disappointed when I discovered this book wasn't set in Ceepak and Danny's normal stomping grounds. But I quickly got over that as I was drawn into the story. I remembered Katie from her earlier appearances in the series. That made me emotionally invested in the outcome. The book took a dark turn, even for this series, that left me feeling very uncomfortable.

The main draw for me in this series is Ceepak and Danny. I absolutely love their relationship. Since this case is so intensely personal for Danny, we see Ceepak step forward a few times and act like a friend. Yet Danny is taking his responsibilities seriously as well. They truly make a great team.

The darkness of this book bothered me more than the other books in the series. It is still well worth reading. Just go into it expecting a bit more than some of the others and you'll be fine.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Atlantic City, Here They Come!, September 22, 2009

By 

Cheryl A. Reynolds "Spuddie" (Minneapolis, MN, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mind Scrambler: A John Ceepak Mystery (John Ceepak Mysteries) (Hardcover)

#5 John Ceepak mystery set along the Jersey shore, told from the POV of Ceepak's young partner, Danny Boyle. Danny and Ceepak are off to Atlantic City to obtain the deposition of a former cellmate of Ceepak's father in hopes of obtaining testimony that will convict him. (Yes, Ceepak's father is a real scumbucket that he hopes to see locked away with the key melted down.) While there, Danny bumps into his former girlfriend Katie--a kindergarten teacher who moved to California, and who is now employed as the nanny for Richard Rock, a big-time magician and illusionist performing at a ritzy casino in AC. Katie says she wants to talk to Danny about something, but before that happens, she turns up dead--and not only dead, but dressed in a kinky S&M outfit and looking like the victim of erotic asphyxiation--of course, we all know that wasn't the case and that she was murdered. But why? And did Katie really have a secret life that is totally out of character for the sweet girl Danny dated? Danny's mind is a bit scrambled with his personal involvement in the case, but Ceepak keeps him on the straight and narrow as they are deputized by the local constabulary to help investigate, muddling through the hidden world of stage magicians.

I enjoy this series more with each book, as we get to know Ceepak and Danny better. The bad guy stuck out like a sore thumb for me right from the beginning, but I had no idea why or the how it was done details, so still made for a very interesting, enjoyable read. More, more!