Moody Forever [Hardcover]

Steve Oliver (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1998

Death-obsessed cabby and part-time reporter has abandoned his dreams of becoming a private detective, but a murder will change his mind, leading him to Palm Springs and the Longevity Institute in the desert, where he will stare down his greatest fear. Reprint. AB.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As in the first book of this series (Moody Gets the Blues, 1996), Oliver too often veers from a welcome offbeat humor into a serious lack of focus. It's the late 1970s, and the narrator is Scott Moody, a cabbie, Vietnam vet and former mental patient who applied for his PI license after having an hallucinatory chat with Humphrey Bogart. Moody, based in Mill City, Wash., is currently dating the rich and alluring Xanthia Welch even though he is still friendly with his ex-wife, Andrea, and enjoys the company of his young daughter, Andrea. For the aptly named Moody, this is about as good as life getsAtoo good to last, in fact. Shortly after getting out of Moody's cab, Xanthia's father, Andrew, is murdered. For the local cops, Moody is as good a suspect as any. Xanthia and Moody go on the lam to Seattle and points south, chasing down the increasingly elusive identity of Andrew. The dead man's real age is also a mystery, as is the authenticity of the Longevity Institute, located in Palm Springs, a place where time apparently stands still with the help of good genes, good eating habits and a lot of plastic surgery. The murder hunt grinds to a standstill as Xanthia morphs from loyal ally to Institute shill. Oliver gamely tries to tie together the three narrative strands centering on, respectively, a murder, a secret identity and a sinister organization. But while his effort offers line by line pleasures, the center doesn't hold.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Thirty-six-year-old Scott Moody, ex-private eye, ex-husband, and ex-mental patient, becomes a suspect when he witnesses the slashing murder of his beautiful girlfriend's wealthy and socially prominent father. After the reading of a startling will, the girlfriend hires him to investigate matters usual (who killed her father and why) and unusual (just who or what, actually, was her father). Scott's search, which roves from Spokane to Seattle to Las Vegas, begins with public records, where he finds the first troubling news. While the plot's credibility is sometimes dubious, the late 1970s setting and idiosyncratic "hero" make this mystery work.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (November 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312193017
• ISBN-13: 978-0312193010
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,271,069 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars where's moody?, February 24, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Moody Forever (St. Martin's Minotaur Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Moody Forever even better than Moody Gets the Blues. What a wonderful character. Where is Steve Oliver and will there be another in the series?

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No one ever gets the blues with a Moody mystery, October 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Moody Forever (Hardcover)

In 1979 Spokane, veteran Scott Moody is struggling with regaining control of his life. He has recently spent time in a mental institution and has quit his job as a private investigator. Instead, the former Nam grunt works on a newspaper and drives a cab. Though Scott hopes to one-day return to his ex-wife and child, he dates the beautiful heiress Xanthia Welch.

As he makes progress in straightening himself out, Moody has a setback, not of his making. He is the prime suspect in the stabbing murder of Xanthia's father, Andrew, an eminent businessman. Moody re-dons his sleuthing cap as he tries to prove his innocence by solving the murder in which he is the only witness.

Readers will forever know the type of who-done-it that stars Scott Moody. Like the debut tale (MOODY GETS THE BLUES), the second novel is a humorous, but convoluted satire of mysteries. Moody remains charming in a weird way and the support cast is a twisted crowd who add to the facetiousness even as they propel the story line forward. Though not for everyone, Steve Oliver has scribed a tale that will leaves fans of the offbeat mystery shouting MOODY FOREVER

Harriet Klausner