The first book in a new series! Scott Moody, out of the psychiatric hospital for three months drives a taxi through Spokane to pay the rent. He decides to become a private investigator after hallucinations about Humphrey Bogart. His first case is an investigation into the disappearance of a local real estate mogul whose wife turns out to have been Moody's ex-girlfriend.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
This first novel about a PI who is just out of a mental hospital and driving a taxi in Spokane, Wash., in 1978 has a few interestingly mordant moments, but they don't add up to much more than a decided oddity. "As I entered my apartment I almost knocked over Irving. He's a philodendron who resides on the table by the front window. He passed away two months ago when I was first out of the hospital and not doing too well at taking care of other living things." So says Scott Moody early on, setting a coy tone that rapidly begins to grate. "It's 1978, after all, and things are strange for everyone," he says on the same page?the first of literally dozens of times the date is mentioned. Moody, we soon learn, applied for his PI license while he was in the hospital, after having a hallucinatory chat with Humphrey Bogart. The case which keeps him busy?when he's not pushing his cab around Spokane's seedier streets or fighting off the many women who seem to find him fascinating?involves the missing husband of a temptress who was Moody's high-school flame. But the author, a Seattle-based former journalist and computer programmer, succeeds neither in creating a compelling story line nor in convincing us to believe in Moody or his setting.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Believable characters, plot, and wonderful witty voice,
This review is from: Moody Gets the Blues (Hardcover)
The sensitive, brooding, witty protagonist in an attempt to better his condition falls prey to misfortune. He gains our sympathy and we root for him. His clever sense of humor helps him survive. A believable character and plot, set in the 70's brings us back to that period with accuracy. With pleasure, I look forward to the next in the series.
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Promising Beginning,
By
This review is from: Moody Gets the Blues (Moody Gets Blues) (Mass Market Paperback)
Though i occasionally felt as if i was trapped inside a bad-tempered version of a Harry Chapin song, as cab-driver/PI Moody gets involved in finding the husband of his ex-girl-friend who has Married Well, over all i greatly enjoyed this first in a proposed series.Moody's background as a Viet Nam veteran and mental patient is interesting enough and supplies enough possibilities for both complications and characterisation that i'm going to watch that aspect with interest to see if the author can actually do something with it or has been over-ambitious in setting up his series's "givens".Speaking as someone who has felt some of the same things, i can sympathise with Moody's "survivor syndrome" guilts about Viet Nam -- what made *us* special? Why did *we* deserve to come home when so many others didn't make it? That question alone has been enough to break some people of our generation, and it's only a part of what preys on Moody.On the other hand, the cab-driver PI bit, for some reason, even with only two that i know of in the current field, still seems over-crowded, and i'm not sure why. Certainly, Moody is about as different from Carlotta Carlyle as it's possible to get, but one feels right and the other seems a bit forced and i can't say why.But it's a good, solid fast read for all that, and well worth your while.
4.0 out of 5 stars
First in series shows great promise.,
By nobizinfla "nobizinfla" (Windermere, Florida USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Moody Gets the Blues (Moody Gets Blues) (Mass Market Paperback)
Met the author at book signing while on holiday in Scottsdale at Poisoned Pen. Very impressive background and charming speaker. No doubt it is a first novel, but it contains lots of strong moments. Mr. Oliver's discussion of where his protagonist is going (and growing) whet the appetite for more of Moody. Moody and his associates in Spokane can make you laugh and make you cry. You cannot help but care about them. Interesting plot that is fully resolved.
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