Mortal Remains: An Adam McCleet Mystery [Paperback]

Rick Hanson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Adam McCleet Mystery | Publication Date: June 1, 1996

After receiving a commission to create a Vietnam War memorial for a posh Oregon suburb, Adam McCleet--ex-Marine, ex-cop, and sometimes successful sculptor--finds himself on a collision course with bad memories, murder, and a cunning killer. Reprint.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hanson takes the violence and raw, often adolescent, humor of his first novel, Spare Parts, up a notch in this often cartoonish second adventure of Northwest sculptor and Vietnam vet Adam McCleet. At a psychiatric facility in a Portland suburb, Adam is watching his friend, psychiatrist Reeves Washington, use hypnosis to treat a veteran for post-traumatic stress disorder when the patient turns violent and kills Reeves. Although police dismiss the incident as the unfortunate result of temporary insanity, Adam is convinced that the veteran was drugged and being used as an instrument of premeditated murder. Drugs and death notwithstanding, the focus here is on Hanson's cast of colorful characters, which includes, among others, "Margo the Malignant," Adam's sister, who is drawn in the image of a little boy's version of a big, mean sibling; leftover '60s war protesters who make Adam "want to punch somebody"; and the "death squad," three Vietnam-vet psychiatric patients who create an exploding device that looks like excrement and is dubbed the "peace movement." More deaths occupy Adam before he unravels the mystery behind them and finishes his latest commission?for a Vietnam war memorial.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Pinnacle (June 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786002840
• ISBN-13: 978-0786002849
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,438,833 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Mediocre plot, but an all around good book., June 23, 2000

By 

Andrew Dobrow (Warren, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mortal Remains: An Adam McCleet Mystery (Paperback)

Rick Hanson did a good job with this one although it lacks the suspense of his other ones. Mortal Remains is a unoriginal plot, but theres a couple twists in the story. For fans of murder mystery's this is a fun book, but for anyone else I don't recommend it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun, but the ending is ridiculous, April 20, 1998

By 

Paul J. Mazzoni "bologna4" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mortal Remains: An Adam McCleet Mystery (Paperback)

I had never heard of Rich Hanson before I "Mortal Remains." I was looking for a fairly quick read that was sure to entertain. Can't go wrong with a cover like this one, right?

It was definitely fun for the first 200 pages. I laughed out loud which rarely happens when I read. I would compare the characters to those you might find in Gregory MacDonald's "Fletch" mysteries. I was also drawn into the plot. Characters I would not have expected find themselves six feet under by the end of this book.

However, I cannot believe the author planned out an ending for this book. It was like hanging up the phone without saying "goodbye." Did the publisher say, "OK, you've had enough time. Wrap it up?" A real letdown.

In addition, the author has a sex scene that seems totally out of place right smack in the middle of the book. Something dirty had to be going through his mind at the time.

All in all, I would read another book by Hanson. He definitely shows promise.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great fun; so-so mystery, November 10, 1997

By 

P. Mann (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mortal Remains: An Adam McCleet Mystery (Paperback)

Any judgment of a book based solely on the cover may be inherently problematic, but in this case, the judgment probably works well. The cover features a smiling face with a bullet hole through the forehead. In other words, there's violence, but it's hard to take it all too seriously. "Mortal Remains" does have a body count (more than one and less than that of Friday the 13th IV), but it is the humor and the bizarre characters that really carry the book. And therein lies the book's main flaw. "Mortal Remains" is part of the mystery genre and somewhat in the style of Crais and Hiaasen. But the mystery does not work as well as it might. There are, unfortunately, too many loose ends to the mystery.

Hanson is a very funny writer, though, and some of the humor is so funny that I was laughing aloud--something I seldom do at only the written word. The cast of characters, most of whom are connected to a psychiatric institute, are indeed colorful, and they make the read an easy one. The "death squad," a triumvirate of patients, is particularly amusing, though they may not be entirely P.C. Also along for the ride are a man who carves pneumatic statues of his grandmother out of trees and a high-school baton twirler.

The plot and the mystery involve the death of a doctor at a psychiatric hospital. Former Marine and former cop Adam McCleet seeks to solve the mystery because of his ties to the dead doctor. There's no doubt who killed the doctor, but there is a question about who caused the death. When other crimes, including arson and murder, follow, McCleet finds his life and those of people close to him in danger. Throughout the investigation, McCleet must deal with his possible fear of commitment, his post-traumatic stress disorder, one angry pickup driver, and his own possible artwork for the town.