Customer Reviews

Murder... Suicide... Whatever...

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Murder...Suicide...Whatever is not the book for anyone who wants to take their mystery seriously. Gwen Freeman has written a fun, tongue in cheek romp that stretches the boundaries of political correctness with Gumby-like elasticity. The same audiences that made Borat a chart topping hit at the movies will love this book too.

When Ted Heffernan dies, in his office with his door sealed by a giant birthday banner, it is assumed by everyone to be suicide. Everyone except one broker in the office, Eddie Walker and Ted's "nephew" Bosco Dorff. They are convinced it was murder but are hard pressed to prove it.

Fifi is not happy when Bosco shows up on her doorstep. She is having enough trouble supporting herself without having to worry about her not so beloved half relative. Bosco is long on charm and good looks, but short on funds and morality. But he soon forces his half sister Fifi into helping with the investigation into the Ted's death, even though she knows it is not a good idea on any level. There are plenty of suspects, all with good motives and it is up to Fifi to untangle the truth. What ensues is a murder investigation that includes grief counselor impersonations, talking halloween mats and porn movies.

Freeman is able to deftly write an authentic locked door puzzle while directing the theater of the absurd. It is a juggling act that she manages with fascinating flair. She is able to take her imaginatively created characters through a plot that leaps and turns without losing her focus. To manage that while also causing her readers to laugh out loud is a literary gift.

The other reviews share plenty of plot points, if that's what you want. I'll just say the plot keeps you reading, the characters keep you laughing, and the solution leaves you satisfied. If Stephanie Plum is becoming too predictable and formulaic for you, switch to Fifi Cutter, and hope she has more adventures to follow.

Fifi Cutter, a freelance insurance adjuster overwhelmed with bills and unappetizing relatives, finds her no-good half brother, Bosco, at the door one day. Bosco brings news of Uncle Ted's death and insists that it was murder.

Fifi doesn't believe it. Uncle Ted died inside his office, "locked" with birthday decorations taped across the door by coworkers. The fragile tissue paper was neither ripped nor re-taped, and the coroner said that Uncle Ted had a heart attack.

But Bosco insists it was murder, and so does Eddie, Uncle Ted's colleague. Eddie is a bit smarmy, but he hires Fifi and Bosco to find the killer. Fifi doesn't quite believe there is a killer to be found, but she really believes in the money Eddie offered.

Thus ensues a true, classic, old-fashioned (although the context is modern) locked room murder mystery. There are suspects aplenty, clues gradually unfold throughout the story, and the identity of the murderer is unknown until the final chapter.

This is why I gave the story 5 stars. Most modern authors do a poor job with mysteries - either we know throughout the story the identity of the murderer, or there is a murder at the beginning of the book, the identity revealed at the end of the book, and god awful filler about "relationships" and "character development" in between. When I read a mystery, I want it to be a mystery.

In addition to the mystery, there is some good humor along the way. Some of it is trying too hard, but the author comes up with a number of trenchant one-liners.

Fifi Cutter comes from an interesting blended family. She has white family, black family, rich family, poor family, step-family, and now she has courtesy family. Or she did until her step-brother Bosco informs her that Uncle Ted was murdered. Bosco tells her this because he has been hired to find out who killed Uncle Ted and needs her help. Since Fifi is desperate for money to pay the property taxes on the house she inherited from her father, she isn't too hard to persuade.

But there are a few problems along the way. Neither Fifi nor Bosco are actually private investigators, or grief counselors, or accountants, or reporters - all of which they impersonate as they dig into Uncle Ted's personal and professional life. But Fifi and Bosco are smart, funny, resourceful, and they need the money. And they have their work cut out for them, because it seems just about everyone had a motive to kill Uncle Ted, be it financial, political, sexual, or just plain old revenge.

This well-written book has suspects and plot twists galore. It has the added bonuses of a little locked room mystery (which I am partial to) and a lot of humor. Fifi and Bosco's quirky family members, their peculiar outlooks on life, and their increasingly bizarre adventures are often hysterical. This book is a cross between a Sue Grafton investigation and a Janet Evanovich romp. Fans of those authors will particularly like this book.

[...]

I bought this book because the reviews indicated a breezy story with interesting offbeat characters. I read about half the book which took quite an effort. The writing isn't bad by any means but while I can't put my finger on why, neither of the major characters ever really grabbed me which makes the title "Murder . . . .Suicide . . . Whatever..." somewhat ironically descriptive for me. I wound up moving on to other books and have reserved this one for a revisit at a later time in the hopes that maybe the indifference I feel for this book might be due to my mood rather than the lacking characters in this book. We'll see.

Being my first Fifi Cutter Mystery, I was thrilled to discover that this is a book in a series written by Gwen Freeman. Fifi presents a very engaging character. She tries to do what it is right, however, she lets her estranged half brother, Bosco, suck her into pretending to be an investigator to help solve the mystery of who might have killed their "Uncle Ted." They really don't have an Uncle Ted, however, Bosco manages to get Fifi to work with him because she desperately needs the money. Pretending to be an investigator is one thing, however, when Fifi gets sucked into pretending to be a grief counselor, it gets pretty funny. What better way to solve a potential murder mystery, assuming of course that Uncle Ted was actually murdered?

The pot really gets stirred up when other murders occur and Fifi's own life becomes endangered. Having to deal with the low life's that Uncle Ted dealt with from the porn industry, is dangerous, yet strangely entertaining.

I totally enjoyed reading this novel by Gwen Freeman. She has a talent for quickly capturing your interest and taking you along for the ride. This novel will make you laugh out loud. I am so happy that I found a great new author.

Enjoyed every page. Fifi Cutter is not your typical heroine, but her personality is very well written and her sense of humor and sarcasm likable, rather than not. I also felt her family relationships have so much potential for future adventures. I can't wait to visit Fifi again. Thank you Gwen Freeman.

Gwen Freeman debuts one of the funniest, original, mysteries in recent years with the uniquely titled Murder... Suicide...Whatever... Fifi Cutter is a mixed raced, recently unemployed, twenty-something who doesn't speak to any of her family members. This is mainly because the house she inherited from her beloved and deceased father was gutted of its furniture by her calculating social climbing mother, her policeman half-brother accuses her of stealing his share of the inheritance, and her other mooching half-brother has just shown up on her doorstep asking for shelter and help investigating the murder of their uncle, Ted Hefferman. The fact that Uncle Ted wasn't really their uncle and that they aren't investigators doesn't bother Bosco a bit, and his ever-present charm and Fifi's need for an income has them impersonating grief counselors as they navigate through the extremely murky relationships of the Obermeyer & Schlefly insurance firm. While Bosco cages free meals and tries to figure out a way to get a television, Fifi has her Truck L'Orange attacked by homeless people, her home is broken into, and someone leaves her a dismembered rat.

Fifi proves to be a vastly entertaining and likable character despite the fact that she is virtually friendless and estranged from her family. Freeman writes with a breezy style that carries the reader along with a fast-moving plot that leads to an unpredictable, yet completely appropriate, ending. Fifi's amusingly frank assessment of herself (overly frizzy hair that protects her from breaking glass, a big nose, curveless body) hides a vulnerability that peeks out despite her best attempts to hide it. Fans of Janet Evanovich will appreciate Freeman's light and fun style. Here's to hoping that the Fifi Cutter Mystery becomes a long running series the sequel soon to follow.

There is a sly sophistication lurking behind the laughter created by Fifi Cutter, the scrappy heroine of MURDER... SUICIDE... WHATEVER..., the witty debut novel of Gwen Freeman. This first in her mystery series may be set in the guise of a traditional locked-door, but what Ms. Freeman is really doing with her skinny, young protagonist is wrestle a generation of self-absorbed Los Angelinos flat to the mat before they know the match has begun. Highly recommended--essential reading if you feel like laughing out loud.

--Robert Fate, author of Baby Shark

This starts well. Fifi is a good character. The ambience is nice. Then, there are way too many other very thinly defined characters. The plot gets more and more confusing. Then, at the end, -spoiler alert- Fifi is captured by the killer and the killer explains the whole convoluted mess. Sort of like when Nero Wolfe calls everybody together and tells you what happened, but this is not as entertaining. Explained, the plot is even more of a mess. It was 3 or 4 stars for a while, then dropped to 1 star at the end. Fifi has promise, but needs work.