Murder Takes a Break (Truman Smith Mystery) [Hardcover]

Bill Crider (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The fifth appearance of Anthony Award- winning Crider's Rockford-like PI, Truman Smith of Galveston, Tex., (following Prairie Chicken Kill) is a thinly plotted tale. Persuaded by his reclusive friend Dino to take on a missing-person case, Tru agrees to look into the disappearance of college student Randall Kirbo, missing since spring break, whose parents are displeased with the official investigation. A look at the police files leads Tru to think the police investigation was perfunctory. Then he finds out that local vice queen, Big Al, owned the party house where the youth was last seen and learns that the body of a dead college girl washed up on a local beach after the same break. Linking the two cases, Tru employs his professional skills of lying and foolhardiness to determine Big Al's involvement in the crimes. When Tru discovers that Dino's daughter was at the same party and then someone subsequently shoots at her, he realizes there's more going on than student partying. Tru and Dino are a pleasantly contrary pair and Galveston Island's an appealing setting, but the mystery here is run-of-the-mill.

Copyright 1997 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 246 pages
• Publisher: Walker & Company; First Edition edition (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802733085
• ISBN-13: 978-0802733085
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,329,163 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born and brought up in Mexia (that's pronounced Muh-HAY-uh by the natives), Texas, went to college at The University of Texas and North Texas State University, and taught high school and college classes for many years. In 1992 I retired as Chair of the Division of English and Fine Arts at Alvin Community College, in Alvin, Texas. I'm married to the lovely Judy, and we have two grown children, Angela, who's an attorney in San Francisco, and Allen, who's in the music business in Austin. Other than that, I'm a pretty boring guy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Okay-but not up to par with the other works in the series, September 5, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Murder Takes a Break (Truman Smith Mystery) (Hardcover)

Galveston, Texas principal investigator Truman Smith loathes missing person cases because they either end up badly for his clients or the person does not want to be found. So only as a personal favor to his friend Dino would Tru accept the case of missing college student, Randall Kirbo, who disappeared in the area while on Spring break nine months ago.

Tru starts by looking into the police investigation which appeared to be almost non-existent as the law enforcement officials did the minimum. Tru soon learns that a local vice queen, Big Al, owned the house in which Randall was last seen partying. From there, Tru learns about another college kid, who was at the same party and later was found dead on the beach. Seeing the party as a possible link, Tru continues to look into others who attended the party. Tru now realizes that this Spring break party was not the typical college shindig because a killer must have attended it also.

MURDER TAKES A BREAK is a very good who-done-it due to the counterpoint charm of the lead characters (Tru and Dino). The story line is good though not up to the level expected from Bill Crider especially with the Tru smith series. Fans of the series will enjoy the tale, but will quickly realize that this is not show time.

Harriet KLausner

5.0 out of 5 stars A good thrilling read, December 20, 2011

By 

DJP - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder Takes a Break (Truman Smith Mystery) (Hardcover)

Murder Takes A Break reunites us with the persistent and wry Truman Smith - purveyor of smart comments that threaten his safety, and solver of even the most intricate and emotionally fraught mysteries.

When two local kids on Spring Break have gone missing, Truman is sent to find out what really happened at the Beach House. With his erstwhile sidekick Dino, Tru' enters the backstreet world of Galveston, with dealers, dodgy Police, families with plenty to hide and the usual dose of violent abandon. There's more than a few awkward moments, and as with the previous story: The Prairie Chicken, what starts as a fairly simple missing persons case rapidly turns into a body-strewn thriller.

Snappy and tense, you do actually wonder whether Truman will survive this mystery - such is the concerted threat he faces - and by the time you get to an explosive climax, you know you've experienced a well-paced and plotted thriller from a writer of quality.