Customer Reviews

Playing God: A Joe Burgess Mystery (Five Star First Edition Mystery)

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

 

 

Kate Flora introduces an intriguing new character in Joe Burgess, "Portland's meanest cop." He's also the best detective on the Portland, Maine police force so his supervisor allows him to work the murder case involving Dr. Stephen Pleasant, even though Burgess hated Pleasant. Burgess said "This case has everything - unhappy wife, angry ex. Hookers. Drugs. Money problems. Maybe blackmail, and a vic nobody liked, including his patients."

Flora's first mystery in a new series does have everything, including a likeable hero and an intriguing puzzle. The reader will avidly follow Burgess down the convoluted path to the conclusion. It's a compelling start to a new series.

"Playing God" was a visceral experience for me. The story was a mature, thought provoking, gut wrenching and satisfying read. When I wasn't reading it I was thinking about it. It made me consider my life, values and relationships...that's good writing. I felt like I'd lived with the characters through a tough, real life investigation along with being mugged, pummeled and half starved. This was my first Kate Flora novel and I'll be looking for more. I especially want to read her latest, "Finding Amy: A True Story of Murder in Maine".

I listened to the audible audio version of this book, and I just don't see what the rave reviews are about. The main players, cops and victim were cliches done to death. A burned out cop who's worried about becoming like his alcoholic father, works too much, invests too much of himself in his cases, and keeps you reading mostly to see if he can drag this thing across the finish line without getting fired or getting himself killed, Joe Burgess could be any one of dozens of TV cops. Then we have our murder victim, the doctor who saw himself on a pedestal and his patients as numbers on his calender, murdered in his car, where he usually parks for his trists with various local hookers. I think I saw this on an episode of Law and Order (actually more than one).
But this book is set in Portland Maine, a unique place, not many people set books in, and you'd never know it if the characters didn't tell you. There is no sense of the unique place that is Maine, this could be Minnesota, Oregon, or Buffalo if not for the city and town names thrown out by the detectives occasionally. I realize a real sense of the enviornment is not crucial to a good mystery but if you are going to pick an unusual place, show us the details that make that place special and interesting, otherwise why not just use New York or LA like everyone else.
The mystery itself was alright, and progressed from point A to point B with a few twists and turns, but without engaging interesting characters or a unique backdrop to sell the story it was very bland and I thought about giving up on it more than once.

When a man is found dead in his locked car with his clothes undone and a rod shoved down his throat, Sergeant Joe Burgess is called in to investigate. The victim is prominent radiologist Dr. Steven Pleasant, who mistreated Joe's mother. Pleasant's name is a misnomer as Joe finds the victim had a penchant for prostitutes, selling prescription drugs, mistreating other patients and only caring about money. But Joe is a dedicated cop and, in spite of his boss demanding Joe treads lightly among the town's powerful, he is determined to uncover the killer no matter who is implicated.

This is the first book I've read by Flora and I enjoyed it. I liked the character of Joe, he made sense. He's absolutely dedicated to his job, occasionally beyond the point of reason and in spite of his personal feelings about the victim. There are interesting supporting characters to keep things in balance. The plot kept me interested all the way through. The author made good use of the setting and has a good ear for dialogue. The suspense was good and the ending was effective. I am looking forward to reading more by Ms. Flora.

Dr. Stephen Pleasant was discovered murdered in his parked car one cold February morning, a sharped rod had been crammed down his throat, and his zipper undone. The good doctor had a reputation for visiting hookers, and by all appearances this looked to be a rendezvous gone wrong. Sgt Joe Burgess had no lack of suspects from the doctor's current wife, her father and step-father, his ex-wife, his colleagues, and his patients all had a reason to want him dead.

I've enjoyed Kate Flora's Thea Kozak series, and was surprised a new protagonist (in hopefully a new series) is introduced in PLAYING GOD. While the book has an interesting, suspenseful plot and is well-paced, where it really impresses is in the characterization. St Joe Burgess is a haunted cop. He lives for his job, and feel his turmoil and frustration as he investigates this case. Not many characters are as multi-layered and fleshed out as Joe Burgess "the meanest cop in Portland". The character alone made this book well worth reading. I hope there are many more to come.

On a wintry night in Portland, Maine, patrol officer Remy Aucoin discovers the corpse of a man sitting in his Mercedes. Detective Joe Burgess heads the investigation into the murder of prominent radiologist Dr. Steven Pleasant, who was known for entertaining call girls in his car.

The crime scene makes it appear that a hooker, angered with her John, committed the homicide by shoving a steel rod down his throat. Joe and his team, Terry Kyle and Stan Perry, begin to investigate seeking the motive. They talk with the spouse, who knew her husband went elsewhere for his needs and allegedly wanted him dead. That is followed up with other family members who also hated Steven. The cops visit his medical partners and his helpers who are reticent about the deceased, but inadvertently describe the victim as an ambitious person coveting fast money. Finally they talk with hookers who knew the doctor intimately. Soon they uncover inconclusive evidence that Dr. Pleasant was selling Oxycontin while a nurse quietly claims he alienated patients. The potential list of people with a motive, means, and opportunity keeps growing as the victim was not a pleasant person to work with.

This is an interesting police procedural starring the so called "meanest" cop in Maine, but readers will see that no nonsense Joe is actually a caring person who does not abide with official stupidity. The story line is fast-paced (part of the reason is to stay warm while at an outdoor crime scene in winter) as the number of people with a motive mounts exponentially with every subgroup that were part of the unpleasant Steven's circle. Leaving Thea Kozak to thaw out, Kate Flora provides readers with an entertaining hard boiled murder mystery.

Harriet Klausner