Customer Reviews

Publish and Perish (Ben Reese Mysteries, No. 1)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ben Reese is my kind of character and Sally Wright is my kind of author. This book was a true mystery - you know the kind, the one that actually relies on the plot and clues to keep it going as opposed to the ones that try to thrill and scare you simply with blood and then all of the sudden they discover the murderer and it's someone you never heard of before?

Publish and Perish was a good book. Ms. Wright introduced us to a character that we could like and investigate the clues with and we knew was going to be back to visit (hey, the author was the one who sub-titled the book Ben Reese Series - book 1).

All in all, the plot was solid as was the writing and there were enough twists and turns to keep me intrigued. The only reason I gave it four stars was the ending - it did just that - end. It seemed as tho my book was missing a few pages because it seemed to end mid-sentence which was the only thing I found wrong with this book.

Other reviewers have denigrated Wright's writing. It's true: If you're a fan of the modern, hard-hitting, and action-packed mysteries that now abound, this may not be the series for you.

Whereas many of the newer writers resort to Hollywood-style scenes and cardboard characters, Sally Wright turns her eye to the struggles of the human soul. She writes about believable characters, taking us into their thoughts and motivations with skill. The dialogue is sharp and attuned to its setting and era; the atmosphere is palpable; the faith issues are real, yet never preachy.

Okay, I'll admit that the book did not "grab" me. It didn't take off like a rocket, with this reader hanging on for dear life. It did draw me in, however. I found myself looking forward to these treasured forays into the world of academia. I was left hoping for more insight into the past and future of dear Ben Reese.

Wright's stories require investment. For those so inclined, it's an investment worth making.

One of the best new mystery series out there. A must read for fans of mysteries! It seems that most of the 'mysteries' on the market today rely heavily on sex, blood, and gore, to keep the pages turning, rather than on the mystery itself. This one, however, doesn't--the mystery and the characters involved in the mystery are the central part of the book. It's a refreshing read.

To my mind there are two kinds of mystery writers. Those who like characters, plot, details, language, science, society, etc. And those who write a book simply to keep the reader turning pages in suspense, waiting to find out whodunnit. Sally is of the first type (not that I was inclined to put the book down as the plot developed). Her characters are round, her plot is intriguing, her prose is enjoyable to read. She is also a classic mystery writer in that she gives the reader the clues so they can solve the mystery along with (or possibly before) the hero does. I found myself going back and rereading passages for clues that had escaped me the first time I had read them.

From an interview I read, I know that Ms. Wright is a Christian. This book, however, is not a tract or simple morality play. I am a Christian, and I frequently hesitate to buy books by many Christian authors precisely because they often turn out to be not much more than tracts or morality plays. Ms. Wright is a good writer AND a Christian: her faith necessarily informs her vision as an author. But Ms. Wright also knows that novels are STORIES that are meant to delight and inform; Ms. Wright doesn't use her novel as a pulpit. I'm sure, however, that some people will find it offensive that she allows Christian characters into the world of novel, and that she allows them to be real, developed and "human." Her non-Christian characters are real, developed and "human" as well, but non-Christian characters don't seem to offend so many sensibilities these days (and that is a sad commentary on modern sensibilities!).

Her book was a delightful, engaging, informative novel. I know more about the universe after having read it. I "met" people that were real and interesting. I am a richer person for having read her book, and that is the way I ought to feel after reading a book.

I will be purchasing more by this author!

Setting her story in 1960, Wright explores the ethical obligations of college faculty with regard to each other and to students. To post-1970's students, it will seem strange, indeed, to learn that in that period, consensual sexual interplay could be grounds for summary dismissal from the College. On the other hand, the bitterness toward a faculty member or Administrator by others within the same Community, who are blocked in their aspirations by too "fussy" a definition of performance standards is, as it has always been, part of the Academic situation.
It is into this background, that Wright places her hero, a wounded special services soldier, who has just heard of the death of his closest friends death.
The background, though treated with brevity, gives to the story an appealing setting. The plot line, sometimes overburdened, that is, too weak to justify actions related to it, mostly is serviceable, The characters, sketchily delineated, still are sufficiently human for us to identify them as recognizable people. The best friend, while having a kind heart, is seen to be locked into a rigid definition of his "duties" regardless of the misery he causes. Whether we will be led by the author to sympathize with him in death is an open question.
All in all, a light read which is successful as a story, for some it will not be successful as a moral tract.

First Sentence: It was two in the morning in Oxfordshire, England, when the call came through from America that woke Clarence Watson, the porter at Deniston Hall.

WWII Army commando and intelligence officer veteran, Ben Reese is a widower and archivist at a small public college in Ohio. While visiting England, his friend, Richard West, head of the English Department, does of a heart attack. Or did he? After a second death, a robbery and an attempt on his own life, Ben needs to find out who has a secret worth killing for.

Ms. Wright's first book includes a cast of characters, which I liked, and a small portent, not so much. Her writing is filled with wonderful descriptions which both provide the larger sense of place and the small details provide information on the role of an archivist and glimpses into the personalities of the characters. Her observation as to how idiosyncratic habits provide an insight and details of a person's character leads to interesting introspection for the reader.

It is refreshing to have a mystery with an academic setting where the protagonist is actually qualified to investigate a murder. Wright is very good at providing the backstory and complexity for each character, such as the contrast between the face the victim presents to most of the world yet how he really felt and was inside. On the downside is that Ben occasionally seems arrogant and the sheriff, Chester, whom I like as he is described as someone to whom the truth and facts are important, appears stereotypically less educated than the academics.

There is a wonderful quality to Ms. Wright's writing. It is layered, includes passages which caused me to stop and think, and includes wonderful, subtle humor through both the author's voice and in the actual dialogue. She does get just a bit, subtly preachy at times, but not in an annoying way and the occasions are brief.

There was a bit of a problem for me with the plot in that a set up to a major scene was too obvious and the final scene was too long and felt as though it had lost its way. However, taken against the strengths of the book, the strengths win and I'm anxious to read another in this series.

PUBLISH & PERISH (Acad/Trad Mys-Ben Reese-Ohio-Cont) - Good
Wright, Sally S. - 1st in series
Multnomah, ©1997, US Trade, ISBN: 1576730670

This was an exciting read. I just could not put it down. Ms Wright did a marvelous job of creating the character of Ben Reese. He is the kind of man I would like to know. He has high ideals and a brilliant mind. I am anxious to read more of this series.

Sally Wright's Publish and Perish is the first in the Ben Reese mystery series, and is a book any lover of well written mysteries should purchase. I emphasize "well written;" if you're a fan of over-hyped Hollywood action movies and graphic (and lurid) mystery novels, you probably wouldn't appreciate the beauty of this book. However, if you're a fan of such mystery writers as Georges Simenon (the Inspector Maigret series) and P. D. James (the Inspector Dalgleish series), buy this book and settle back for an enjoyable time. Well crafted characters, a hint of mystery (a professor with a shadowy-but-heroic past in the OSS, precursor to the CIA, during World War II), and a steadily quickening pace to a surprise ending, make this a first-rate book.

Exquisitely written with every detail in the right place. Ben Reese is a hero you love meeting on the pages of the book, but he doesn't stay there, he's far too real for that. An intellectual scholar with the physical abilities of a commando fighter, Ben is still a very human man with longings and vulnerabilities. Add to that clever plotting by a villain that calls forth all of Ben's skills and settings so well-developed you can live in them.

Publish and Perish has all the basic elements of a good mystery and the setting has some appeal, but this story turned out to be rather flat. The characters are developed reasonably well, but the story line is pretty thin. The only real action or suspense occurs right at the end and only when the murderer is uncovered and confronted by the protagonist, Ben Reese. Maybe my expectations were too high, or maybe it's because this was the author's first mystery novel, but I found it quite dull and uninspiring. I probably would have put it down and not picked it up again if it had been a longer story. Contrary to another reviewer, I find this author has a long way to go before her mysteries can be likened to those of the greats such as Agatha Christie. Maybe the subsequent stories in the Ben Reese series are much better, but I was disappointed enough by this one that I probably won't be checking out that possibility.