Customer Reviews

Requiem for a Dealer: A Brodie Farrell Mystery (Brodie Farrell Mysteries)

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I agree with the author of the "Ugh" review. What's charming about people who find one another continuously irritating, because they certainly are - and who, to keep the plot going, do dumb, dumber and yet even dumber things?

Being a fan of Dick Francis, I love a good mystery especially if it has to do with horses. This is the first of Ms. Bannister's books I have read, and I'm happy I borrowed it from the library rather than buying it.

First off, as a mystery, this book is awful. I guessed the entire plot a good couple of hundred pages before her characters did, which is not good in any book, let alone a mystery novel. Her characters are either mean, or complete push-overs. This bichromatic view of characters is carried over into many other aspects of the book as well in an annoying black or white rigidity.

Secondly, as a book that deals with horses, Ms. Bannister has some disparaging opinions of both horses and horse-people. At the beginning of chapter 15, she talks about how most horse people are good with horses and bad with people, because they are used to "retaliating" when a horse kicks rather than trying to figure out why it kicked. Then she goes on to say that if you're the type of horse-person that tries to find out why it kicked rather than just immediately punishing the horse (I'm not saying punishment isn't a useful tool, but it needs to be deserved first, and in order to find out if it's deserved, the trainer needs ot look at why the horse kicked), you inevitably let the horse get away with whatever it wants to. This is indicative of a very close-minded, oldworld view of horsemanship, and horse-people in general, and I'm appalled that she would write a fiction work centered around horses and yet have nothing good to say about either them or the people that partner with them.

Brodie Farrell is giving driving lessons to her friend Daniel Hood when a woman in black runs out in front of the car. The mysterious woman disappears and then turns up in the hospital loaded with the new designer drug Scram. Alison Barker claims she knows nothing about it and someone must have given it to her in attempt to kill her. Her father, she claims, did not commit suicide but was murdered. The police are trying to locate the source of the Scram and neutralize the first lab in the country before it spreads. The police dismiss concerns about any danger to Allison, claiming she is not psychologically stable. Their interest in Allison is only as a source to locate the new Scram lab in Dimmock. Brodie and Daniel, however, investigate her claims. The path leads to big money and high stakes equestrian circles --- and danger.

REQUIEM FOR A DEALER resembles a police mystery based on the characters and a slightly hard edge tone. Brodie Farrell, a professional finder and Detective Superintendent Jack Deacon are more seasoned to the hard realities of the crime world than the amateur sleuths found in cozy mysteries. Daniel Hood is a good man, a man of honor, providing a nice contrast to some of the other harder-edged characters. Readers are likely to guess easily the direction in which the investigation heads but may find an unexpected twist or two at the end. The puzzle here lies not so much in who committed the possible crime but how to catch them. The history of the horse business in England intrigues since it varies from the US horse world, although this aspect leaves the reader wishing the author had developed this aspect of her novel more than one paragraph.

While REQUIEM FOR A DEALER may not present a suspenseful race to the identity of the culprit, it provided an entertaining and distracting read. This book would be a good choice for the beach or busy times of the year when one wants to relax with a book but may have to stop and start reading or be distracted. The mystery is easy to follow and remember.

In Dimmock, England, Finder Brodie Farrell provides driving lessons to her friend schoolteacher Daniel Hood. However, they barely are in the car when a girl runs into their vehicle. Half hysterical, she accuses driver Daniel of trying to kill her, which seems odd to Brodie as the pedestrian raced out of nowhere into their car. The girl flees into the night leaving behind two bewildered people.

Brodie mentions this incident to her boyfriend Detective Superintendent Jack Deacon, but he is preoccupied as a new designer drug Scram is inundating Dimmock. He must find the manufacturing plant/lab to shut it down before more deaths occur. His prime concern is to find the Scram factory and stop the drug at its source before more people die. When the girl who hit the car turns up in Dimmock General Hospital from a Scram overdose, Jack visits her to see what she knows. She is Alison Barker, a former show jumper until the death of her father, who allegedly committed suicide but she insists was murdered and that the culprits are coming for her. While Daniel accepts her word Jack thinks she lies; Brodie decides to learn the truth one way or another.

Brodie's sixth mystery is a terrific mystery that focuses on the illegal designer drug industry that makes billions on the backs of teens and young adults. Brodie's investigation is more professional than amateur as her work as a professional finder is similar to that of a private investigator. Jo Bannister provides a delightful mystery enhanced by the romantic triangle.

Harriet Klausner