Anonymous Rex [Paperback]

Eric Garcia (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 6, 2001

"What would the world be like if dinosaurs hadn't gone extinct? As this very funny book shows, for one thing, L.A. would be even weirder than it is now." -Dave Barry

"A detective thriller featuring a velociraptor PI and a secret society of dinosaurs disguised as humans?... Awesomely funny ....Vincent Rubio has a washed-up Los Angeles detective agency, lousy credit, and a dead partner-on top of an addiction to basil and a hard time keeping his tail tucked away in his latex human suit. A routine arson investigation promises to get him back on his (clawed) feet, until the case sends him to New York, the scene of his partner's suspicious death by runaway taxi.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Audacious and imaginative...you're going to be dazzled by Garcia's energy and chutzpah. (Publishers Weekly (starred review)) -- Publishers Weekly

Witty, fast-paced detective work makes for a good mystery...contains all the elements of a cult classic. Grade: A. -- Entertainment Weekly

[His] descriptions are delicious...inventive and imaginative...with charm, sly humor and a terrific narrative pace. -- USA Today

About the Author

Eric Garcia is originally from Miami> He attended Cornell University and the University of Southern California, where he majored in creative writing and film. He is the author of the upcoming Casual Rex.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Trade (March 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425178218
• ISBN-13: 978-0425178218
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,222,800 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining story, January 14, 2007

By 

K. Sozaeva "Obsessive bibliophile" (Athens, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anonymous Rex (Paperback)

This book is the first book in the Dinosaur Mafia series, in terms of publication date, but the 2nd one if you take the events of the books chronologically. The truly amazing thing about these books - in which the dinosaurs have NOT gone extinct, at least not all of them, but have evolved to a smaller size and live side-by-side with humans - with the help of a lot of latex, glue and straps to disguise them - is that while you are reading them you just go with it, because it is written so convincingly. This story is mostly about Vincent Rubio, a detective and the main character of all the Dinosaur Mafia books. Rubio's partner and mentor Watson has been killed - supposedly in a hit-and-run by a taxi in New York while taking part in a mysterious investigation. Rubio has gone on a serious bender with the basil (dinosaurs can't get drunk by drinking alcohol - their recreation of choice is with herbs, which get them "high") and is refusing to buy the story about what happened with Watson and as a result has just about burned all his bridges and lost most of his business. Things are looking really bleak when he gets thrown a bone by one of the big companies in town - which seems to lead right back to the case that Watson was investigating when he was killed. Although this story is a bit dark, it provides quite a number of laugh-out-loud moments as well. At its base, this story is a well crafted detective yarn. See Anonymous Rex/Casual Rex omnibus for my review of both books.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Premise, Good PI Mystery, March 30, 2004

By 

Joshua Koppel (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Anonymous Rex (Paperback)

The premise is simple. Dinosaurs did not die out 65-million years ago. They continued to evolve and become more intelligent (as well as smaller). About 1 in 20 people is actually a dinosaur in disguise. Vincent Rubio, a private investigator almost at the end of his rope is a velociraptor.

Just as everything is at its worst for Vincent, a large PI firm offers him a simple insurance case; check if a nightclub fire was natural or planned. But Vincent doesn't like taking the easy way out. So when some clues point towards similar ground to the case that caused him all of his trouble, Vincent has to plunge forward.

The case is an interesting one involving the death of a very rich dinosaur, the death of Vincent's partner, and more infidelities than you can wag a tale at. This is all told in a classic hard-boiled detective tale. Fans of Marlowe or Spillane will love the mystery.

Garcia does a very good job of creating a plausible world but does not hit the reader over the head with the details. The details leak out in small amounts as they are necessary. But these details are not held as a sudden revelation to solve the mystery.

I really enjoyed this one and look forward to the further, and previous, adventures of velociraptor PI Vincent Rubio.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great idea, perfectly executed, September 30, 2006

By 

Scott George (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Anonymous Rex (Paperback)

I read this book some time ago, but I am backfilling some of my reviews.

Some books I buy based on the dust cover notes. This was one of those books. I am normally not much of a reader of detective novels unless they are very good. But the idea of a detective who was actually a dinosaur living disguised as a human was too intriguing to put down.

I ended up loving it. Garcia gets it just right. He captures the tone of classic detective novels perfectly, but with tongue-in-cheek. Very few books make me laugh out loud, but this one did. He creates an intricate backstory of the secret world of dinosaurs that you really want to believe in. But it is more than just a gimmick. Garcia also has a suspenseful detective story woven in. I highly recommend this book to anyone whether they like the detective genre or not. I believe Eric Garcia will go on to great things beyond the dinosaurs.