Customer Reviews

Runoff (August Riordan)

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

 

 

In the guise of a fast-paced, entertaining and fun murder mystery, author Mark Coggins offers insight into the pitfalls of electronic voting. Rigging an election might be easier today than it was in the days of paper ballots. Also, August Riordan is one smart-mouthed private detective. His sarcastic remarks had me chortling and laughing from beginning to end.

Coggins has hit yet another one out of the ballpark. August Riordan is back, in all his raw, macho and endearing glory, and this time we get to enter the exciting, glamorous and mysterious world of Chinatown-in that beautiful city by the Bay. Runoff has it all---plot, unforgettable characters, suspense, San Fran locales, and romance. August is hired by the "Dragon Lady" (one amazing and complex character, who just happens to have a beautiful daughter) to investigate a possible fixed election...which opens up new worlds of danger and intrigue for Riordan and for us. I did not want this book to end, but alas it did ...so now I must wait once again for Coggins' next thriller. Don't miss Runoff...it's a winner!

Runoff is as fun and entertaining as the first three novels in the August Riordan series.

The story is packed with action, intrigue, romance, countless twists and features a hero who is straight forward and flawed, but always engaging. The author also gives the reader a feeling for the color and ambiance of San Francisco neighborhoods that are off the beaten track.

The plot revolves around the important topic of election integrity and details many of the concerns about electronic voting machines and how the election process might be manipulated by special interests.

Highly recommended.

I just finished Runoff and was really sorry to reach the last page. I love the SF locales and photos, but mainly somehow Coggins is able to keep the suspense going right to the end, and yet also manage to have me laughing out loud. Looking forward to Riordan's next case.

Those of us who were anxiously awaiting the latest August Riordan Mystery will be thrilled with the recent publication of Runoff. All the characteristic Coggins trademarks are present again: well-crafted writing, sparkling and witty dialog, compelling characters and off-the-beaten-path San Francisco locales. August Riordan and his colorful colleague Chris Duckworth become enmeshed in perhaps their most intricate, and deadly, case of all. The gripping plot unfurls, swirls, and resolves brilliantly. The term "page-turner" barely does justice to this gem of a story.

If you love San Francisco you'll love August Riordan, PI, jazz bass player and wisecracker.
He clearly knows his way around the highways, byways and alleyways of the Bay Area and is willing
to take you along for the ride. If you come to town you might want to get out a map (or app) and
following along as August investigates a possible rigged election.

Coggins lively and accurate descriptions lead you through the gate to Chinatown and to the basement
of City hall with a detour along the Barbary Coast. He complements these with evocative black and white
pictures next to clever chapter titles such as "The Midnight Ride of John Deere," Election Fraud for Dummies," and "A Burrito for Your Thoughts."

For this adventure the intrepid PI passes himself off as a reporter for the Chinese Free Press (his articles are translated) and his posse includes an ex-girlfriend secretary, and a singing drag queen hacker. The tongue-in-cheek humor in no way interferes with the serious and fast-paced plot developments. He even throws in a little local history.

August Riordan has now appeared in four novels in this series, and if Runoff is any indication, it is a wonder how he's made it this far. In the space of 260 pages, he is knifed, shot, hit with a meat cleaver down to the bone, jumps off roofs, among other hazards, and just goes on as if nothing had happened. But, I guess, all that goes with the territory of a PI. August also plays bass in a jazz quartet (also not so unusual; after all, Sherlock Holmes played the violin).

With nothing to do, August stakes out bank ATMs which are being hijacked, in an attempt to capture the thief and collect a posted reward. Then he is retained by the Dragon Lady, a rich Chinese woman with a finger in a lot of pots, including an art gallery and a newspaper, among other things. She has a beautiful daughter who provides an interesting diversion. August is asked to investigate the possibility that a Mayoral election was "fixed," causing the Chinese candidate to come in third. The two leading candidates, supported by opposing forces, then are in a runoff to take place in just a few days.

The assignment leads August and his sidekick in myriad directions and dangers. Various possibilities surround a new touch voting-screen system used for the first time in the City by the Sea. The novel is written in the customary attributes of the genre--the hard-boiled PI, the wisecracks, some sex and a twisting plot. Descriptions of San Francisco are excellent, and the writing is in keeping with the subject, including technical descriptions of the voting system.