"I have always been the pal of easy money. What some people call temptation, I call opportunity." So begins cult character Victor Plotz--without whom, says The New York Times Book Review, "the world would be a much stuffier place." Life is good, and love is in the air, for Vic and for Charlie Bradshaw, the sharp-eyed, crumpled ex-cop who's as straight--relatively--as Vic is devious. But Vic wants it to be better, and he leaps at two thousand bucks to collect a mystery suitcase in Montreal. That's when the trouble begins, with an offbeat cast that includes a black-belted youth with lousy karma, a shady operator and his sloppy son, the son's stripper Amazon girlfriend who dumps him for a jockey, and Rosemary the queen of softness, Vic's current squeeze. Saratoga Strongbox sets Charlie on the trail of every deadly sin from dirty money to outright murder. Just in time for racing season and summer gift-giving, this is "jaunty and colorful, good tongue-in-cheek fun" (The Boston Sunday Globe).
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Stephen Dobyns is nothing if not prolific: Saratoga Strongbox is his 13th novel in 12 years, and the 10th in his acclaimed Charlie Bradshaw series. His new novel sets Charlie and his sidekick, Victor Plotz, on the trail of dirty money when Victor agrees to collect a suspicious suitcase in Montreal for old man Weber. Unfortunately, when Victor decides to farm the job out to Eddie Gillespie, a bumbling black belt with an overactive conscience, he's quickly embroiled in a fiasco involving kneecapping thugs, an Amazonian snake-wielding stripper, and an overly greedy heir to a money-laundering fortune. Even more anxiety-provoking are Victor's fears that his girlfriend Rosemary, "the Queen of Softness," has been stepping out with a mysterious Dodge-driving Lothario. Make no mistake, Victor and his reactions are the stars of this novel; plot comes a distant--but still enjoyable--second. Victor might best be thought of as Thoreau meets Groucho Marx meets just about any character you can think of from a Samuel Beckett play. An inveterate student of the human condition with a penchant for observing and participating in the myriad absurdities of life, Victor feels his wallet throb whenever anyone mentions a quick buck.
The New York Times Book Review has noted that "Dobyns is every bit as good a writer as Dick Francis." Wrong. When it comes to dialogue and characterization, Dobyns is by far Francis's superior. Dobyns's sardonic humor is ever-present, percolating just under the surface or erupting into dead-on descriptions of the motley characters who populate his novels. Saratoga Strongbox gives the reader a thoroughly rousing ride to the wire. --Kelly Flynn
From Publishers Weekly
The versatile and prolific Dobyns's solidly entertaining Charlie Bradshaw mystery series reaches its 10th volume (Saratoga Fleshpot, 1995, etc.) in this amusing and farcical caper. As usual, Vic Plotz, friend of the Saratoga PI and always on the lookout for an easy buck, assumes the burden of narrating this tale, in which he gets himself and Charlie into a fine mess involving an ambitious mobster, an old-time money man and his bumbling, love-struck son, a couple of deliciously evil muscle men and a stripper who wears nothing but a snake. When Felix Weber approaches Vic with an opportunity to earn an easy $2000 (all he has to do is pick up a package in Montreal), Vic can't resist, even though he knows he can't do it. But he does know someone who can and willAfor only $1000, leaving Vic with $1000 for doing nothing. Instead, this little scam sets off a ludicrous and hilarious chain of events that ensnarls Vic and Charlie in desperate troubles. The answer to their problems lies in a locked strongbox that seemingly holds the key to everyone else's problems as well. A climactic game of "hot potato" engineered by Charlie provides a wonderful capstone to this slapstick tale.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
What happened to Charlie?,
By lefever@mindspring.com (Central New York) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Saratoga Strongbox: A Charlie Bradshaw Mystery (Hardcover)
I have read all the "Charlie Bradshaw" mysteries. I feel that the later books are entirely too frivolous with Victor as the main character and narrator. They have a very different feel and it's not one that I like. When Charlie was the star of his own books and Victor his side-kick, the amount of humor was just right. Now the books are just too goofy!
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cute Mystery with Some Local Color,
By
This review is from: Saratoga Strongbox: A Charlie Bradshaw Mystery Starring Victor Plotz (Racetrack Mystery Series) (Paperback)
I bought this book a while back and was happy to come across it. The mystery is light, nothing too scary or deadly, but it is entertaining. I am from the Saratoga Springs area, so it was nice to read about some references to the city and the surrounding areas in the capital region. Overall It's a fun book. I have yet to read the other mysteries in the series but I have a feeling I will enjoy them.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Vintage Dobyns, but Bring back Charlie Bradshaw!,
By
This review is from: Saratoga Strongbox: A Charlie Bradshaw Mystery (Hardcover)
For a transplanted Easterner, this book is again like a family reunion.But please Stephen, bring back the narrative from Charlies point of view. Victor gets a little boring after a while.
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