Customer Reviews

Short Squeeze: A Mystery

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In the Hamptons, widower Sergey Pontecello demands his sister-in-law Eunice Wolsonowicz and her retinue (daughter Wendy and adopted son Fuzzy) leave his home. Eunice refuses. Sergey turns to his lawyer Jackie Swaitkowski to evict the unwanted "guests".

Soon afterward, Sergey is found battered to death in Sagaponack. Southampton Town cop Joe Sullivan tells Jackie her client had her card and a nipple on him; the nipple belonged to the late scuba shop bookkeeper Edna Jackery whose body parts are everywhere except inside her coffin. Unable to remain patient while the cops investigate and feeling she owes Sergey as she blew away his concerns the night before his death, Jackie investigates only to find a family so blighted she concludes anyone of them could be the culprit.

Using a role reversal with Jackie starring and Sam Acquillo playing the second banana minor role as opposed to the lead (see Hard Stop and Head Wounds), Short Squeeze is an entertaining whodunit as the lawyer shows her moxie searching for the killer. Filled with body humor and a horde of miscreants whose family fell out of the tree onto their heads, the story line is fast-paced, but owned by Swaitkowski who proves she can star in a fun investigative mystery.

Harriet Klausner

Chris Knopf starts off in a different direction with a new lead character - female Long Island attorney Jackie Swaitkowski. For those who may be mourning the absence of Sam, who is the lead in Knopf's earlier mysteries, fear not. He makes for a charming supporting character here, as Jackie's friend and ally. Jackie is a real pistol - funny, flawed and refreshingly original. She probably drinks and smokes pot a little too much more than is good for her, but a girl's gotta have some fun, right? The plot is a doozy - her new client is killed shortly after he hires her for what appears to be a fairly straightforward family estate issue. Of course it's anything but - and the Pandora's Box that Jackie opens is filled with nasty surprises. The client's various family members are all dysfunctional, deceitful and possibly very dangerous. As Jackie wrangles with getting to the bottom of this mess, she is aided by her former and possibly current boyfriend Harry, a unique character in his own right.

The author does an amazingly realistic job of getting inside his leading lady's head which is no small feat. Add to that a brisk and engaging plot, vivid Long Island setting, razor sharp dialogue and it looks like he's got another winner on his hands. I can only hope Jackie has many more adventures to come!

I have bought and read every one of Chris Knopf's works and wish there were many, many more. He is on my small list of authors whose works I simply buy and read, rather than troubling with reviews and ratings. As I emailed Mr. Knopf after finishing his most recent book, "I love [his] work!"

I have read his 4 Sam Aquillo books and now the Jacki Swatkowski, I just love his writing. His plotting, story line are all great. He really crafts a great read. I look forward to his new book soon to be released, It will be a different "stand alone" novel with the Jersey shore as the background. I also am looking forward to reading more about Sam and Jacki!

Knoph's lawyer-detective is funny, irreverent, quirky - enough reason to read this book. Add in a good mystery, terrific scenes set in the Hamptons, a cast of complex but approachable outsiders and you'll enjoy every page.