Customer Reviews

Sock Monkey Blues

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book was a delightful read in every way. If it isn't a best seller by now, it surely ought to be.

Mr. Robinson writes in the first person, from the perspective of Joe Box, Private Investigator. Joe is a transplanted Kentuckian, a Southern Gentleman of the old school, living and working in Cincinnati. Joe Box is a reluctant hero, a man who uses wry humor and his granny's old time wisdom to make sense out of a life gone dead some time ago. That and his taste for Cutty Sark is all that gets him through each empty day.

Early in the book we meet the inhuman nemesis, "Boneless Chuck". Our hero is outgunned, outmanned, and hopelessly trapped by the horrible aforementioned Chuck. Chuck has a taste for blood, for mind and body wrecking torture. Chuck likes to hurt, maim, and kill. It's at the point where Joe waits helpless for his life to end that we learn what got him into this predicament.

...

At first I expected this to be a humourous, tongue-in-cheek book with a Thomas Magnum, P.I.-type hero. I was wrong. The author DOES write with self-effacing humor and pulls it off effectively. But I was not prepared for his range, his ability to set a mood, for the sorrow that Joe Box wasted half his life reliving. And I learned that the title I thought so humorous represents a heart breaking episode in Joe's past - a revelation that caught me quite off guard.

John Laurence Robinson writes in a fresh style, with a distinctive "voice". He and Sock Monkey Blues are one of a kind. If the reading public is fortunate, he will follow this book with another, very soon.

I gotta tell ya, I'm not a Mike Hammer fan. Opening a book with a prologue often annoys me, even if shrieking bullets and first person narrative ARE outstanding hooks...when well done.

Be warned: this tale is done well. Fast paced, well balanced, and completely absorbing, this hard-boiled detective's confrontation with questions of faith, while racing to save the girl, (what else?), challenges every reader without detracting from the entertainment. And when Boneless Chuck grins, you really can feel the ice pierce your heart.

The good news is that this is the first book in a series. Don't be surprised if Joe Box becomes the new icon in Christian fiction.

Hello. I've since gotten the rights back to this book, and soon plan to have it up on Kindle (and for a whole lot less than fifty bucks! *G*)

Although I don't usually read mysteries, the favorable reviews grabbed my interest. I also had to find out what a Sock Monkey was.

I am glad that I took the time to read this one. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved the character, Joe Box. As he found himself in one mess after another, his dry wit and sarcastic sense of humor had me laughing many times. Yet, there was a vulnerable side to Joe that just made him loveable.

While reading this book, I kept thinking that it would make a great movie. I highly recommend this book. It has plenty of mystery and suspense to keep you guessing, with just the right touch of humor added in.

This one is well worth the time and money.

I am a book snob. Name authors only is my rule. But through a strange series of events I found myself reading Sock Monkey Blues. This author packs a mighty wallop with a dynamite story line AND excellent writing style. There is action, intrigue, humor, and horror, all wrapped up into this one fine package.
No other bad guy I recall comes close to the horrible Boneless Chuck. I highly recommend this book.

Joe Box is an enigma. Living life as a hard-drinking, hard-thinking detective in Cincinnati, he could almost be a stereotypical figure. But beneath his rough and tumble surface lies a conflicted man who struggles to live by his own code. Originally from Kentucky, he is a throwback to the quintessential "Southern Gentleman." Armed with the wisdom of his departed grandmother echoing in his psyche and his gun securely strapped to his body, he thinks he is ready for anything. However, when he is asked to take on the case of an industrialist's missing daughter, neither his Grandma nor his gun can help him this time. Something else is lurking in the shadows - something Joe has never faced before. Something he knows he isn't equipped to face and walk away from alive. The missing girl is being held prisoner by a madman with a plan that is fueled by the fires of hell itself. Joe Box must seek help from above, but to do that, first he must face his greatest fear - himself.

SOCK MONKEY BLUES is a surprising novel. I fell in love with it from the first page. I was delighted with its humor, engrossed in its terrifying plot, inspired by its portrayal of faith, and brought to tears through its raw and emotional look into the soul of Joe Box. The writing is deftly delivered by author John Laurence Robinson, who has the ability to bring his story and characters to life in a unique and powerful way.

One of the best novels I've ever had the privilege to read, SOCK MONKEY BLUES rates my very highest recommendation. I can hardly wait for the next one.

Not an avid reader of detective or Christian books, I yet thoroughly enjoyed this one. A powerful mix of God and grit, with a terse wit and suspenseful plot that keeps you turning the pages to see how the believable and likeable Joe Box triumphs over evil.

As a rule I do not read detective novels, but if most of them are anywhere near as good as Sock Monkey Blues perhaps I have been missing out. This is a novel with a hard-boiled but very honest hero. Most detective novels I've read have rather one-dimensional heroes, but Sock Monkey takes the time to develop its characters without slowing the pace and without turning into "the amazing 900-page novel." I love the fact that this is more a story of a man than a story about a story. I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment. Judging by his first book, I have a feeling that this author could write just about anything and I would be the first in line to read it. John Robinson has brought me into the fold of detective novel junkies.