Customer Reviews

South Beach Shakedown: The Diary of Gideon Pike, Library Edition

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The olives are for the pits in this glam slam number by musician turned novelist Don Bruns. Korean born mobster Jimmy Shinn chews green olives and drives an olive Lexus as he puts the squeeze on hapless superstar musician Gideon Pike. When Pike disappears after agreeing to a tell-all book, it's just another of Pike's usual disappearing acts, or so say his lyricist, his lawyer and his business manager. But rock journalist Mick Sever and his stunning ex wife Ginny, fear otherwise, especially after they gain access to Gideon's plush condo and find hints of Pike's anguish in his diaries. It doesn't help matters that Gideon's latest guy friend turns up dead on his yacht and Pike becomes a murder suspect. Mick finds himself on the wrong play list, fending off boats, bullets, bottles and fists. The pursuit of Pike through South Beach bistros, Little Havana and back streets of Coral Gables, Bruns lays Greater Miami bare, likening the sprawl "an aging lady without proper foundation garments." All right! Meanwhile, the hapless Jimmy Shinn, third generation scion of an old school Korean family puts the ultimate squeeze on Pike in a last-ditch effort to please Dad, only to be exposed by one of the little guys he so despises. Bruns serves up each of his novels with a new cocktail; Savor Southbeach Shakedown, I say. Here's a novel that goes down like a cold, sweet drink that fevers the brain while it freezes the gullet.

The character premise, a rock reporter who solves mysteries, is a great concept. The problem is, Mick Sever is not a likeable character. The story itself is halfway decent, but every chapter has Mick Sever reflecting in a loser-like depression all the regrets he has for leaving his perfect ex-wife Ginny. It gets old after a while.

I just recently caught up with Don Bruns and his South Beach series of mysteries involving music columnist Mike Sever. Legendary songwriter Gideon Pike has gone missing. Mike's ex-wife is in the midst of writing Gideon's life story and because Gideon and Mike are longtime friends, Ginny enlists Mike's help to try to find the elusive star.

It soon appears that Mike and Ginny are not the only ones looking for Gideon. Korean mobster Jimmy Shinn is also trying to find Gideon. With untold millions of dollars on the line, whoever finds Gideon first will either save him or kill him.

This fast-paced mystery about the lucrative music industry and South Beach scene ended up being one of those books that keeps one up at night. It is a true page-turner that has all the action, mystery, twists and turns any good mystery should.

Looking forward to more Mike Sever (and Ginny?) mysteries.

>South Beach Shakedown: The Diary of Gideon Pike is a rock-n-roll ride

>through the seamy underbelly of Miami's luxurious neighborhood of the rich and famous. The third book chronicling the misadventures of Mike Sever, music journalist and amateur detective, South Beach Shakedown delivers a gripping tale of devoted friendship, dark secrets and blackmail plots. When Gideon Pike, musical superstar and close friend of Sever goes missing, Sever is put on the trail by his ex-wife, who has been working on Pike's biography. As his story unfolds and the Severs get closer to finding Pike, they are thrust deeper and deeper into a world of ruthless violence, deceit and murder; a world where they may be the next target. Trusted allies quickly turn in to a long line of suspects that will keep you guessing until the very end of this fast-paced thriller.

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I'm a total geek for a good mystery novel. But usually I am let down by either a lack of imagery or an absolute barrage of information that leaves a muddled mess in my mind's eye. Lucky for me, Don Bruns has written an exciting novel in succinct, to-the-point chapters (usually just a few pages long) that also manage to paint vivid pictures of the action and characters involved. Part of it is Bruns usage of actual locations and pop culture references, which really bring the story to life for me. His obvious broad knowledge of the music industry similarly adds to the authenticity of his storytelling. It probably helps that South Beach Shakedown is located in gorgeous Miami, but nonetheless, the story was full of useful details to help me piece the puzzle together, both with clues and images. I really enjoyed this book and am happy to have found the author.

Having read Bruns' past two books about Mike Sever, I was excited that he had written another, South Beach Shakedown. I'm happy to report that it lived up to my expectations and provided a fun, fast and riveting read. I burned through the pages like the scorching Florida heat, surprised by every twist and turn the story threw at me. The end was quite a shocker and not at all what I expected. For me, that's exactly what I look for in a mystery novel: an ending that proves every guess I had wrong. Well done! Looking forward to future installments featuring Mike Sever!