Customer Reviews

TEQUILA MOCKINGBIRD (Fey Croaker Novels)

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

 

 

Bishop's value has writier has hit the bull's eye with this one. As always, he speaks the truth about fiction. A great work by L.A.'s finest.

A few years ago in the mining town of Grass Valley, CA, I came across a wrinkled copy of Bishop's "Citadel Run" and thought it an interesting novel with some characters that could have received more fleshing out -- but all in all an "interesting read."

Yeah. Real easy for me to put it in the "interesting read" category. Not knowing, of course, the probable years of rejections, agony, re-writing, editorial snippings, and general crap that Bishop had to endure just to get his first novel into print.

Caught my eye: his background. He'd been there. I've been there. Still am there, so to speak. Verisimilitude. I look for it, bond with it. Joseph Wambaugh broke the barrier and God bless him for it. Bishop continues. God bless him, and more cheques forthcoming for you in your future, Mr. Bishop.

This current novel? Hardback, and about time. Bishop has come into his own with this novel and I can only support his cast and background. I very much enjoy his central character, Fey Croaker (the last name: a tad hard to take, but on the other hand, tongue firmly, for a second, planted in cheek. . .) and the support characters he has designed. The plot? I can more than identify with trying to design an ingenious plot. It takes quite some time, writing, re-writing, more re-writing and then, for those who just tuned in, more re-writing. My hat is off to you, Mr. Bishop.

I am a homicide investigator with a larger California agency. I, therefore, respect those who write from a position of experience. I will not denigrate the writings of, for example, John Sandford (nee John Camp) or Michael Connelly -- both most EXCELLENT authors. I continously purchase and WILL purchase any further books these two publish -- not to mention anything by James Ellroy, simply for the black torture of his soul and the ragged tips of his fingers on a keyboard.

But for Bishop, Wambaugh, Petievich (Gerald Petievich, where the HELL are you!?), I have the utmost respect. I know the! y know the dues they have paid, the price in terms of physical and, mostly, mental writhings. When they sleep at night, I know that, sometimes, yes sometimes, whether they admit or not, a case, a time, a date, a smell, a scene like a poor photograph, will come cascading back.

More power to you, Paul Bishop. I have not, but would, like to meet you. I have designs on the writing world as well -- in my own fevered dreams. They are restless amorphic things which, quite frankly, appear to have plans of never leaving me alone. There is, for me, then, the only option of putting them down on paper.

Keep writing, Mr. Bishop. You and only you know why, ultimately, you must continue.

There are a lot of surprises in Tequila Mockingbird. Just when I'd settle in to decide where the plot was going, off it would go in an unexpected direction. This was a very good read that started off with April Waverley, pregnant and distraught, shooting her husband, Detective Alex Waverly, as he sat in his automobile outside the West L.A. police station. This seems straightforward enough, wouldn't you say? But it's not. And the reason it's not you'll have to find out for yourself when you read the book because I'm not about to give away the first surprise! Even though it was told right out in the blurb in Mystery Writers Guild, in which this book is an "Editor's Choice" selection. One of the best parts about reading this well-plotted, well-written, police procedural is knowing that Paul Bishop has spent 20 years with the L.A. Police department, so he knows whereof he speaks. The reader is there, following the subsequent, ever more complicated investigation, wherever it leads, which is into some unexpected locations. Fey Croaker is the name of Paul Bishop's LAPD homicide unit supervisor. As far as I'm concerned a writer can write in any kind of viewpoint he or she wants to. But there's always a problem when you try to write a strong woman, or a sensitive man, whether you are of the same gender or not. How far do you go? I felt Fey Croaker started out just right. Later, I felt some of her actions and reactions were more "manly" than "womanly." She takes a beating like a man, for example. In my opinion, and having known several women this applied to, the problem with being a woman taking over what has traditionally been a man's job is that the woman has to become more like a man in her actions and reactions. Also in my opinion, then, Paul got Fey exactly right! If Fey were to keep on acting and reacting in a "womanly" way, not being quite as tough as a woman would be expected to be in that situation --then she'd seem too "womanly" for the job. It's a dilemma that affects a woman writing in a man's viewpoint also. How sensitive can a guy get before being perceived by some readers as more "feminine" than "masculine?" I think the best any of us can do when writing in the viewpoint of a gender not our own is to strive to portray the character as honestly as we can and hope that at least some readers are going to perceive the character the way we did. stores. There's no one typical male or typical female out there. So I'm not being critical of the way Paul Bishop developed Fey Croaker. I think she's a strong character in a strong story. But I do think it's a difficult task to convince readers that a woman can be this strong--or that a man can be as sensitive as I sometimes make one. I liked that Fey grabbed her shoulder holster and ran out and took control of the situation, and then did the "womanly" thing by putting her arms around the woman who had shot her husband. I think this is the sort of sensible response a woman needs to bring to a job like Fey's. But it sure is a hard line to draw. All in all, I thought Paul drew the line well. I'd classify Tequila Mockingbird as a suspense story--the bad guys are known pretty early, it's a case of whether or not Fey can prevent them from winning, rather than any mystery about who is involved. I enjoyed it. Meg Chittenden

Detective Fey Croaker is the supervisor of the West Los Angeles Police precinct homicide unit. Fey is a tough person, who worked her way up the hard way and cares more about the troubled department than she prefers to admit. When a pregnant April Waverly shoots and kills her spouse Alex at point blank range in front of the precinct building, Fey thinks she has an open and shut case of homicide. Fey should know better because the coroner reports that the victim was dead from an overdose of digitalis even before being shot.

The Chief of Police informs Fey that he wants her to personally follow the case wherever it leads, no matter who is involved. Fey assumes that this means that the murderer might be a fellow officer since Alex was working in the prestigious ARD (anti-terrorist) Division, a top secret organization that hides everything from outsides including fellow police officers not assigned to the unit. It is common knowledge that the head of the unit covets the police chief's job. However, Fey has no inclination how much inter-departmental corruption will surface, nor how much danger she has placed herself and others in from forces south of the border and within the LAPD.

Although this reviewer has never previously read a Paul Bishop novel before this one, after perusing TEQUILLA MOCKINGBIRD, will run to the nearest used bookstore to pick up the two other Fay Croaker books. This hard boiled detective series is gritty, realistic, believable, and just fun to read. The novel pulls the reader into the compelling story line and refuses to release him/her until the last action-packed page is completed. The interactions of the characters, especially within Fay's unit, humanize the book, thereby, painting a horrifyingly realistic picture of corruption. It will be difficult waiting for the next installment in this suspense-laden police procedural series, though I suspect reading the previous two novels will help.

Harriet Klausner

Being a Southern California-based mystery writer, I recently sat beside Paul Bishop during the first Men of Mystery Day in Orange County. During that hour or so, one person after another asked Mr. Bishop to sign TEQUILA MOCKINGBIRD, most praising the title. The book does have a great title, but it is also a fine mystery. The plot involves the murder of a member of LAPD's anti-terrorism unit, and Fey Croaker's search for the truth. The plot takes many unexpected twists and turns, and soon Fey is struggling to protect Los Angeles from an international terrorist attack. Paul Bishop is a pro, and TEQUILA MOCKINGBIRD is a top-notch book. There is much to savor in TEQUILA MOCKINGBIRD in addition to its clever title.

A lot of good things can be said about `Tequila Mockingbird.' As I read the book, the characters and stories struck me as being a somewhat original twist on a very old story. Granted, its hard to write an original police procedural, and it was not Paul Bishop's intent to do so. But while I was reading this book, something kept nagging at the back of my mind that was bothersome. It was not until I was just about done and reading the Sunday New York Times that an article suddenly made it clear as to what it was that I found somewhat bothersome about the book. In the Times, I ran across an article on day times soaps. It was a look back at the decades of `General Hospital' and all of the `highlights' plot wise during its time. And it struck me that the histrionics going on here in `Tequila Mockingbird' were not in the vein of the hardboiled classics from Hammett and Chandler to Leonard and Elroy. Instead Bishop seems to have based the interactions of his characters and the squirming plot line of the story on day time soap operas. And for myself, that was kind of bothersome. The intensity is not here in the book, instead it is sort of like a day time confessional.

All of that aside, I did like the story. It is the first Bishop book that I have read. I think that it might have made an enormous difference if I had read the earlier books, so I would say not to start with this one if you have not read the author before. Time after time Bishop introduced characters and plot threads that seemed to have started long before the first page here and I felt a little out of the loop.

Very talented writer. Only wish Mr. Bishop could make Det. Crocker and her wolfpack both live up to what he claimed they should be. This problem continuously nagging behind my neck when I read "T.M." Bishop didn't give too much credit to make Crocker's team members look quite resourceful, capable and iniative enough, always one step behind like closing the stable after the horses run off, always one step behind. Neither making partners as lovers was quite a good arrangement. But in general, wonderful story, nicely twisted plot, fluent dialogue, and with down-to-earth people doing The Job.

This book starts off with a good hook, but then the story starts to drag. I really tried to like these characters, but they just seemed a little flat. A complex plot flies off in too many directions. If you are into police procedure and conspiracy, this one might appeal to you, but I found it to be rather tedious.

I thought the writing was cliche-ridden and the characters were one-dimensional. I suggest Mr. Bishop read some Ridley Pearson or James Lee Burke to see how characters should be drawn. I will admit the plot idea was pretty good.