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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Wild and Crazy Ride, July 14, 2006
Sea Haven, New Jersey, is just as wonderful as it sounds. Located on a small island just off the coast, it is a popular vacation destination with a huge summer population of tourists. In an attempt to help with the summer crowds, the local police hire a bunch of summer cops.
This summer, one of them is Danny Boyle. 24 years old, he's still trying to decide what he wants to be when he grows up. He's partnered with John Ceepak, a retired military policeman who has just gotten back from Iraq.
The partners are just starting their shift when a girl comes running down the street covered in blood. She says her dad was shot on the tilt-a-whirl in the local amusement park. Her father turns out to be billionaire Reginald Hart. Boyle is in over his head, but Ceepak is right in his element. With only the girl as witness, they begin to work hard to find the killer.
Things only get more complicated that night when the girl is kidnapped. The normal July crowds are dropping fast for fear of the maniac on the island. Ceepak takes the case personally and follows every lead to track down the missing girl. Will he be in time?
Every so often, I like to branch out of my cozy sub-genre and experiment with a little darker book. This was one such experimentation, and I enjoyed it. The plot in the first half is fairly straight forward, but the second half begins to take as many twists and turns as the title ride. I found myself working hard to keep up and loving every minute of it. There is one fairly major plot point that wasn't explained to my complete satisfaction, but the story still works.
Despite the fact that Doyle narrates the story, Ceepak is our main character. It's a classic Holmes/Watson relationship, which works to keep the audience in the dark and confused until the final pages. Ceepak is well developed with a background to explain his serious nature. Doyle is a bit more fun loving and provides some good comic relief with his narration and occasional spoken quip. Even so, he is able to provide a few puzzle pieces that ultimate help Ceepak solve the case. Doyle also grows more as a result of the story. He's not nearly as innocent at the end, but he's definitely stronger for it.
The most unique aspect of the story is the narration. It is written is present tense. I can't remember the last novel I read that was written this way. It took me several chapters to get used to this narrative style. I'm not sure why the author chose to go this route, but by the end of the novel I was used to it.
In keeping with the darker tone, there is also significantly more foul language then I am used to reading. It did bother me in some scenes, but its something else worth noting in passing.
Ultimate, I am glad I went on this wild ride. I plan to take another vacation in Sea Haven really soon.
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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A fast pace, whirl of a read - until the conclusion!, December 15, 2005
Chris Grabenstein's "Tilt-a-Whirl" is set in a south Jersey resort town gone to seed, similar to the small New Jersey town where I grew up. As a kid, I loved the Tilt-a-Whirl - it was always my favorite ride. Thus I was doubly drawn to read the author's debut novel about the fictional town of Sea Haven and a crime even seedier than the surroundings. Of course, I never knew anyone who was murdered on the Tilt-a-Whirl.
However, by the end of Chapter One billionaire entrepreneur Reginald Hart is found shot dead in the Turtle-Twirl Tilt-a-Whirl at the town amusement park, belying the advertising "Sunnyside Playland Is The Most Fun Under The Sun." His twelve-year-old daughter, was present at the scene and witnessed the crime. She is subsequently kidnapped and held for ransom. And that's not all...but for more you have to pick up this often funny, deadly serious mystery that will keep you smiling while anxiously turning pages on the edge of your seat.
Our narrator, twenty-four year-old Danny Boyle, is a local who works as a part-time cop for the busy summer season. Busy in Sea Haven means the winter population has quintupled and too many college kids overdo it with the brewskies. Rowdiness is the biggest crime...usually. John Ceepak, a former MP just back from duty in Iraq, is Danny's partner and a major hero figure. John lives by a strict moral "Code" and Danny is awed by how his sidekick adheres to it. The two have Bruce Springsteen in common and constantly quote lyrics from The Boss's songs to make a point and illustrate events in their daily lives. I like Danny, but he often sounds more like a seventeen year-old adolescent than a twenty-four year-old adult. This is bothersome.
While the narrative occasionally skirts the borderline of being cutesy, Grabenstein does a good job entertaining and immersing the reader in the mystery and sub plots. However, he so disappointed me with the conclusion. I don't want to write anything that would spoil the story, but the ending is not only too pat, I think it diminishes the worst crime of all by tying everything up in a too tidy bundle. I actually felt offended at times. The twist in the storyline might possibly be believable, but ultimately two or three cardboard characters, with their final dialogue and behavior, spoil things. I'll let the reader make up his/her own mind. Worth reading, but watch out. The last twenty pages stretch credulity.
JANA
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Wild Ride, October 2, 2005
Summer usually means lots of tourists to visit the stores, restaurants and attractions with cutesy nautical names in the resort town of Sea Haven, New Jersey. It is not a sunny "funderful" day that the Chamber of Commerce tries to promote after a billionaire real estate tycoon is found brutally murdered on the Tilt-A-Whirl at the local amusement park. John Ceepak and summer cop, Danny Boyle are first on the scene after the victim's daughter shows up in front of the diner where they are eating breakfast. Ceepak is new to the force after being hired by the chief of police who is an old army buddy. Ceepak was looking for a quiet job after returning from a tour of duty in Iraq as an MP.
At first it appears that billionaire Reginald Hart was murdered by a local old hippie and drug addict known as Squeegee, who had a grudge and called Hart a slumlord. As Danny and Ceepak dig deeper, after state officials muddle things, they realized the crime is not as simple as it first appears and there may be more than one suspect.
The story is told in a first person narrative, but with a twist, since Danny is the narrator. He gives a different perspective on the true protagonist, John Ceepak, as he gets to know him. The reader comes to view Ceepak as not just a by-the-book cop, but a man of true integrity, who must deal with a past that always haunts him and directs his daily life. There are plenty of quirky secondary characters, who offer wry humor along with poignant pearls of wisdom.
Although this is a debut novel, the author has all the polish and pizazz of a seasoned storyteller. His past experience of working in advertising for twenty years,after being hired by James Patterson, and doing comedy writing shines through in a tale full of twists and turns. Mr. Grabenstein's exceptional descriptive style brings the setting to life. This is the first novel in a series. I can hardly wait for another trip to the Jersey shore. TILT-A-WHIRL is a must read for mystery lovers, no matter what the season.
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