Tin City (Mac McKenzie Mysteries) [Hardcover]

David Housewright (Author)

Book Description

Series: Mac McKenzie Mysteries | Publication Date: April 14, 2005

Mac McKenzie is rich. So rich that he's left his job as a Twin Cities police officer and spends his time doing favors large and small for friends. So when an old Marine buddy of his father's calls with a request Mac takes the time to help him out. And it is one of the stranger favors he's ever been asked: the elderly Mr. Mosley, a beekeeper, wants Mac to find out why his bees are suddenly dying in droves.

Mac does some digging and before long turns up a hornet's nest of trouble in the person of Frank Crosetti, a new neighbor on the property abutting Mosley's bees. What started out as an innocent investigation into some unregulated pesticide quickly turns lethal. Crosetti sticks around long enough to make some very specific threats, then disappears into the wind leaving behind a vicious rape, a lifeless body, and a very angry McKenzie bursting for someone to blame.

With only the faintest of trails to follow and a suspicious group of federal agents gunning for him, Mac dives underground, taking only a stash of cash and a small arsenal with him on his undercover mission. Before long Mac's deep in the forgotten corners of Minneapolis sniffing for any sign of Crosetti, unable to rest until he gets results. Combining engaging humor and wit with action-packed storytelling, Edgar Winner David Housewright's second Mac McKenzie novel is clever, compelling, and thoroughly enjoyable.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Edgar-winner Housewright's entertaining second noirish mystery starring Twin Cities ex-cop Rushmore "Mac" McKenzie (after 2004's A Hard Ticket Home), an elderly family friend, Mr. Mosley, asks Mac to look into the mysterious deaths of some bees at his honey farm. A University of Minnesota graduate student, Ivy Flynn, identifies an insecticide as the cause, but not before Mr. Mosley's surly new neighbor, Frank Crosetti, takes a shot at Ivy while she's collecting soil samples near his property. Then someone shoots Mr. Mosley in the head gangland style, and Crosetti disappears. A bereaved and guilt-ridden Mac pulls out all stops for a full-fledged investigation, diving under deep cover when the FBI issues a Seeking Information Alert for him. The suspense builds as Mac traces a couple of dim-bulb thugs to a tiny oasis of trailer homes where resides a bent FBI man, Steve Sykora, who's protecting a dangerous mobster. Channeling Raymond Chandler with tongue-in-cheek humor, Housewright delivers plenty of action, a pinch of romance and more than a few surprises.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Housewright hits his stride in this second outing for good-hearted Minnesota tough guy Rushmore McKenzie. It all begins innocently enough when an old family friend hires Mac to look into who or what is killing his honeybees, but when a routine investigation leads to assault, rape, and murder, it's payback time. As the guilty parties seem to be enjoying federal protection, Mac drops off the radar and winds up in a trailer park, where lives a lovely lass. The smooth, straightforward action comes off without a hitch, lightly seasoned with a dash of introspection from a wry, self-assured hero who is a true pal to those in need and who charms ladies and librarians alike. For those who can accept Mac's advice, "Best not to think too much about it . . . just sit back and see what happens next," this series may be seriously habit-forming. It's also a welcome selection for libraries where Robert Parker is popular, which is to say everywhere. David Wright
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (April 14, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312321511
• ISBN-13: 978-0312321512
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,818,196 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A reformed newspaper reporter and ad man, Housewright's book "Penance" (Foul Play Press) earned the 1996 Edgar Award for Best First Novel from the Mystery Writers of America and was nominated for a Shamus in the same category by the Private Eye Writers of America. "Practice to Deceive" won the 1998 Minnesota Book Award (it is currently being developed as a feature film) and "Jelly's Gold" won the same prize in 2010. His 11th novel -- "Highway 61" -- will be published in June 2011 (St. Martin's Press Minotaur). Housewright's short stories have appeared in several anthologies including "Silence of the Loons," "Twin Cities Noir," "Resort to Murder," and "Once Upon A Crime" and publications as diverse as Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and True Romance. Website: www.davidhousewright.com as well as Facebook.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Follow-Up Novel, May 2, 2005

By 

Craig Larson (Maple Grove, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tin City (Mac McKenzie Mysteries) (Hardcover)

This is the second book in a new series focused on Rushmore "Mac" McKenzie, who used to be a St. Paul policeman, but retired after collecting a $3 million bounty on an embezzler. Now, he does the occasional "favor" for his friends and otherwise takes it pretty easy. At the start of _Tin City_, Mac gets a call from Mr. Mosley, an old friend of his father's, who is a beekeeper and wants Mac's help figuring out why an unusually large number of his bees have been dying off lately. Mac calls in a favor from a friend in the entomology department at the University of Minnesota and it's not too long before the friend's graduate teaching assistant has tracked down the source of a pesticide being sprayed on a neighboring property, which is drifting over to Mosley's hives and killing his bees. When the teaching assistant calls in and reports being shot at, Mac and Mosley hurriedly drive to the scene to offer their assistance. At the scene, they're confonted by a man holding a shotgun and telling them they're trespassing. They leave, only to involve one of Mac's other friends, a lawyer, by having him send a threatening letter to the property's owner. From there, events suddenly turn violent--Mosley is killed and the lawyer's wife is assaulted, leaving Mac a very angry man who must get to the bottom of things and track down the man responsible.

This was an excellent book, with its settings and locations around the Twin Cities brought to convincing life. Much of the story takes place in a tiny municipality called Hilltop, the "tin city" of the title, which is an actual place, a city of mobile homes completely surrounded by the larger city of Columbia Heights. Mac pretends to be a writer for _Trailer Life_ magazine and interviews several of the residents, allowing Housewright to include some fascinating historical details about this real place (I checked my Twin Cities street atlas just to make sure, and sure enough, there is a Hilltop, right where Housewright says it is). Along the way, Mac falls in love with Penelope Glass, a song writer and the neglected wife of a rogue FBI agent. The scenes describing their conversations and a dinner they have together have a real sweetness to them. Mac finds himself in the middle of a complicated mess, involving a mobster on the run from a botched assassination attempt in New York and a couple of local gangster wanna-be's, and things are complicated further when the FBI agent places a locate and detain order for him, requiring Mac to go underground.

Mac's an appealing character, with lots of friends in high and low places. His loyalty to his friends and willingness to do what it takes to make things right, as well as his thoughts on his deceased father and the hand Mr. Mosley had in bringing him up to be a "good guy," and the uncertainty he feels when he gets some measure of vengeance, make him a pretty complicated character. _Tin City_ is an excellent follow-up to the very strong _A Hard Ticket Home_ and, hopefully, there will be many more "Mac" McKenzie novels to follow. Highly recommended.

5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic book, December 26, 2011

By 

B. K. Carlson "obsessed with genealogy" (Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tin City (Mac McKenzie Mysteries) (Hardcover)

It was such an exciting book that I read it in one day. I couldn't put it down! Great author. And now I am buying all his books. I go to his book signings now & have him autograph the books for me!

4.0 out of 5 stars Great follow-up to first novel by Edgar Award winner, December 23, 2011

By 

K. Schonlau "MysteriesinStL" (St Louis MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tin City (Mac McKenzie Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the second book in the series featuring Rushmore "Mac" McKenzie, who used to be a St. Paul policeman, but retired after collecting a $3 million bounty.

He now keeps busy by occasionally doing favors for his friends. For instance, Mac gets a call from Mr. Mosley, an old friend of his father's and Mac's "Second Dad", who is a beekeeper and wants Mac to help figure out why his bees are dying off. Mac has a friend in the Entomology Dept. at the University of Minnesota and soon the teaching assistant (TA) assigned to track down the problem discovers that a pesticide being sprayed on a neighboring property has drifted over to Mosley's and is killing the bees. Soon the TA calls to report being shot at and Mac and Mosley drive to the scene. There, they are confronted by a man with a shotgun who tells them they're trespassing, so they leave. Mac then asks a favor from a lawyer-friend to send a letter on the attorney's stationary to the property owner. Events suddenly turn violent with Mosley murdered in his kitchen and the lawyer's wife raped. These events force Mac to feel he must get to the bottom of things and track down the man responsible for both events.

This was a great read. Much of the story take place in or near a trailer park near the Twin Cities in a very tiny municipality called Hilltop, the "Tin City" of the title. Mac pretends to be a writer for "Trailer Life Magazine" which gives him the cover he needs to seek out and interview residents of this tiny hamlet. While conducting interviews, Mac becomes infatuated with Penelope (Pen) Glass, a song writer and much-neglected wife of a rogue FBI agent. Mac soon finds himself in the middle of a complicated affair which involves a NY mobster on the run from a botched assassination attempt of a Mafia capo, a couple of local hoods, and the rogue FBI agent. Things are complicated further when the rogue agent places a "Locate And Detain" order on him, requiring Mac to go underground with fake ID and credit cards.

Mac is an engaging character whose loyalty to his friends knows no bounds. He is driven by his sense of justice and is willing to do whatever it takes to find out who murdered Mosley and attacked his friends's wife. He will stay the course no matter the cost to him, but he does feel some sense of unease when he gets his revenge.

Housewright is an engaging author and winner of an Edgar. I encourage readers to check out his work.