Whack A Mole: A John Ceepak Mystery [Hardcover]

Chris Grabenstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 2007

John Ceepak and Danny Boyle returns with the hunt for a long-dormant serial killer who might be ready to strike again. An innocent discovery on the beach in Sea Haven pits Ceepak against a killer with a code just as rigid as his own. When the killer targets his next victim, the consequences becomes dire for Ceepak and Boyle — this is a game they must win.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A recovered school ring leads mismatched policemen John Ceepak, a 36-year-old veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and his rookie partner, Danny Boyle, on a search for a serial killer in Grabenstein's flaccid third mystery set in a New Jersey beach resort called Sea Haven. The previous two books in the series, Tilt-a-Whirl and Mad Mouse, did a good job developing the relationship between the highly trained, honorable ex-marine and his young partner, who joined the cops mostly to impress girls. About all the two had in a common was a love for Bruce Springsteen, but Boyle was a quick study under Ceepak's tutelage. Now, Ceepak literally digs up a cold case on the beach with his metal detector, which finds a ring and then a charm bracelet, trinkets that belonged to women who were beheaded by a preachy killer Ceepak nicknames Ezekiel. Signs indicate the killer may strike again soon, but the limp dialogue dilutes the suspense. Fans of the first two books will likely be disappointed. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Midway through a quiet summer in Sea Haven, New Jersey, the big news is the upcoming sand-sculpture competition. But when human ears in glass jars appear in a tiny, little-visited museum, and human skulls are unearthed on the beach, Sea Haven cops John Ceepak and Danny Boyle know there's trouble in paradise. Ceepak, a too-good-to-be-true Eagle Scout of a cop, and Boyle, the callow rookie, soon identify a number of possible perps: a windy preacher who runs a boardwalk ministry for wayward teens, a philandering MD, and even a retired Sea Haven cop. They also discover that the body parts date back to the 1980s and that a serial killer is about to start again. Author Grabenstein has done his homework. His portrait of summer on the Jersey shore, replete with tacky boardwalk arcades, kitschy souvenir and T-shirt shops, manic city folk who bring their attytoodon vacation, and hordes of young people awash in hormones, is virtually note-perfect. Another winner in the Jersey Shore series, following Tilt-a-Whirl(2005) and Mad Mouse(2006). Thomas Gaughan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf (May 22, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786718188
• ISBN-13: 978-0786718184
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,144,926 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Chris Grabenstein did improvisational comedy in New York City with Bruce Willis before James Patterson hired him to write advertising copy.

His first John Ceepak/Jersey Shore mystery TILT A WHIRL won the Anthony Award for Best First Mystery in 2006 and was followed by the critically acclaimed MAD MOUSE, WHACK-A-MOLE, HELL HOLE, MIND SCRAMBLER, ROLLING THUNDER (nominated for The Best Sidekick award) and, coming in 2012, FUN HOUSE. A Ceepak short story RING TOSS appeared in the June 2010 issue of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.

Chris has also published two holiday thrillers: SLAY RIDE and HELL FOR THE HOLIDAYS and became a New York Times Best Selling author thanks to his short story "The Demon In The Dunes," which appeared in the anthology DEATH'S EXCELLENT VACATION, edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner (thanks Charlaine and Toni!)

FOR YOUNGER READERS....

His fist book for middle grades readers, THE CROSSROADS, won both the 2008 Agatha and Anthony Awards as Best Children's/YA novel, appeared on several "Best" lists, and has been optioned to become a movie. The second book in the series, THE HANGING HILL, also won the Agatha Award. The third Haunted Mystery, THE SMOKY CORRIDOR, all about a zombie who lives in the basement of a middle school, was published by Random House in August. The fourth book in the series, THE BLACK HEART CRYPT, will be published in 2011.

Chris wrote CURIOSITY CAT, the play within the book from THE HANGING HILL, for friends at the Children's Theater of Knoxville. The script is now available for production everywhere through world renowned play publisher Samuel French.

Chris's new middle grades caper series, RILEY MACK AND THE OTHER KNOWN TROUBLEMAKERS (an Ocean's Eleven starring eleven-year-olds) will be published by HarperCollins in January 2012 with the sequel slated for 2013.

Chris has also written for Jim Henson's Muppets and co-wrote THE CHRISTMAS GIFT, starring John Denver, a made-for-TV movie that first aired on CBS in 1986 and still shows up somewhere on cable very early in the morning every holiday season.

Chris's dog Fred, however, has the best credits in the family: Fred starred on Broadway in CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No Junior Slump here!!, May 8, 2007

By 

J. A. Marks (cincinnati, Oh USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Whack A Mole: A John Ceepak Mystery (Hardcover)

This is quickly becoming one of my favorite mystery series. The books have 2 main characters: Danny, the world-wise narrator who has one of the best voices in PI fiction since Archie Goodwin, and Ceepak, the morally upright vet who lives by his own code. The tone of the book is rather dark, and the level of violence is pretty high with the body parts of fallen women showing up all over town. The book includes some interesting points on how the serial killer has developed a code that is even more rigid that Ceepak's and the results of that code.

Highly recommended.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ceepak Rocks!, July 4, 2007

By 

S. A. Kemppainen "Skempp" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Whack A Mole: A John Ceepak Mystery (Hardcover)

Oh, that there were more men like Ceepak, and more writers like Chris Grabenstein. Grabenstein never disappoints in his plot twists, characters or humor. One of the best mystery writers of his kind and a worthy winner of awards.

Read one of Grabenstein's Ceepak mysteries and you'll be wanting more and more.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why I love John Ceepak and Danny Boyle, June 19, 2007

By 

Sarah E. Bewley "See my book reviews on Live ... (Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Whack A Mole: A John Ceepak Mystery (Hardcover)

John and Danny are back, working together in Sea Haven, New Jersey in Chris Grabenstein's latest book WHACK A MOLE.

This may be the most complex story yet, as John finds jewelry buried in the sand of the beach that leads back to the unsolved disappearance of a young woman. This mystery quickly leads to a series of murders, all of young woman during the same time period during the 1980s. Eventually all the crimes are tied to a ministry among run aways, and just when you are sure you know who the killer is, you find out how wrong you are!

But more than just the pure pleasure of the story, and the delight of being surprised at who the real killer is, I realized what it is that makes me love the characters of John Ceepak and Danny Boyle.

John, who grew up in a troubled family and made something of himself, lives a life of honor. He is a cop because it defines his life in a way he has always desired - to be a good man.

Danny, who grew up secure and with a full life of friendship, but no real ambition, finds in John Ceepak the guide who makes him a better man. It is not that Danny was ever a bad person, but John brings out the best in him.

Together, they are the very definition of what is good about people. The desire to find a way to live a better life, and be someone who is a benefit not only to their friends, but to their community and world.

You can't help but admire them, and they are also people you can truly like.

Personally, I can't wait for more adventures with these two young cops in Sea Haven. They make my world a better place.