Zen and The Art of Murder: A Zen Moses Mystery (St. Martin's Minotaur Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Elizabeth M. Cosin (Author)

Book Description

Series: St. Martin's Minotaur Mysteries | Publication Date: October 15, 1999

To live and die in L.A.

Zen Moses is either having a bad day or bad karma. Her cat is dead. The IRS wants to talk to her. And she just found her long-lost cousin's body bound to a beer keg at her favorite neighborhood bar. It's enough to drive even a tough private investigator to drink, smoke a good cigar, and find a firm male shoulder to cry on.

But cynical, wise-cracking Zen is both a loner and survivor. At thirty-three she's already beat a bout with cancer-- and soon she's being offered big bucks to find a talk-show celebrity's missing father. It seems like an easy job until Zen finds out she's just one step ahead of a hit man. Now Zen's professional and private lives are converging into a world of murder and gunplay...and the sound of one hand clapping may end up being bang bang.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Move over Sue Grafton and Marcia Muller--here comes Elizabeth Cosin with a heroine who's a worthy rival to Kinsey Millhone and Sharon McCone. Zen Moses is a hip, fresh, cigar-smoking PI who's so tough she's beat lung cancer, but she's still vulnerable enough to admit her attraction to Jonathan Brooks, a Santa Monica homicide cop she meets in this first of what will thankfully be a series of mysteries. When Zen (short for Zenaria) finds a dead man wrapped around a beer keg in the walk-in cooler at Father's Office, her favorite L.A. watering hole, she's only a little surprised. When she turns the body over for a closer look, however, she discovers that the victim is her cousin Danny--a man who supposedly died in a mass suicide with other cult victims 15 years earlier. It's enough to make a girl forget she's facing an IRS audit. Danny's father, an uncle from whom she's long been estranged, asks her to investigate, and she's quickly off and running. The plot is strewn with clues that add up to an intriguing solution, but the real star is California craziness as seen through the eyes of the funny, engaging Zen (who manages a wisecrack on every page). With a strong voice and a unique heroine, Zen and the Art of Murder is a promising debut that's just right for a rainy night. --Jane Adams --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

The mystery genre has a full complement of tough female PIs in Southern California; it also has plenty of ex-jocks (see review of Crossroad Blues, above). Even so, Cosin's newcomer, who fits in both camps, stands out in this worthy debut. Zen Moses, a Santa Monica PI, gave up sports journalism after she lost her temper and decked the World Series MVP. Hard-boiled, wise-cracking Zen also survived a bout with cancer two years ago, which caused her to lose a lung. During the holiday season, her cat having recently died, a distinctly depressed Zen stops in at her neighborhood bar and is on the scene when her cousin, Daniel Moses, is found dead in the bar's walk-in refrigerator. Zen thought Danny had committed suicide 12 years ago, following an argument with her. Looking into his murder now seems the least she can do, even though she's occupied with another case that has her searching for the long-lost father of a TV talk-show host. Cosin is at her best with sharply observed geographical and cultural details as Zen pursues leads from Santa Monica to Beverly Hills, Fresno, Mexico and beyond. Along for the ride are her sidekick and mentor, Bobo La Douceur, some stray friends and family members, hit men and cops (both good and bad). Although the pace is fast and the loose ends are tied up neatly, readers may struggle to like the sardonic and somewhat antisocial Zen, a woman who rarely seems to notice the effects of lung cancer and even treats herself to an occasional cigar.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (October 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312969481
• ISBN-13: 978-0312969486
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,870,019 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best first chapter of any mystery novel ever, November 5, 1999

By 

J. A. Cosin (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zen and the Art of Murder (A Zen Moses Mystery) (Hardcover)

This first chapter is amazing, it grabs you with wit and humor and then ends up with a tantalizing teazer that begs you to read the book in one sitting. The writing takes over from there and before you even realize it, you've read the book in one sitting and you only wish you could just start over cause you just want more. Thank goodness Zen #2 is out, I can't wait to read it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great writing, grabs you from the first sentence, December 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Zen and the Art of Murder (A Zen Moses Mystery) (Hardcover)

"It rained the day I said good-bye to my best friend; the kind of storm that was packaged in a San Francisco-like cold front. December in Santa Monica could blow in from the Pacific like the draft from a meat locker. Perfect funeral weather." Those are the first few lines of this story, as told by Zen Moses, a private eye who has lived through cancer and a lot more. She's tough, she's smart, she's funny as hell. And she's real. If you read the book, you'll know what I mean. Besides Zen, there's a great supporting cast of characters (including Bobo, a side-kick for the ages), and a story line that's faster and smoother than any roller-coaster. Above all, it's the writing, the sheer quality of the prose itself, that makes this book so good. It's the best mystery debut I've ever read, period.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Truth is, February 18, 2003

By 

H. Row "in1ear" (Arvada, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zen and The Art of Murder: A Zen Moses Mystery (St. Martin's Minotaur Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

that the author has alot of potential. I'm particularly looking forward to more Zen Moses books. And I think that character development, plotting, etc will improve with experience. Cosin and her editors should stress RESEARCHING locales, etc.
Also - when did CHEVROLET start making Grand Ams??
Now specifics about this book - I read probably 25 to 30 mysteries, PI's, Crime Fiction's a month. Like peanuts. I judge that a book in the genre by entertainment value - humor, excitement, imaginative, etc. I NEVER expect deep intellectual, Nobel Peace prize winning writing.
I liked the Zen Moses character, her struggles and her methods for solving a crime. I look forward to future books in this series. I expect both the author and character to evolve. Zen is refreshing, with flaws to be sure, but someone I care to read more of.