Saratoga Haunting: A Charlie Bradshaw Mystery (Paperback)

by Stephen Dobyns (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Series private eye Charlie Bradshaw, suffering relationship problems with Janie, delves into two cases resurrected after the discovery of a missing woman's skeleton. For another work by Dobyns, see The Wrestler's Cruel Study , reviewed on p. 119.--Ed.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews
When the skull of Grace Mulholland, an office manager who disappeared 18 years ago with $233,000 from the insurance company she worked for, turns up buried under Jacko's Pool Hall, private eye Charlie Bradshaw, tormented by the way he handled the case as a cop back in 1974--he persuaded his boss that reclusive, painfully shy Mulholland had fled alone to Mexico--takes a long second look at the surviving cast, and at the ghost of his old, unrecognizable self. Meanwhile, Charlie is waiting for Maximum Tubbs, an old gambler, to finish dying, and he's getting threatening letters from Virgil Darcy, a paroled bank robber who swore revenge when Charlie put him away. As usual, literate, melancholy Charlie (Saratoga Hexameter, etc.) stands head and shoulders above the faceless cast of suspects, who, here, mainly provide him with an excuse to ruminate about time and death. Who cares whodunit when it's coming to everybody? -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (August 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140171622
• ISBN-13: 978-0140171624
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #756,863 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A little known treasure., October 23, 2000

By	"lwandapang" (USA) - See all my reviews

Dobyns is amazing. Here he continues a mystery series with a fine novel that is better by far than some "literary" novels getting raves in THE NEW YORK TIMES. I don't understand why he is not better known.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hit and Miss (mild spoilers), July 15, 2006

By	Matti (Academia, VA) - See all my reviews

This one was a head-scratcher for me. I like Dobyns's writing a lot: The Church of Dead Girls was an amazing read, Boy in the Water a little less so, but still competently done. Dobyns has a special talent with atmosphere; he can paint a scene or the attitude of a character with just a few simple sentences, and the few shining moments of Saratoga Haunting are when Dobyns treats us to descriptions of aging hotels, the flavor of old town main streets, and forest lakes.

But 'Haunting had me stymied. It feels like it was written over a long weekend. The action and the internal monologues seem to repeat themselves, with only slight variations, sometimes three or four times. I understand the value of this kind of repetition, especially for the kinds of suspenseful build-ups that Dobyns is so good at. But some of these iterations seemed to lack any meaning. Charlie's self-recriminations over a dismal younger self got old after the third time; I wanted to say "we got it...move on, Charlie!" The dialog was also stilted at times and the minor ending (i.e., the caves and reward money) seemed to come out of the blue. The sub-plots coud be distracting at times.

A decent effort, but I plan to read the entire Saratoga series and hope to find Charlie in more cohesive shape than in this one. If you liked Haunting, however, by all means pick up The Church of Dead Girls...a better book by far.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where is Stephen Dobyns?, April 10, 2006

By	Claire L. Ducker (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is hilarious and wonderful! Why, oh why won't Dobyns be more prolific with this series?