Review
Reviewed by Cheryl E. Rodriguez for Readers' Favorite
Action Men with Silly Putty: A Jack Donegal Mystery is fun, engaging and delightfully entertaining, you won't want to put it down! Susan Joy Clark pens a mystery full of comedic escapades. The bungling Mr. Magoo combines with the eccentricity of Columbo in the main character of Jack Donegal. Clark's narrative is witty, comical and adventuresome. The writing style is artfully imaginative, using amusing and uncanny descriptions. The point of view is written from the perspective of the side-kick, which is rare, but really works! The antics of the characters keep the action moving quickly.
The best description of this work is silly-serious; it encompasses both abstract and concrete, humor and mystery, famous artwork, secret societies and dating advice. The villains are bad guys, thugs with slightly dark motives and criminal intentions, contrasting with the good guys who are out for justice, and motivated to do what is right. Action Men with Silly Putty: A Jack Donegal Mystery is a wild goose chase full of hare-brained ideas and geeky technology. It is a fun and enjoyable read from beginning to end.
Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite
Susan Joy Clark's private investigator mystery novel, Action Men with Silly Putty: A Jack Donegal Mystery, Book 1, will delight readers who enjoy a bit of humor mixed in with their sleuthing and pleasantly surprise those readers such as myself who are usually unaware of -- or worse -- unappreciative of comedic touches in their reading material. I had a grand time following Andy, and his iconic boss, Jack, as they gallivanted around the Bay Area and Southern California and played at being detectives. Andy is the consummate narrator who, while being completely authentic and original in his own right, agreeably reminded me at times of Nero Wolfe's able and wisecracking sidekick, Archie Goodwin. Clark's story is breezy, fun and fast-paced, and her plot is inspired. Jack and Andy are two of the most intriguing private eyes I've come across in quite some time, and I can't wait until their creator conjures up another irresistible conundrum for them to play with. Action Men with Silly Putty: A Jack Donegal Mystery, Book 1, is most highly recommended.
Reviewed by Melissa Tanaka for Readers' Favorite
The first person point of view makes it very easy for readers to become engaged in the story, quickly slipping into the mind of Andy as he helps his boss and best friend untangle the web of mysteries that surrounds the bear and the criminals that pursuing it. Although Andy is much more relatable a character, Jack is an enigma to witness, whether he is pulling random tidbits of information from the depths of his brain or quickly splicing together various contraptions in order to save the day. The witty banter between the two men and their lack of experience in sleuthing endears them to the reader, and by the end of the first chapter, you can't help but root for them. They James Bond their way out of several situations, resulting in hilarity and various degrees of success.
Action Men with Silly Putty is a dream come true for mystery fans, mixing comedy and suspense along with classic gadgets such as hidden cameras, recording devices, vibration sensors and everything else a spy could possibly need. I absolutely loved this book!
About the Author
Susan Joy Clark lives in northern New Jersey. For the past 10 years, she has been a reporter in the area with North Jersey Media Group. She is the author of one other book, a YA novel, "And the Violin Cried." She plans to write several other Jack Donegal Mysteries as well as mysteries starring Grace Darby, a young English professor. Susan earned her BA in English in 1994 from Cedarville University. Although she has no problem at all with traditional books, she's in love with her Kindle because she can carry it with her everywhere ... even in line at the DMV. Some of her favorite authors are Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, C.S. Lewis, Agatha Christie and P.G. Wodehouse. In private life, she's a puppeteer and singer. As a puppeteer, she works with such characters as Professor Votshisname. She's sung in choirs or musical groups perpetually for 30 years and is recently venturing out into trios, duets and solos. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She's the baby sister of three older brothers and an aunt to a lovely niece and five fantastic nephews.
