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Thursday, November 15, 2012

Goodreads | Eric_W Welch (Forreston, IL)'s review of A Real Piece of Work (The Dakota Stevens Mysteries)

Goodreads | Eric_W Welch (Forreston, IL)'s review of A Real Piece of Work (The Dakota Stevens Mysteries):


Charming detective story.  I was not familiar with Orcut’s writing before this one, but I will certainly look him up again.  The title is, of course, a pun as it relates to several things, most obviously the painting that Dakota Stevens, ex-cop/FBI has been hired by a strange little man who appeared in his office out of a blizzard to locate. Ostensibly very valuable, it would appear the painting is a forgery.

Dakota (not Montana) is a great character and Svetlana, who speaks seven languages and is a chess master, his sidekick, a hoot.

I enjoyed the first seven-eighths of the book but lopped off a star for the ending that became the standard Lone Ranger and Tonto (albeit with a great body) stave off swarming hoards of enemy.  It's only a wonder clouds of angels weren't singing Hallelujahs from the heavens.  Well, perhaps I exaggerate some.  Let's just say my crap-detector went into emergency overload. The plot was good involving art forgeries and stolen paintings, suitably intricate;  the characters interesting,and Orcut had a chance to resolve it in a much more interesting way. But it's his first book. I'll certainly read the next.

P.S. Librarians play a central role in unraveling the threads of the mystery.


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