Stuart M. Kaminsky

Review: A Fatal Glass of Beer

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A Fatal Glass of Beer

A Fatal Glass of Beer (Toby Peters, 20) Stuart M. Kaminsky. MysteriousPress.com/Open Road (ISBN: 9781453247525) 2012, first published 1997.

Summary: Toby Peters is hired by W.C. Fields to find the imposter emptying Fields’ bank accounts across the country.

In number 20 in the series, Hollywood detective Toby Peters is hired by W.C. Fields to find the person emptying Fields’ bank accounts. As Fields travelled across the country, he opened accounts under names like Otis J. Raisincluster, Quigley E. Sneersight, and Cormorant Beecham III. All told, he had about a million dollars in those different accounts. Now, someone has stolen about half of the bank books associated with the accounts and is withdrawing the funds.

So, he hires Toby Peters to catch up to the thief and recover the money. But he doesn’t leave it at that. He wants to accompany Peters. That’s where Gunther Whertman, who we met in Murder on the Yellow Brick Road comes in. Peter hires him to drive Fields’ Cadillac. What results is a madcap adventure across the country beginning in Philadelphia. In a note, the thief identifies himself as Lester O. Hipnoodle, and through a police friend, they find his apartment in Philadelphia. But no Hipnoodle. Only a note where he is going to strike next.

Oddly, although it seems Hipnoodle wants them to follow, a caller warns them not to, on danger of death. But that doesn’t deter Fields, who has survived his share of scrapes, as Peters will hear. However, Hipnoodle outfoxes them at each bank, using a fake ID and the bank book to empty the account, leaving a clue to where he would hit next. As they pursue, they are pursued by someone they identify as “The Chimp” and the threats become real. Is one person behind all this, they wonder?

The story portrays Fields as dauntless, one who doesn’t suffer fools gladly, yet generous. Also, he often thinks he is funnier than he is. But the combination of Fields, Gunther, and Peters makes for great fun. Meanwhile, the dentist he shares an office with yields to move Peters and his receptionist out.

In sum, this isn’t great detective fiction, although there are some interesting plot twists. Rather, this is just a fun, cross-country romp.

Review: Murder on the Yellow Brick Road

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Murder on the Yellow Brick Road

Murder on the Yellow Brick Road (Toby Peters, 2) Stuart Kaminski. Open Road Integrated Media (ISBN: 9781453238271), 2011 (first published in 1977).

Summary: When a Munchkin is murdered on the “Wizard” set, Peters is hired to find the killer and protect Judy Garland.

I never particularly liked the Munchkins in Wizard of Oz. and this story did nothing to endear them to me. Toby Peters, known for his discretion on a previous case involving Errol Flynn, gets the call to come to The Wizard of Oz set at MGM. Lying on the Yellow Brick Road is one very dead Munchkin, found by Judy Garland, working on another film. Shortly before being found, someone overheard him in a heated argument with another Munchkin. So Toby’s police detective brother arrests him. But when Toby interviews him, he decides they arrested the wrong man

That becomes clearer when someone shoots at him. And because Garland is at risk, the studio adds protecting her to his assignment. Good thing, too. He discovers someone had tried to poison her. As he investigates, suspects keep dying. And there are more attempts on his life, his old Buick taking the brunt of it. His brother suspects him of at least one of the murders. But then, Toby and Phil have always been at odds.

But there are compensations. He gets to visit the Hearst estate to interview Clark Gable, who had information relevant to the case. He even runs into Raymond Chandler, hanging out in a hotel lobby “picking up characters and dialogue.” Chandler offers to tag along to see a real private detective in action. And Toby falls in love with Garland’s assistant, a dark-haired beauty.

This was my first Toby Peters book. Compared to Kaminsky’s Porfiry Rostnikov and Abe Lieberman, Peters seems more of the caricature of a private investigator, a bit unsavory and hard-bitten, trying to survive. I may try a few more to see if he develops as a character. The celebrity tie-ins, a feature of this series, I gather, add an element of fun. However, the meeting with Chandler felt forced to me. But Kaminsky offers enough plot twists as well as (to me) a surprise at the end.

Review: Not Quite Kosher

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Not Quite Kosher

Not Quite Kosher (Abe Lieberman, 7), Stuart M. Kaminsky. Forge Books (ISBN: 9781429912631) 2002

Summary: Lieberman juggles two murder cases, one with multiple deaths including a cop, a bar mitzvah, a partner’s wedding and more.

Sometimes a lot of life happens at once. At home, Lieberman is involved in bar mitzvah plans for his grandson, mainly in figuring out how to stretch the family budget to pay for everything and leave something to repair the roof. Meanwhile, his partner Hanrahan is moving up his wedding date to marry Iris Chin–to this week, with a reception at the Liebermans! This, despite Iris’s family disapproval and threats which Lieberman cleverly handles through the leader of one of Chicago’s gangs. And he even manages to book Senator Joe Lieberman (no relation) to speak for a synagogue fund-raiser.

Then there is the work. A group of young thugs attacks a depressed store owner. Only it doesn’t turn out so well. The man, Arnold Sokol, defends himself well enough to chase two of the young men off and land the other in the hospital. Lieberman and his rabbi help settle things with the young man in the hospital, or so they think. But the next day, Sokol’s badly beaten body washes up in the lake.

Actually, that’s just one of two bodies that wash up. The other is a man called Pryor, involved in Lieberman’s other case. Him and Michael Wychovski rob a jewelry store–the same one they robbed a year ago. Only this time, things don’t turn out so well. On the way out, Pryor stumbles and his gun goes off, killing the owner. Then, while Wychovski drives, he fires on pursuing police, killing one of them. But they manage to elude capture-until Pryor’s body washes up along with Sokol’s.

I love the great relationship between Lieberman and Hanrahan, punctuated with food stops and ever-present reminders about Lieberman’s cholesterol. Each has gotten the other out of trouble on more than one occasion. I also love the philosophic decency of Lieberman–his companionable marriage, his acceptance of his difficult daughter, and his loyalty to his brother Maish and the alter cockers. He’s a man people trust, from Kearney, his boss to a somewhat unstable gang leader.

The reader trusts him as well, even to catching the real killer of Arnold Sokol. My only regret is that Kaminsky only wrote ten installments in this series. Having read most of the Rostnikov and Lieberman stories, perhaps it’s time to check out Toby Peters and Lew Fonseca, his two other crime solvers.

Review: Black Knight in Red Square

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Black Knight in Red Square, (Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov, 2), Stuart M. Kaminsky. Mysterious Press/Open Road Media (ISBN: 9781453269589) 2012 (first published in 1984).

Summary: Rostnikov’s team races to stop a terrorist organization from causing mayhem at an international film festival.

An International Film Festival is about to open in Moscow. Journalists and filmmakers from all over the world are gathering. And four men, an American, a Japanese, and two Russians who ate together are dead in their rooms, all killed by a deadly poison. Rostnikov and his team get the case. Results are expected swiftly, both from within his own bureaucracy and from the KGB. His nemesis there, Colonel Drozhkin is looking for a way to bring Rostnikov down. In sum, the potential for career-ending failure is great.

Rostnikov and Karpo meet with the widow of the American, who doesn’t seem especially bereaved. They later learn that the real widow is in Australia. They realize that they likely had met the person behind the killings, who was taking their measure. And that signals that the poisonings were a mere prelude. Karpo, in his methodical way, devotes himself to tracking her down.

They figure out she has recruited a German journalist and a British filmmaker to help her. Tkach and Rostnikov track them while the team tries to unravel her ultimate scheme, which is to bomb key Moscow sites, including Lenin’s tomb.

Amid this, Rostnikov pursues a strategy to counter Drozhkin and get something he deeply desires. And he squeezes in a personal goal–to compete in a weightlifting competition, despite an injured leg. To the surprise of judges, he wins, wowing them by a humorous but impressive mistake.

There is an element of suspense in the effort to prevent acts in which the terrorists have the initiative. At the same time, we get to watch a subtler form of intrigue play out between Rostnikov and Drozhkin. It all makes for an exciting conclusion to a well plotted mystery. Meanwhile, we find ourselves caring for each of those on Rostnikov’s team, any who may be the target of a woman who will not hesitate to kill any in her way.

Review: Lieberman’s Choice

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Cover image of "Lieberman's Choice" by Stuart M. Kaminsky

Lieberman’s Choice (Abe Lieberman Number 2), Stuart M. Kaminsky. Open Road Media (ASIN: B00AYRI5HY) 2013 (first published 1993).

Summary: A cop kills his wife and the cop who is sleeping with her, and threatens to blow up a city block unless one demand is met.

Abe Lieberman can’t get to sleep. And then the phone rings. A fellow policeman walked into his apartment with a loaded shotgun and blew away his wife and the cop she was sleeping with. When his partner, recently “on the wagon” arrives, the scene is so awful he needs a drink. The officer, Bernie Shepard, has barricaded himself on the roof with his dog. He’s armed to the teeth. And he’s rigged up enough explosives to blow away not only the building but a city block.

Abe is the first one who talks to him and size up the situation. Shepard wants a TV reporter to interview him. Eventually, he gets his wish. He has one demand. Specifically, he wants to talk to Captain Alan Kearney at midnight, after a day-long siege. In his mind, Kearney is the one who had corrupted his wife.

There are lots of people who want to make this go away as quickly as possible, from a mayor facing re-election to the chief of police. And there are the civilians. First, a couple of hard-up bounty seekers living in the building attempt an assault on the rooftop nest only to end up splattered on the street below. Then a gang leader who Shepard had arrested wants to take a crack. Incredibly, they let him and he manages to wound Shepard. But Shepard has positioned himself so well that no chopper, no sniper, can take him out.

If Lieberman had his choice, he’d just hang out with the Alter Cockers at his brother Maish’s deli. Or he would be home with his family. Instead, he is on point negotiating with a man who has already killed four–one who has nothing left to lose. And if that is not enough, he has to deal with a religious crazy, Frankie Kraylaw. who is abusing his wife.

As the hours tick down and the pressure increases, will they find a way to avoid a confrontation with Kearney or a catastrophic explosion? Amid it all, Lieberman, the veteran of Chicago’s streets seems the wisest and sanest. But will it be enough?

Review: Lieberman’s Day

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Lieberman’s Day, Stuart M. Kaminsky. Open Road Media (ISBN: 9781480400207) 2013 (first published in 1994).

Summary: Abe’s nephew is killed and his wife shot in a mugging while a murderer stalks the abused ex-wife Hanrahan is sheltering.

Moments after walking out the door from a dinner party on a cold winter night, David Lieberman and his wife Carol confront two muggers. Things go awry and one mugger shoots David, the other, Carol. David dies, but Carol, critically wounded and pregnant, survives. Abe Lieberman, who hasn’t yet fallen asleep gets the call at 12:02 am. David is Abe’s nephew.

The book chronicles the next twenty-four hours as Abe, and his recovering-alcoholic partner Bill Hanrahan track down the killers. At the same time, Abe must try to comfort his brother and sister-in-law in the loss of their son, drawing on the help of his tight-knit Jewish community, including the Alter Cockers, a group of older men who hang out at his brother’s diner.

Abe relies on his street connections, cutting a deal with El Perro, a drug kingpin, to find the killers. Shooting a pregnant woman is an offense even to them. Meanwhile Hanrahan learns that the violent ex-husband of an abused woman and her son, who he has sheltered, is back in town. Will Hanrahan find him before he finds them?

Both men also struggle with domestic issues. Abe’s daughter’s marriage has broken up but now she struggles as her former husband is seeing another woman. Abe is loyal to his daughter while liking the father of his grandchild. He’s met the woman he’s seeing and likes her as well. Bill’s wife walked out some time ago. Despite a relationship with an Asian woman who is ready for more, he cannot let go.

Meanwhile the plot is building toward double climaxes in Bill’s apartment and Carol’s hospital room. For one of the killers, Carol, while alive, is a threat.

This is a relatively short novel. The fast-paced double plot unfolds in the span of one very long day during a very cold Chicago winter. Amid all this, I enjoyed Lieberman’s street-savvy wisdom combined with the restraint that accompanies others in their grief, never saying the stupid thing.