Robert Greer

Robert Greer’s seventh CJ Floyd mystery takes place in the heart of Colorado, where new shining star of college basketball Shandell "Blackbird" Bird is found shot to death on a basketball court. His close friend and college roommate Damion Madrid feels that the local police aren’t going to look as deeply into the murder as they should, and so he decides to investigate the murder himself.

Blackbird’s Godfather, Denver based bail bondsman CJ Floyd, is in Hawaii on his honeymoon. To help out the investigation, he not only sends his former Marine intelligence operative partner to lend a hand, but also lends helpful guidance and suggestions over the phone. As Damion and an assortment of shady and sometimes dangerous acquaintances dig deeper into the murder, they begin to unravel a conspiracy of corruption and lies that extend farther beyond the basketball court than anyone had imagined.

Greer’s novel is a captivating, quick-paced mystery with personal conflict, local history, and underworld manipulations weaved throughout. While the story is worth reading, there are a few hurdles that keep it from being a completely smooth ride.

There are plenty of colorful and interesting characters populating the late Blackbird’s world, and this is always a plus for mystery novels. However, the drawback in this case is that they tend to overwhelm the reader by sheer number. Similar sounding names and overlapping character quirks and backgrounds can sometimes make it difficult to tell them apart, and only add to the confusion.

Another minor flaw with the narrative is the author’s unskillful way of explaining back story. Past events, character backgrounds, and expositional material are often thrust into descriptive passages and supposedly casual dialogue in big meaty fistfuls, making them tough to chew and hard to digest. Greer has a very complex and multi-layered story to tell, and there is so much needed background that he can sometimes seem desperate to unload it all.

These flaws, while unavoidable, are minor nonetheless, and are easily overlooked as Damion’s investigation draws you further into a world that neither he nor the reader ever though existed. This latest entry in the CJ Floyd series may not be the best, but it is far from the worst, and definitely worth a look.… (lisätietoja)

Astride a Pink Horse by Robert Greer is a thrilling ride steeped in the mystery of the west and its ties to the Cold War and nuclear missiles. Elgin “Cozy” Coseia and Freddie Dames are college buddies who were drafted to major league baseball teams before an accident stopped Cozy’s career very short and they went into business as journalists in Denver. A murder of a former Air Force Master Sergeant Thurmond Giles, a former nuclear-missile maintenance technician, has these boys running the bases faster than they ever did in college baseball, as they play tag with local law enforcement in Wyoming and team up with Major Bernadette Cameron of the Air Force. The back-and-forth investigation has the journalists and Cameron working closer than her superiors want her to be, but a murder and possible national security breach are at the top of all of their agendas.

Greer intricately weaves in the story of the murder with anti-nuclear protesters from the 50s and 70s, a WWII Japanese-American internment camp survivor, and a hospital equipment transporter into the story in a way that keeps readers guessing as to how they are all connected to one another and possibly the murder. Giles is far from well liked by anyone given his large ego and his womanizing, and navigating civilian and military investigations into not only the security breach at Tango-11 a decommissioned missile silo, but also the murder of Giles.

Read the full review: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2012/05/astride-a-pink-horse-by-robert-greer.html… (lisätietoja)

Astride a Pink Horse

By: Robert Greer
ISBN: 978-1-58394-369-4, Pages 352, $23.95, Publication Date: March 27, 2012, Hardcover, Fiction, Published by North Atlantic Books, distributed by Random House

Many novels will gain the attention of the reader with intriguing scenarios and then the page turning begins. Robert Greer is a beloved author because that is exactly what he does in each of his books. Best known for his C. J. Floyd mystery novels he develops a trio of new characters in “Astride A Pink Horse” which his audience is sure to accept as his new series.

A naked body discovered hanging upside down inside a nuclear missile silo’s personnel access tube in Wyoming sets off the action and a remarkable chain of events. Bernadette Cameron, Elgin “Cozy” Coseia, and Frederick “Freddy” Dames are from different lifestyles, but their lives entwine due to the seriousness of this escapade. Joining forces, they break the rules, demonstrate superb analytical skills, and generally buck the establishment in their quest to find the truth of who killed a retired Air Force master sergeant and nuclear missile maintenance technician.

National security is often on the minds of our fellow citizens, especially after 9/11. When a breach of an abandoned missile site occurs, the Air Force has the responsibility to discover who did it and why? Arms reduction closed many silos throughout the country, but there remain many active ones and the intrusion into even an abandoned one is a cause for alarm because of the sensitive nature of what is there.

Robert Greer demonstrates an excellent knowledge of the workings of the Air Force, national defense, and the relationship between local law enforcement and the military. Each branch has a definition of responsibilities and clearly stepping toes over that line of demarcation is a no – no! Yet, Bernadette, Cozy, and Freddy cavalierly go over that mark! They meet secretly when told not to by higher authorities. They travel to places that are out of bounds, interview witnesses, and involve themselves in dangerous confrontations with the barest hint of authority.

Both Cozy and Freddy are newspaper reporters who are out to scoop the rest of the media on this exciting story. Their newspaper is web only and Freddy is a wealthy entrepreneur who loves to call the action his way. Cozy is a former teammate of Freddy and had an exemplary baseball career until he was injured. Freddy embarrasses the Air Force as he sensationalizes the death by relating it to a hate-crime, as the sergeant was African-American. This gets Bernadette in trouble with her superiors as they believe she may have given confidential information to Cozy and Freddy.

What makes this novel stand out from the rest of the pack is the manner in which Robert Greer encapsulates his dissatisfaction in the treatment of Japanese-Americans in World War II and the interment they suffered at Wyoming’s Heart Mountain. He touches upon the anti-nuclear protest movement, race relations, land use issues for ranchers, and how reporting has changed in the digital age.

This book is a must-read for action fans and one that is eye-opening carrying a 5 star rating.… (lisätietoja)

Professor and doctor by day, mystery writer at night, Denverite Robert Greer has an interesting new stand alone mystery for his many fans. This one stars Elgin "Cozy" Coseia, once a very promising baseball player, now an investigative reporter, and Major Bernadette Cameron, an investigator for the Office of Special Investigations for the Air Force. Starting from different angles, both are looking into the murder of a nuclear technician, which brings out protestors, which seems to lead to another murder. But there may be more than individual murders being planned in the mastermind's final scenario. Banding the two of them together in a high speed adventure among several Western states, this book is a page turner that leaves you hoping that it just might be the start of a new series.… (lisätietoja)