Detour Man is book 4 in the Vinnie Briggs Mystery Series. 392pp.“His calloused hands scratched at her back. She knew this changed everything for her and him. Their worlds no longer black and white but bursting with color. If she had a drawing of this moment, she’d pin it to the refrigerator door forever.”Twenty-six-year-old bodybuilder Gunter Hoffman sports enormous muscles to keep at bay … Gunter Hoffman sports enormous muscles to keep at bay nightmares of his childhood nemesis, a menacing homeless guy with PTSD known as Detour Man. But even with a body that’s six feet in all directions, Gunter’s afraid of people—and lonely.
When Gunter seeks out a girlfriend—and finds one—she’s like all the rest: more curious about his bulging biceps than him, thinking his size provides an invincible shield to ridicule. But Gunter’s mentally fragile. When she ends up dead from a broken neck, the cops seek a murderer with immense strength, just like Gunter.
Private investigator Vinnie Briggs doesn’t want to get involved in Gunter’s problems—but to please his husband he must. He’s even less pleased mounting a murder defense, which defies standard procedure. Vinnie and his co-investigator, the woman’s fitness champion Rita Light, commit crimes and lie, and Rita employs her specialty: martial arts sex. They take risks that endanger innocent lives only to learn vindication has a high price.
Beta-Readers on Detour Man
- “… a unique story”
- “… a good mystery, with a lot of plot twists and turns.”
- “I enjoyed connecting the dots to each character…”
Ice Cream Man and Baseball Man reviews
- “A rollicking, raunchy read of corporate shenanigans with mafia overtones.”
- “Written with humor and an eye for the strange and obscure…a roller coaster ride full of twists, turns and unexpected dives…”
- “…use of strong verbs and gripping dialogue entertain and keep you engaged.”
- “Bridges the gap of our heterosexual and homosexual worlds through an integrative storyline.”
- Baseball Man is a fitting follow-up to… Ice Cream Man… another “page turner…”
more
A WISHING SHELF BOOK REVIEW
28th May, 2019
TITLE: Detour Man
AUTHOR: Charles Puccia
Star Rating: 4.5
Stats:
Story/Plot: 9/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Editing: 9/10
‘Captivating characters and a cleverly designed plot. Highly recommended to anybody enjoys a good mystery.’ A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review
REVIEW
P.I. books! I love ‘em. So Mr Briggs of Briggs Investigative Group, a P.I. in New York, is perfect for me. Now, this is not the first of the Briggs’ books. It seems, according to Amazon, that there’s also a number of others. Well, after enjoying this so much, I’m now going to enjoy them too!
Firstly, let’s look at the writing style. Here, the author is very competent. There is the odd clumsy paragraph, but nothing ‘BIG’; nothing to pull away from this gripping story. The author also understands pacing and how to develop characters through speech. There’s plenty of ‘showing’ and not ‘telling’, a good sign of a confident author, and the author is not scared to keep a sentence short and simple where it’s needed; and, by doing so, helping to improve the pacing where speed is needed.
The author also works hard to offer the reader interesting and well-developed characters. All of the characters, even the secondary, jump off the page. So much so, I was sympathising with many and rooting for the rest. I was particularly keen on Gunter Hoffman. He probably develops the most in the story. The ending of the book with Gunther was particularly well-written and touching.
So, to sum up, do I recommend this book? Yes, absolutely! If you enjoy a ‘thoughtful’ mystery, the sort of story that keeps you guessing, a story populated with well-constructed characters, then this is for you. In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I’m now going to start reading the other books. I so love it when I discover a new author to enjoy.
A ‘Wishing Shelf’ Book Review
http://www.thewsa.co.uk
This book was entered in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:
Title: Detour Man
Author: Charles Puccia
Star Rating: 4 Stars
Number of Readers: 17
Stats
Editing: 8/10
Writing Style: 8/10
Content: 8/10
Cover: 6/10
Of the 17 readers:
14 would read another book by this author.
9 thought the cover was good or excellent.
17 felt it was easy to follow.
15 would recommend this story to another reader to try.
Of all the readers, 12 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘plotting a story’.
Of all the readers, 5 felt the author’s strongest skill was ‘developing the characters’.
16 felt the pacing was good or excellent.
15 thought the author understood the readership and what they wanted.
Readers’ Comments
‘Reminded me a bit of Clive Cussler in terms of pacing and characters. But of a man’s book. I enjoyed it very much.’ Male reader, aged 43
‘This author works well with dialogue and plotting. Pacing is also excellent. I suspect this author knows who his readership is. Most fans of a good thriller will enjoy this.’ Female reader, aged 56
‘In every way this is a non-stop thriller. It’s not subtle in terms of sex, swearing and violence. You get what’s on the tin. If you want a politically correct story with a thoughtful hero, this is not a book you will enjoy. If you like Jack Reacher, you’ll probably like this.’ Male reader, aged 39
‘Fun read. Put it down, pick it up, enjoy a chapter.’ Male reader, aged 47
To Sum It Up:
‘A strongly plotted crime thriller. A Red Ribbon Winner and highly recommended.’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards