HARLAN COBEN calls it “One of my all-time favorite series! …David Handler is so good at writing one smart, funny page-turner after another that he makes it look easy.” Fans of JANET EVANOVICH and CARL HIAASEN, get ready. If you haven’t yet discovered wisecracking sleuth Stewart “Hoagy” Hoag and his faithful basset hound Lulu, you’re in for a sharp, hilarious treat.Once upon a time, Hoagy had it … in for a sharp, hilarious treat.
Once upon a time, Hoagy had it all: a hugely successful debut novel, a gorgeous celebrity wife, the glamorous world of New York City at his feet. These days, he scrapes by as a celebrity ghostwriter. A celebrity ghostwriter who finds himself investigating murders more often than he’d like.
And once upon a time, Richard Aintree was the most famous writer in America — high school students across the country read his one and only novel, a modern classic on par with The Catcher in the Rye. But after his wife’s death, Richard went into mourning… and then into hiding. No one has heard from him in twenty years.
Until now. Richard Aintree — or someone pretending to be Richard Aintree — has at last reached out to his two estranged daughters. Monette is a lifestyle queen à la Martha Stewart whose empire is crumbling; and once upon a time, Reggie was the love of Hoagy’s life. Both sisters have received mysterious typewritten letters from their father.
Hoagy is already on the case, having been hired to ghostwrite a tell-all book about the troubled Aintree family. But no sooner does he set up shop in the pool house of Monette’s Los Angeles mansion than murder strikes. With Lulu at his side — or more often cowering in his shadow — it’s up to Hoagy to unravel the mystery, catch the killer, and pour himself that perfect single-malt Scotch… before it’s too late.
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Good read. Not what I expected, but definitely worth the read.
First book I had read in this series. I enjoyed it very much and have read two other books in series since.
I’ve never thought much about the movie industry and its lifestyle, but this
book covers its ugliness. And yet, the characters have morals and loyalty to
family. Twisty turn at the end. Fun read.
I like the new-to-me character with his dog and natty clothes.
Loved the story but when it ended, it ended. There was no completion on many fronts. It should have been about 200 pages longer to finish the story with all the characters, who were nicely developed. I’ll look for other books by this author to see if this was an anomaly compared to other books.
I got more than a third of the way through this book and still waited for something to happen. I gave up.
No thank you. The author’s need to constantly convince the reader that he’s very, very clever intrudes on the story too much for my taste.
Liked the protagonist and his pooch. Used to live in the area where the book is set at about the same time (1990’s), so I felt right at home.
This one was a frustrating read. It was well-written for the most part, and with some decent characterization, but at the same time irritating in a number of ways. First-person narrator Stewart Hoag, in his wry and wannabe-humorous comments about some of the other characters, comes off sounding snarky rather than clever. He’s obsessed with clothing, so we get descriptions of every change of garment he makes, as well as what others are wearing. (He’s able to determine the designer labels of other people’s garments at a glance.) He goes everywhere with his basset hound, and never seems to have a problem taking her to places where, in the real world, dogs are generally forbidden–e.g., restaurants.
He’s known to friends as Hoagy. When someone asks him, “As in Carmichael?” he says, “No. as in cheesesteak.”
I hate to break it to the author, but there’s a signifcant difference between a hoagie and a cheesesteak.
As for the actual mystery plot, once you remove a lot of moments that feel like padding, you realize it would’ve worked just as well at novelette length.
All things considered, I don’t see myself rushing to read another book in this series any time soon, if ever.
Enjoyed the protagonist and the characters
A good read for a man and his dog.
Very entertaining. Loved the characters. The mystery was a good one, full of twists and turns. I would definitely read more of this series.
I love the interaction between Lulu the Basset and Hoagy. The book is an easy read an I recommend it as a good rainy day or beach read. It can be a bit dark in places but the humor still shines through.
A rare intelligently written cozy mystery. Look forward to catching up with the series.
I iked it so well I’m looking for the next series
Started a little slow but enjoyed the read. Not sure what all the hype is about the main character, may need to reader another in the series to make a true review
The book seemed somewhat dated.
Liked it alot. Low on violence and sex yet very entertaining.
An engrossing mystery; well written.
Quirky, snarky, fun read