Jack Fredrickson
Author of A Safe Place for Dying
About the Author
Series
Works by Jack Fredrickson
Tadesville 1 copy
Associated Works
The Blue Religion: New Stories about Cops, Criminals and the Chase (2008) — Contributor — 160 copies, 7 reviews
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Common Knowledge
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Reviews
Part of the ‘A Book from every State of the Union’ Reading Challenge – Illinois.
I came across this novel while I was searching my library for books to include in my 2014 reading challenge; it was the only one by this Author on their shelves and immediately cried out to me. Heeding that cry, I brought it home... am I glad I did.
The main protagonist is everything there is to love, and hate, in the character of a private detective, or should that be insurance investigator; to find out what this means you’ll have to read the book. He is full of the dry sarcastic wit and one-liners that a lover of a traditional mystery novel will find to their taste. He is, or thinks he is, invincible, not easy fooled and a tough guy to boot; but really as we find out as his character develops in this novel, he is more than a little vulnerable. There is so much about this man that reminded me of Philip Marlowe, that I wasn’t but a few chapters into this novel before I found myself really rooting for the guy, and wanting everything to go his way. There are a cast of supporting characters for our main to play off against, but rather than let his main character overshadow them, the Author does an excellent job of making sure that the others he encounters either bring out the best him in, stop him from totally self-destructing, or really bring out his hard side; whatever their role they are written with equal parts of grit and humour and enough realism to make the reader feel as if they actually lived.
The plot is quirky and funny wrapped up in a pretty page turning mystery that will keep you guessing to the end. I finished this book in one sitting, and when I finally came to the closure of the plot all I could wonder was ‘how the heck did I not see that coming’. The Author is also able to inject a touch of realism into the locations of his novel by throwing the reader pieces of plot that link to past, or current, news items. Normally I don’t like this in the fiction I read as I hate being distracted from a good plot by the feeling I’ve seen this in the paper, but that was not the case here. I think the difference between this novel and others that I’ve read that attempted this was the fact that this Author wrote about these events with the same wit as he did his plot.
A downside to this book, I found, was that it actually the third in a series containing this protagonist; however, this did not make me like the book any less or feel I was missing out on anything, as it works just as well as a standalone novel. What this discovery did achieve however, was to ensure that I will be reading more by this Author.
If you are looking for a writer who has a similar style to Raymond Chandler, I highly recommend this novel. If you’re looking for a good traditional mystery, well see the sentence above this one.
Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2014/03/04/review-hunting-sweetie-rose-a-mystery-jack...
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
… (more)
I came across this novel while I was searching my library for books to include in my 2014 reading challenge; it was the only one by this Author on their shelves and immediately cried out to me. Heeding that cry, I brought it home... am I glad I did.
The main protagonist is everything there is to love, and hate, in the character of a private detective, or should that be insurance investigator; to find out what this means you’ll have to read the book. He is full of the dry sarcastic wit and one-liners that a lover of a traditional mystery novel will find to their taste. He is, or thinks he is, invincible, not easy fooled and a tough guy to boot; but really as we find out as his character develops in this novel, he is more than a little vulnerable. There is so much about this man that reminded me of Philip Marlowe, that I wasn’t but a few chapters into this novel before I found myself really rooting for the guy, and wanting everything to go his way. There are a cast of supporting characters for our main to play off against, but rather than let his main character overshadow them, the Author does an excellent job of making sure that the others he encounters either bring out the best him in, stop him from totally self-destructing, or really bring out his hard side; whatever their role they are written with equal parts of grit and humour and enough realism to make the reader feel as if they actually lived.
The plot is quirky and funny wrapped up in a pretty page turning mystery that will keep you guessing to the end. I finished this book in one sitting, and when I finally came to the closure of the plot all I could wonder was ‘how the heck did I not see that coming’. The Author is also able to inject a touch of realism into the locations of his novel by throwing the reader pieces of plot that link to past, or current, news items. Normally I don’t like this in the fiction I read as I hate being distracted from a good plot by the feeling I’ve seen this in the paper, but that was not the case here. I think the difference between this novel and others that I’ve read that attempted this was the fact that this Author wrote about these events with the same wit as he did his plot.
A downside to this book, I found, was that it actually the third in a series containing this protagonist; however, this did not make me like the book any less or feel I was missing out on anything, as it works just as well as a standalone novel. What this discovery did achieve however, was to ensure that I will be reading more by this Author.
If you are looking for a writer who has a similar style to Raymond Chandler, I highly recommend this novel. If you’re looking for a good traditional mystery, well see the sentence above this one.
Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2014/03/04/review-hunting-sweetie-rose-a-mystery-jack...
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
… (more)
Kill Her Twice by Jack Fredrickson is a highly recommended hard-boiled detective story set by Chicago.
Private investigator Dek Elstrom is hunting for a lost cat with a $100 reward when Martin Tripp wants to hire him to prove he didn't kill Sara Jansen. Tripp has already stood trial and been acquitted for Sara's murder. The problem is that he says he can't find a job now due to his infamy and he thinks Sara was afraid of something before she died. Elstrom isn't exactly eager to take on this case and he thinks Tripp is guilty of her murder, but he can use the $200 Tripp pushes on him. Once he begins to causally investigate, he discovers that a whole lot more was going on in the corrupt River City.
On the one hand I do appreciate an involved and complicated hard-boiled detective case that resembles a tale of gangsters from the 1930s. The description that Kill Her Twice is a Windy City noir with a distinctly retro feel is apropos. A story that actually tries to be timeless is appreciated and to be applauded. On the other hand, elderly women being lewd in a corrupt town is just not my thing. If I set that aside, during the investigation the suspense does build incrementally and the atmosphere becomes tense and full of suspicion in Kill Her Twice.
This can be read as a stand-alone novel even though it is the eighth book featuring Dek Elstrom. As my first Elstrom book I didn't feel behind or out of pace with the character and plot. Suspicions grow with each page and each new character introduced. There is also a humorous element to the novel, which helps in creating the noir-feeling as it propels the action forward. There are plenty of characters to draw your suspicion and entertain you, a tense atmosphere that grows as each new development, and complications to keep you guessing.
The narrative is told through Elstrom's first person point-of-view which means you are privy to his private thoughts and perceptions. He is an intelligent character, personable while also jaded with the corruption around him. He knows how the system works and how to use it to his advantage. 3.5 rounded up
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Severn House via NetGalley.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2022/04/kill-her-twice.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4643066098… (more)
Private investigator Dek Elstrom is hunting for a lost cat with a $100 reward when Martin Tripp wants to hire him to prove he didn't kill Sara Jansen. Tripp has already stood trial and been acquitted for Sara's murder. The problem is that he says he can't find a job now due to his infamy and he thinks Sara was afraid of something before she died. Elstrom isn't exactly eager to take on this case and he thinks Tripp is guilty of her murder, but he can use the $200 Tripp pushes on him. Once he begins to causally investigate, he discovers that a whole lot more was going on in the corrupt River City.
On the one hand I do appreciate an involved and complicated hard-boiled detective case that resembles a tale of gangsters from the 1930s. The description that Kill Her Twice is a Windy City noir with a distinctly retro feel is apropos. A story that actually tries to be timeless is appreciated and to be applauded. On the other hand, elderly women being lewd in a corrupt town is just not my thing. If I set that aside, during the investigation the suspense does build incrementally and the atmosphere becomes tense and full of suspicion in Kill Her Twice.
This can be read as a stand-alone novel even though it is the eighth book featuring Dek Elstrom. As my first Elstrom book I didn't feel behind or out of pace with the character and plot. Suspicions grow with each page and each new character introduced. There is also a humorous element to the novel, which helps in creating the noir-feeling as it propels the action forward. There are plenty of characters to draw your suspicion and entertain you, a tense atmosphere that grows as each new development, and complications to keep you guessing.
The narrative is told through Elstrom's first person point-of-view which means you are privy to his private thoughts and perceptions. He is an intelligent character, personable while also jaded with the corruption around him. He knows how the system works and how to use it to his advantage. 3.5 rounded up
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Severn House via NetGalley.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2022/04/kill-her-twice.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4643066098… (more)
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I struggled to get through this book initially as the premise was intriguing but I found the willingness of the medical examiner and law enforcement to divulge information to a reporter to be far fetched. I did have to re-read the last few chapters in an attempt to understand the events that culminated in an unexpected ending. The book is well-written but I found it stretching credibility.… (more)