- Hardcover: 304 pages
- Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (Sep 13 1999)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0312241941
- ISBN-13: 978-0312241940
- Product Dimensions: 21.8 x 14.7 x 2.7 cm
- Shipping Weight: 503 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,308,979 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
The sharpest nose in the mystery business must belong to Corcoran: on almost every page of his smart second book featuring Key West crime scene photographer Alex Rutledge (after 1998's The Mango Opera), there's an olfactory imageAfrom the rot in Alex's yard to the smell of a woman in his bed. All the other senses are addressed vigorously, too, as Rutledge offers a street-by-street tour of the lively town at the end of America, with a side trip to the seedier parts of New Orleans. Corcoran is so slick he can suck in the reader with the corniest of plot clich?s: an urgent phone call from an old Navy buddy who then disappears, leaving behind a trail of dead bodies. Was financial wizard Zack Cahill kidnapped from his barstool at Sloppy Joe's because he knew about the huge payoff of a long-ago drug deal? Or is Cahill himself part of the scam? Why is Zack's ex-mistress in Key West, and who wants her dead? What part does the tantalizing police officer Teresa Barga play in the drama? And will Alex's friendly foe, Key West's cop Chicken Neck Liska, succeed in his run for sheriff? Corcoran lubricates his tangled plot with lashings of rum and beer and keeps it moving across a shrewdly observed landscape that reeks with authenticity. The gumbo is spicy, the limbo swift in this hot pepper of a novel. Author tour. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Key West freelance photographer Alex Rutledge (The Mango Opera) hurries to meet a long-time banker buddy visiting from Chicago, but when he reaches the bar, his friend has disappeared. Alex grows worried when he subsequently recognizes a murder victim as a thug he saw at the same bar. The bad vibes continue after the banker's ex-mistress shows up asking for help: some apparently shady "investment" deal has gone bad. Alex dodges dangerAe.g., arson, burglary, and attempted murderAto find his friend. The colorful Florida background, a laid-back protagonist, and Corcoran's easy-to-read prose provide a welcome escape.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
This time I had good intentions. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
This time I had good intentions. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Dizzying, entertaining, yet obsessed with food,
By Chadd Wheat (Lebanon, IN United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Gumbo Limbo: An Alex Rutledge Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)
Gumbo Limbo by Tom Corcoran is overall an entertaining romp ofsome wild, almost cliche, detective fiction. Though the setting is in itself like a virtual vacation, Corcoran's first person narrative leaves much to be desired. Even when viewed as told by the main character, forensic photographer Alex Rutledge, I grew horrifically tired of the descriptions of his eating and drinking habits. Another "Jimmy Buffettism" of Corcoran's is his obsession with almost proving that he's really a true Key Wester. His descriptions of his travels on the island (like "I turned left at Big Bob's eatery at the corner of St. Juicy and Elm") were distracting. Yes, let the reader know you have some expertise, but let's forgo the travelogue and advance the story. Perhaps Tom should just include a map in the next submission. But yes, overall, I enjoyed it. Even in it's annoying moments it had some charm. Picture this as a literary version of late night listening to a Buffett album: a guilty pleasure that's easy to enjoy, but will probably leave you wanting more meaty substance.
2.0 out of 5 stars
An odd approach to Key West,
By megb "megb" (Saranac Lake, NY USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Gumbo Limbo: An Alex Rutledge Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)
Just a word about the characters and setting. It is as if gay and lesbian people did not live in Key West. There are no gay characters and no mention of gay residents. Odd for a place so well known for their presence. It's as if the writer denies their existence.I haven't read his other books--perhaps there are gay characters in them, but I found their lack of presence in this book rather disconcerting.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Everybody wants to get into the act,
By
This review is from: Gumbo Limbo: An Alex Rutledge Mystery (Hardcover)
The title to this review is double edged. It refers to the myriad of characters and escapades that Tom Corcoran has cooked up for his character, crime photographer, Alex Rutledge and the fact that there are so many writers who want to be Carl Hiassan. Corcoran is the Key West version and while I found the story generally entertaining, it also got confusing at times as the plot twisted here and there, sometimes without apparent purpose. He does get into the mood and sprit of the Keys and there is some Buffet-like wisdom dispenced on occaision, but by the time that the reason why people are dying, getting beaten or disappearing becomes evident, you kind of wonder if it had to be that complicated. I liked the effort and should probably read his first book which seems to have general approval. Another writer about Florida who probably helps explain, without intending to, why they have so much trouble voting correctly down there.
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