Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Save The Last Dance For Me: A Sam McCain Mystery by Ed Gorman ISBN: 0-373-26461-5 Publisher: Harlequin Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (3 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Snakes, politics, sex, and murder in a small Iowa town.
Comment: This is the 4th of Gorman's "Sam McCain" mysteries set in a town called Black River Falls, Iowa during the "happy days" of the late 1950's and early 60's. Of course, they weren't always that happy, filled as they are in this story with religious prejudice, murder, bigotry, infidelity, and mysterious goings on. McCain is a likeable character, and Gorman does a good job of letting us get to know him in this and the other novels of the series. Young, idealistic, liberal, cynical, unlucky-in-love, as well as shorter than most of the other male population in town, McCain works for the enigmatic, larger than life Judge Esme Ann Whitney, a cynical, Republican, aristocratic scion of the town who regularly hires the young Sam (a lawyer with an private-eye license) to investigate any crimes or murders which might cast Black River Falls in a negative light. The fact that Judge Whitney and the local sheriff are mutual enemies usually complicates both McCain's sleuthing and life in general.
In SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME, it is August, 1960. Presidential candidate Richard Nixon is coming to visit the town at the same time that a charismatic bigoted preacher has just been murdered (literally) while in the pulpit. McCain's assignment is to solve the crime of this unlikeable man's demise, even though no one involved seems to want to help him. The man's family, congregation, local law enforcement and a cage of "holy" rattlesnakes all figure prominently, as does a beautiful local reporter who is having problems in her marriage. I read the first 3 books before I read this one, but it isn't necessary to do so, as Gorman writes each book in the series with enough of McCain's musings about the past to explain who the important characters are in both the town and his personal life. SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME stands alone very well on it's own, although it will probably make you want to go out and read the others in the series. 5 Stars.
Rating: 5
Summary: McCain's Back and Better than Ever.....
Comment: It's the summer of 1960 in Black River Falls, Iowa, and Richard Nixon, on the campaign trail for president, is scheduled to stop in this little mid-western burg for a speech and reception. Fledgling lawyer and part-time private investigator, Sam McCain's boss, town heavy, Judge Esme Ann Whitney, is hosting the Vice President's visit, and she wants her town to shine like the middle American jewel it is. Unfortunately, the murder of a local snake-handling, Jew and Catholic hating, fundamentalist preacher, tends to put a real damper on the judge's plans. Police Chief, Cliffie Sykes, is totally useless in the crime solving department, so she orders McCain to get to work, and clear up this nasty case before Nixon's arrival. "My Lord, we'll look like hillbillies. Snakes and Ozark faith healers. Good grief." But before he can even begin his investigation a second murder takes place, the local Protesant minister is gunned down in his garage. McCain's convinced these two crimes are related, and as he begins to dig, secrets start popping up all over town..... Ed Gorman is back with another delightful and nostalgic romp through yesteryear, with his well drawn, wacky and quirky cast of intriguing, original characters. His fast-paced plot really captures the essence of the '50s, and is entertaining, and full of marvelously vivid, laugh-out-loud scenes. But it's Mr Gorman's witty writing and wise-cracking, irreverent dialogue that really makes this novel stand out. Save The Last Dance For Me is short, sweet, engaging, and thoroughly enjoyable from the first page to the satisfying last. If you're new to Sam McCain and company, start at the beginning with The Day The Music Died, and read them all. If you're already a fan, Ed Gorman doesn't disappoint with his latest installment. This is a series that just keeps getting better and better.
Rating: 4
Summary: Snakes in church and America in 1960
Comment: Sam McCain, attorney and sometimes investigator for Judge Esme Whitney, thinks that he's seen a lot--but he's never seen a church full of people sticking their hands in a box of rattlesnakes before. When the church's minister dies suddenly, everyone thinks one of the snakes got him--but McCain suspects murder. When a second minister suddenly dies, he's certain there is a connection, but exactly what the connection is, and who might be doing the killing remains unclear. In the meantime, McCain has to learn to deal with the strong attraction he feels toward married Kylie Burke.
SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME is set in small-town Iowa during the 1960 Kennedy/Nixon election and Nixon's upcoming visit is very much on the minds of the characters. The conservatives in town are worried about Catholics and Jews uniting to overthrow the nation if Kennedy is elected, and jazz and rock and roll are hitting their stride. Author Ed Gorman presents this earlier America not as a nostalgic dream, nor as a nightmare, but as a past that is well left behind.
Gorman does a fine job developing Sam McCain as an interesting and multidimensional character. His writing style is enjoyable and compelling. It'll make you want to keep reading. I found some of Gorman's observations to be a little cynical and condescending for my taste, but this didn't keep me from laughing out loud a couple of times or from enjoying SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME.
 |
Title: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? by Ed Gorman, Edward Gorman ISBN: 0425187160 Publisher: Prime Crime Pub. Date: December, 2002 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
 |
Title: Everybody's Somebody's Fool: A Sam McCain Mystery by Edward Gorman ISBN: 0786711140 Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub. Date: 23 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
 |
Title: Relentless by Ed Gorman ISBN: 0425188949 Publisher: Berkley Pub Group Pub. Date: 07 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
 |
Title: The Day the Music Died by Edward Gorman ISBN: 0425174115 Publisher: Prime Crime Pub. Date: 10 April, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
 |
Title: Breaking Up Is Hard to Do : A Sam McCain Mystery by Ed Gorman ISBN: 0786712961 Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub. Date: 09 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
