Saratoga Backtalk

Charlie Bradshaw #8

by Stephen Dobyns

When a wealthy horse owner is kicked to death by a horse in Saratoga Springs, the pensive Charlie Bradshaw and his opportunistic foil, Victor Plotz, discover the enmity and suspicion that lie behind the man's death.

Genres: Mystery, Novels

212 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1994

About the author

Dobyns was raised in New Jersey, Michigan, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. He was educated at Shimer College, graduated from Wayne State University, and received an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa in 1967. He has worked as a reporter for the Detroit News.

He has taught at various academic institutions, including Sarah Lawrence College, the Warren Wilson College MFA Program for Writers, the University of Iowa, Syracuse University, and Boston University.

In much of his poetry and some works of non-genre fiction, Dobyns employs extended tropes, using the ridiculous and the absurd as vehicles to introduce more profound meditations on life, love, and art. He shies neither from the low nor from the sublime, and all in a straightforward narrative voice of reason. His journalistic training has strongly informed this voice.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the 8th book in the Saratoga-Charlie Bradshaw detective series. It is the first narrated by Charlie's friend Vic Plotz. The change does not work for several reasons, the main being that Vic is a low life sleaze ball with really no morally redeeming qualities. he thinks he is witty, but he cannot pull it off.

Don't waste your time with this one. I hope the author reverts to his early style for the last 2 books of the series.

[Angie S · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mystery is good with plenty of characters and motivations and concludes with a darkly twisted ending. Overall, the book has an odd tone. It is too quirky to be hardboiled, but too raunchy to be softboiled. I didn't like Vic Plotz, the narrator, very much because he is so crude that it got on my nerves. But he still has his amusing moments and funny lines, so I didn't hate him or anything. I wouldn't read another one, but I enjoyed it well enough for what it was.

[Robert Bastone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cozy read. This story is from the pov of series protagonist right hand man and I want to read more in the series to better understand the main character.

It was great to read about Saratoga. Will be reading more.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't identify much with a character who is a self-identified rat, (with a heart of gold?) but he certainly is funny in a well-written book.

[Max Anadon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this a few years ago, but forgot how it ended. I enjoy Dobyn's characters, especially Vic, who recognizes - even relishes in his faults. The 'elevator game' gave me quite a chuckle.

Old man Logan (owner of Battlefield Horse Farms, but flower more than horse lover) wants to hire Charlie, but Vic is the one in his office. Instead of the normal 150 bucks for retainer, he charges 1000 - and Logan doesn't blink. This starts the mystery off when Logan is 'killed' by a crazed horse. Who made the horse crazy? The unfaithful wife? Her lover? Life-long resentful stepson? Multiple murders later it's not clear, till the end.

Dobyn's is always fair in his storytelling, and this was an enjoyable light read.

[Kara Jorges · Rating 4 out of 5]

We see the world through the eyes of Vic Plotz, a fifty-something, wisecracking P.I. with an appreciation for older women. Vic and his boss Charlie get caught up in the intrigue of a series of murders at Battlefield Farms near Saratoga. Vic tracks down clues and plots his own intrigues against a Harley-riding tenant and his granddaughter who’s threatening to ruin his life with a visit. The list of suspects gets shorter and shorter, as they get killed off one by one, and Charlie and Vic wrap it up just in time to save the last victim. Though the mystery wasn’t top drawer, the book was written in an engaging, amusing style. Vic’s observations and machinations make the whole thing worthwhile as they easily upstage the main story. I’d pick up another Dobyns novel if I found one.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real fun, who done it (written in 1994), that takes place in Saratoga Springs, NY. Stephen Dobyns, the author definitely has a way with words, characterizations....Charlie, one of the main characters and "my Steve" have a lot in common. LOL

[Joe Mossa · Rating 3 out of 5]

i love this writer. i don t read much mystery fiction but i thought his murder descriptions were too far fetched for me to accept.