Candy Cadillac

'Nam Noir #3

by Claire Applewhite

Mistaken identity or delicious deception? Sultry blonde Barbara Lacey saunters into the Night and Day, a St. Louis bar, where she waits hours to deliver a mysterious envelope to a man that never appears. She reluctantly entrusts it to bar owner Alfie Greenblatt, and steps into the alley. Moments later Alfie hears the crisp pop of a bullet. He calls Sergeant Reggie Combs to investigate. Was Barbara's death an accident, or murder? Helen Tattaglia approaches her neighbors Elvin Suggs and his partners Cobra Glynes and Dimond "Di" Redding of the Grapevine Detective Agency. She hires them to trail her "abusive" husband; she also suspects her in-laws, who live across the street, have arranged for her murder. The detectives are skeptical but they accept the case. They soon discover Helen's sordid past, including another woman named Barbara Lacey. Frustrated with the case, Detective Reggie Combs turns to his friends at the Grapevine Detective Agency for help. The shady dealings of the Tattaglia family begin to unravel, while they reveal the secret in the envelope.

224 pages, Paperback

First published November 28, 2011

About the author

Claire Applewhite is a graduate of St. Louis University, (AB, Communications, MBA), Mercantile Leadership Program for Women. A participant in the Writers Institute at Washington University, and freelance writer—Healthy Cells magazine, House of Style magazine, reporter for Patch.com.

Published works: The Wrong Side of Memphis, Moonlight Becomes You So (2009), Crazy For You (2010), St. Louis Hustle, Candy Cadillac (2011). Website: www.Claireapplewhite.com, radio and television interviews available.

Immediate Past President, Missouri Writers Guild, Board member of Midwest Chapter, Mystery Writers of America. Member, St. Louis Metropolitan Press Club, St. Louis Writers Guild, Sisters in Crime, Ozark Writers League and Active Status member, Mystery Writers of America.

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Claire’s third installment of her ‘Nam Noir series. Having read her previous two books (The Wrong Side of Memphis and St. Louis Hustle) I was already familiar with the characters, and I thought she did a good job of developing them even further in Candy Cadillac. The descriptive dialoged and imagery had me feeling like I was on the streets of St. Louis right alongside Elvin and the gang from the Grapevine Detective Agency. If you enjoy mystery you will surely enjoy this book.

[Claire]

Kirkus' Review
CANDY CADILLAC
The dark streets of St. Louis star in this compelling third installment of the ’Nam Noir series (St. Louis Hustle, 2011; The Wrong Side of Memphis, 2009) by mystery author Applewhite.
Seeking respite from his anxiety, Cobra visits creepy Dr. Jules Derry. When it becomes clear this unlicensed physician longs to perform on humans the sort of testing he does on animals, Cobra and Elvin Suggs, his colleague from the Grapevine Detective Agency, flee Derry’s clinic. At their shared home, Dimond (Di) Redding, the third agency member, apprehensively observes the activities of their new neighbors, local gangsters by the name of Tattaglia. Unlike most people, Elvin takes being greeted by a gun while making a “welcome to the neighborhood” visit in stride. Helen, yet another neighbor and daughter-in-law of the un-neighborly Tattaglias, enlists the agency’s help to determine whether her in-laws have a hit out on her. Meanwhile, sexy Barbara Lacey is attracting attention at the Night and Day Bar, which leads to her being shot and killed in the alley out back. Investigating her death, Det. Reggie Combs reveals a whole cast of exotic dancers with temptingly sweet monikers such as Candy Rapper and Lolli Popp—and even more surprising ties to other characters. As the number of murder victims and break-ins in their neighborhood mount, Reggie, Cobra and Elvin dig deeper, but Di’s inexplicable fascination with Derry distracts her. Applewhite’s St. Louis setting steals the show, as her offbeat characters too often cross the line from idiosyncratic to purely strange. Outlandish names manage to confuse more than entertain, and secondary characters from previous books further baffle readers new to the series. Vulnerable Di, a 50something widow with a lot of looks and life still in her, is the most charismatic, challenged only by Vanna the Airedale. Applewhite would benefit by applying her skills to editing her cast of characters, so the reader can get by without taking notes.
Taut writing, memorable characterization and a superbly evocative setting.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s trouble in the neighborhood of the Grapevine Detective Agency. A woman is murdered minutes after leaving a mysterious envelope with the owner of a local bar, a nearby wig shop is broken into and vandalized, and a black car constantly cruises the neighborhood. Neighbor Helen Tattaglia asks the detective agency to follow her husband, son of the head of a crime organization, but Elvin Suggs, Di Redding, and their friend Cobra, a former Marine sniper, are a bit suspicious of her real reason for hiring them. When the owner of the bar and Helen are subsequently murdered, Detective Reggie Combs calls on his friends at the detective agency to help look into the murders. Their investigation leads them back to the Tattaglia family and a doctor of ill-repute performing mysterious experiments.

This latest installment of the ‘Nam Noir series is as thrilling as ever. Applewhite’s unique writing style – think hard-boiled meets cozy – is intriguing and makes for an enjoyable read. The diverse personas of Elvin, Di and Cobra are a good combination and enhance the fast-moving plot. Readers will be challenged as they try to solve this not-so-easy-to-figure-out whodunit.

[Beth Schneider McEwen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this as it was on my shared Kindle account. Even with the references to St Louis, my hometown, I could barely make it through the whole thing. There was virtually no character development, the plot became pretty convoluted, and the dialogue fell flat time and again. While I love supporting new authors, especially those from the midwest, I don't foresee myself reading anything by this author again.

[Tom Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m sorry I didn’t post a review earlier. It has been a while since I read the book. I was most impressed by the characters and wondering where the small attractive lady I have met several times at Killer Nashville comes up with these colorful rough around the edges types and some even more so. It is really good and entertaining work. Perfect for a long plane ride, or a rainy "stay in type" of day.

[Mike Schneider · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disappointing---this was highlighted in a newspaper review as a terrific book by a local author that was set in St. Louis (all of which was true, except for the "terrific" part). It was a pretty disjointed story, with little development of the characters and not much of a plot. I had hoped for much better.