The Man Who Liked To Look At Himself

Mario Balzic Detective Mystery #2

by K.C. Constantine

As the novel opens, Balzic and Lt. Harry Minyon of the state police are hunting pheasant at the Rocksburg Rod and Gun Club when, after Minyon's dog bites Balzic, the dog uncovers a piece of human bone that shows signs of having been hacked apart.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime

156 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Carl Constantine Kosak is an American mystery author known for his work as K.C. Constantine. Little is known about Kosak, as he prefers anonymity and has given only a few interviews. He was born in 1934 and served in the Marines in the early 1950s. He lives in Greensburg PA with wife Linda.



http://www.badattitudes.com/KCCintvw....

Reviews

[Karl]

This book is volume 11 of 50 books by various authors published by Garland Publishing in 1982. The book was originally published in 1973 in Hardcover by Dutton. The author's real name is Carl Constantine Kosak, he was born in 1934 and served in the Marines in the early 1950s

His most famous creation is Mario Balzic, police chief in fictional Rocksburg, Pennsylvania.

In May 2011, Kosak appeared in person for the first time to sign books.

The lis of 50 Classics of Crime Fiction 1950–1975 can be found here:

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fine entry in Constantine's Mario Balzic series. Constantine is a native of SW Pennsylvania, an area I know well. He does a very good job of capturing the milieu, I only wish he worked more of the area's visual aspects into his stories. This is a a mountainous region and all the towns are built on slopes of one kind or another. In addition, it is a a rust belt region and you get a sense of that in learning the back stories of the principal characters. This volume is a noirish little gem and any further information would be a spoiler.

[Pauline Midwinter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great detective story from KCC. I just love Balzic!

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Balzic books are such an authentic portrait of their time and place – 1970’s Pennsylvania coal country, the ethnic mix, the economic challenges, the vernacular. It’s a real testimonial to say that the books, the characters, the settings are still fresh, vivid and not dated 50 years after Constantine wrote them.
Balzic is still the low key, competent, clear-eyed but compassionate, no fuss cop he always was, his knowledge of his town and its people and his patient intelligence the best tools on his belt. He has a new lieutenant to contend with, Minyon, an impatient, prejudiced, egotistical pain who manages to make the job worse and more complicated at every step of the way.
There are inept hunting dogs and the body of an unknown man sawed to bits to deal with, as well as political flak from Council and the public and an accusation of police racism by a new African American pastor. Balzic sorts it all out with the assistance of the flamboyantly alcoholic attorney Mo Valcanas.
It makes me happy to know there are more than a dozen more of these books to rediscover.

[Kathy KS · Rating 3 out of 5]

When pieces of a body are discovered while hunting, Police chief Mario Balzic begins a competition with the lieutenant in charge of the local state police to solve the case of who and why this person was killed. Once again, Balzic's roots in the community are a very real part of the story. I found the way many of the characters interact to be believable and the crime and solution made sense, especially in the time frame of the story (early 1970s?).

For some readers, the eventual path of the story may be disturbing. Likewise, the rather casual use of ethnic slurs, etc. don't sound right today and may offend many. However, as someone that was a young adult during this time period, it actually seems to portray many of the attitudes of some during the time period. It didn't seem odd for the time, but changes in our society now make some of the dialogue uncomfortable.

I'll continue the series because I find the characters to seem pretty real for their time and the cases provide some puzzles to solve.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mixed review for this one. On the one hand, it is one of the better constructed narratives / mysteries of the first three Balzic books. On the other hand, there's far too much casual use of the N word, and race isn't even a major plot point.

In all of these books so far, a lot of the references and attitudes from the 60s and 70s are dated -- sexism, racism, casual police brutality, substance abuse etc. It makes the characters realistic and true to the time, but I'm not sure how much awareness K.C. had of that when he was writing.

In this case, I won't do a spoiler, but there are some very outdated sexual references in this one that would not fly nowadays. But they are totally in keeping with the era of the 60s/70s.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aside from the obnoxious racism/sexism of the time, I greatly enjoyed visiting Mario Balzic on the job and seeing the empathetic way he navigates the depressed Pittsburgh 'burbs. The best fictional detectives are horrified at what hath we wrought and Balzic is, revealed in the moving conclusion to this painful crime.

[Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a crime story of a certain vintage, it's a fine story. It is definitely a product and reflection of its time - the early 1970s - complete with many ethnic, racial, and sexual slurs tossed around in casual conversation. Authentic? Probably. Pleasant to read, not so much.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Constantine has such a fine ear for Western Pa's spoken word.

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

RATING: 4.0

[Regine]

Okay.

[Janet Brandenburg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, clever, with a sharp humor

[Tracyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Constantine has written a series that mostly features the chief of police of Rocksburg, Pennsylvania, Mario Balzic. Some of the later books feature one of his detectives, after Mario has retired. The books were written between 1972 and 2000. This is the 2nd in the series. At 155 pages, it was a quick and enjoyable read.

The crime is discovered almost immediately. A dog finds a portion of a bone which looks to be human on hunting grounds used by the police department in the fictional town of Rocksburg, Pennsylvania. More remains are found subsequently and the body is identified. The book is a whodunit but it is primarily about how and why such a crime occurred. The book also examines the community, which has been hit hard by the loss of jobs and industry in the area. The protagonist is dealing with a new boss, who has troubling racial biases.

The author, K. C. Constantine, writes beautifully and has a good command of dialogue. All of the characters are very well developed, the policemen, the suspects and the witnesses. I highly recommend this book.

Full review here: http://bitterteaandmystery.blogspot.c...

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#2 in the Mario Balzic / Rocksburg, PA series.

Mario Balzic, police chief of Rocksburg, PA, encounters human remains while hunting with Lt. Minyon the new State Police Chief of Detectives. Further investigation finds parts of the same dismembered body on other farms leased by the Police Rod & Gun Club and a missing club member, Frank Gallic - a butcher and partner with Mario's classmate, Mickey Sammara.

[Hans · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mario Balzic series continues to present a complex view into the world of a small town police chief. The grit, guilt and complications of small-town life shine through in the book--warts, racism, and all.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: Balzic and Lt. Harry Minyon of the state police are hunting in rural Pennsylvania when Minyon's dog uncovers a piece of human bone.