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The Case of the Talking Bug
Jennie K. Nelson, Amazon customer review: "This book is excellently written and keeps the reader engaged the whole time. It has a slightly creepy feel to it that can really fill the reader with suspence. It is not like an Agatha Christie novel that keeps you guessing at who did the murdering nor does it have all the suspects close at hand. I guess you could say it is more like following a homoside detective around throught the case; you have no real idea of what happens and you must go searching for the clues. Anyway I think it is an excellent book." (sic)
188 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1955
3 people are currently reading
23 people want to read
About the author
The Gordons
49 books9 followersThe Gordons is the pen name of the writing duo consisting of Gordon Gordon (12 March 1906 - 14 March 2002) and his wife Mildred Gordon (née Nixon, 24 June 1912 - 3 February 1979).
Probably best known for the novel that the Disney movie That Darn Cat , starring Hayley Mills, was based upon.
Gordon Gordon studied with Mildred Nixon at the University of Arizona and married her in 1932. After graduation, Gordon got a job on the editorial board of the daily newspaper Tucson Citizen. In 1935 he moved to the editorial office of the film company 20th Century Fox and remained there until 1942. From there he was hired by the Homeland Security Agency and Gordon worked in counterintelligence until the end of the war.
Mildred Nixon had studied pedagogy and worked as a teacher for some time after her studies. After her marriage, she began working for the United Press news agency. She also served as editor of Arizona Highways magazine for a time .
Gordon and Mildred Gordon's first literary attempts date back to their student days. After the first successful publications, their works appeared almost exclusively as a collaborative effort.
After Mildred Gordon died in 1979, Gordon Gordon remarried on March 16, 1980, to Mary Dorr.
Probably best known for the novel that the Disney movie That Darn Cat , starring Hayley Mills, was based upon.
Gordon Gordon studied with Mildred Nixon at the University of Arizona and married her in 1932. After graduation, Gordon got a job on the editorial board of the daily newspaper Tucson Citizen. In 1935 he moved to the editorial office of the film company 20th Century Fox and remained there until 1942. From there he was hired by the Homeland Security Agency and Gordon worked in counterintelligence until the end of the war.
Mildred Nixon had studied pedagogy and worked as a teacher for some time after her studies. After her marriage, she began working for the United Press news agency. She also served as editor of Arizona Highways magazine for a time .
Gordon and Mildred Gordon's first literary attempts date back to their student days. After the first successful publications, their works appeared almost exclusively as a collaborative effort.
After Mildred Gordon died in 1979, Gordon Gordon remarried on March 16, 1980, to Mary Dorr.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 24, 2021
After the charm and vivacity of the Gordons' That Darn Cat a.k.a, Undercover Cat, this mystery was a big letdown. The discussion of the ethics of wiretapping, and how the detectives grow invested in the people they listen in to was sometimes interesting. The subplot of the little girl with polio was the highlight. But there was just too much back-and-forth about the constitutionality of wiretapping, and it became boring very quickly.
The characters are all blank slates, except maybe for Cynthia(who is barely in the book at all). Sharon "Cokie"(the weird nickname is never explained) was okay at first, but towards the end she acts mind-numbingly dumb. The whole thing is wrapped up way too suddenly, leaving the story to feel unfinished and rushed.
I liked That Darn Cat enough that I still want to read more by the Gordons, but The Case of the Talking Bug is sadly not a keeper for me!
The characters are all blank slates, except maybe for Cynthia(who is barely in the book at all). Sharon "Cokie"(the weird nickname is never explained) was okay at first, but towards the end she acts mind-numbingly dumb. The whole thing is wrapped up way too suddenly, leaving the story to feel unfinished and rushed.
I liked That Darn Cat enough that I still want to read more by the Gordons, but The Case of the Talking Bug is sadly not a keeper for me!
Want to read
February 27, 2019Synopsis: rookie FBI agent, Greg Evans, hears of the planned murder of a girl through a wire-tap but he arrives too late. Was it the right girl?
February 24, 2018
Very much enjoyed this book - great wiretapping drama!
May 25, 2016
First, I want to point out that one of the author’s names is Gordon Gordon. What kind of parents with the last name “Gordon” decide to inflict the same first name on their son? That just seems cruel; no wonder he grew up to write about murder.
Talking Bug was a pretty cool book. Greg Evans is a young graduate of the FBI Police Academy, and he works as part of the police’s relatively new Tech department. That’s the code word for wiretapping, secret even within the police department, where anyone outside the loop just believes they’ve got a lot of “mysterious informants” instead of knowing the truth.
The case: a dead girl on Sandy Beach. They knew it was coming from the wiretaps, but were too late. But when they hear prominent businessman Harry Malone, who they could never quite pin down for money laundering, say it was the wrong girl murdered… Soon, the hunt is on for the girl’s sister, who’s off on vacation, while trying to figure out just who these voices on the phone belong to.
I thought it was very interesting how they touched on the moral issues around wiretapping. For a police detective story, it was very insightful to have Evans go before a grand jury and give a fair and balanced opinion about the subject while his various peers and friends represented different sides of the privacy vs security argument. That plot didn’t overall add anything to the main plot, but it did add to the enjoyment of the book.
There was a cute little C-plot about a Tech worker who felt bad about one of the conversations he was overhearing – unrelated personal details about someone’s little girl getting polio and stuck with an iron lung.
The main plot was good, but there were a few red herrings that just kinda turned into loose ends. I was surprised by the reveal of the guy on the phone so early, but it added an interesting effect to see how they tailed him and worked with his doublespeak. Parts of the ending let me down, but it also managed to kick it up a notch right near the climax that really compensated.
Without the interesting wiretapping drama this would’ve been a 3, but that extra layer adds a lot.
Talking Bug was a pretty cool book. Greg Evans is a young graduate of the FBI Police Academy, and he works as part of the police’s relatively new Tech department. That’s the code word for wiretapping, secret even within the police department, where anyone outside the loop just believes they’ve got a lot of “mysterious informants” instead of knowing the truth.
The case: a dead girl on Sandy Beach. They knew it was coming from the wiretaps, but were too late. But when they hear prominent businessman Harry Malone, who they could never quite pin down for money laundering, say it was the wrong girl murdered… Soon, the hunt is on for the girl’s sister, who’s off on vacation, while trying to figure out just who these voices on the phone belong to.
I thought it was very interesting how they touched on the moral issues around wiretapping. For a police detective story, it was very insightful to have Evans go before a grand jury and give a fair and balanced opinion about the subject while his various peers and friends represented different sides of the privacy vs security argument. That plot didn’t overall add anything to the main plot, but it did add to the enjoyment of the book.
There was a cute little C-plot about a Tech worker who felt bad about one of the conversations he was overhearing – unrelated personal details about someone’s little girl getting polio and stuck with an iron lung.
The main plot was good, but there were a few red herrings that just kinda turned into loose ends. I was surprised by the reveal of the guy on the phone so early, but it added an interesting effect to see how they tailed him and worked with his doublespeak. Parts of the ending let me down, but it also managed to kick it up a notch right near the climax that really compensated.
Without the interesting wiretapping drama this would’ve been a 3, but that extra layer adds a lot.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews