Chutes and Adders

Robin Light #1

by Barbara Block

Recently widowed Robin Light runs Noah's Ark, a Syracuse pet shop specializing in puppies and parakeets, bunnies and boas. Robin can't resist rescuing a stray kitten - or finding the vicious killer who set her up to take the rap... for murder.

The package looked innocent enough... until it was opened and the rare, saw-backed viper attacked. By the time Robin got her co-worker to the hospital, he was dead, the cops had unearthed a small fortune in her shop's heating vent, and she'd been fingered as the prime suspect in a particularly nasty murder case.

Now, as Robin struggles to clear her name and to keep Noah's Ark afloat, she finds herself following a trail strewn with corpses... straying far from her pampered pets and into a den of venomous secrets where someone stalks her with the cold-blooded skill of a cobra... someone coiled and ready to strike.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery

296 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1994

About the author

Aka Isis Crawford

Barbara Block is the author of the Robin Light Mystery Series, Twister, In Plain Sight, Scent of Murder, and Vanishing Act. Her upcoming release, Endangered Species, will be available in September of 1999. She was recently named one of Booklist's Top Five Lesser Known Female Sleuths so, hopefully, a wider audience will discover her through the thrills of Endangered Species. A longtime freelance writer, Barbara has produced numerous feature articles and reviews in addition to her novels. When she's not writing, Barbara somehow finds the time to run a catering business specializing in desserts.

Barbara holds a BA in Spanish from New York University and an MA in Spanish from Columbia University. She has also studied at Hunter College and the School of Visual Arts. An avid traveler, Barbara has toured extensively through both Europe and Latin America.

As a youth, animals were among Barbara's many interests. Her childhood was crowded with pets of every kind that included a type of alligator known as a caiman. The caiman took up residence in the family bathtub, much to the guests' dismay. Her love for creatures has not dissipated over the years. Indeed, her deep interest in animals has led her to be a "mother" to dogs, cats, ferrets, Burmese pythons, and monitor lizards. Included in the zoo were three male Homo sapiens of her own.

Originally from New York City, Barbara Block has made Syracuse her home for twenty-five years.

Reviews

[Nadine in NY Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

set in Syracuse NY

***

My attitude towards cozies can best be described as ... skeptical. I like to read mysteries, so I've read a few cozies in my time, even enjoyed some of them, but for the most part they seem to be contrived and clunky, and far too cutesy. (Be proud of me for thinking of all "c" words, in the spirit of the c ozy.) But I needed a "local author book for the 2018 Popsugar challenge, and I struck out badly with attempt #1. "Local" means "Syracuse area" for me, so here I am with Challenge read Take 2, a Robin Light mystery!

So .... I didn't like this book. I would've DNF'ed this, but I really wanted to just finish a local author book and check off that category.

Now I'm going to complain a lot, and there will probably be spoilers.

This passage kind of sums up the entire book:

Then I thought about how I hadn’t handled things too well over the last couple of days and about how, if I knew what was good for me, I’d better get a grip on myself.

That's it, right there. That's the book. Robin smokes too much, talks too much, and just generally does a series of idiotic things.

She's innocent, and if she had only told the police everything she knew, there would have been no book! But no, she doesn't trust the police (I guess? for no apparent reason?), despite having a good friend on the force. So she ends up poking and prying and breaking and entering and pestering and just generally pissing people off and getting herself into more trouble. Block's version of Syracuse has a large Hispanic population, most of whom seem to be involved in Santeria/Santerfa.

So much for the story. The details sucked, too.

The fun of books by local authors set in the local town is that you recognize some place names. There's always a smattering of fake names, I guess to avoid legal issues or for plot reasons. Robin takes John to "St Ann's" hospital, which doesn't exist. So let's assume she's going to St Joseph's. She is very specific about the route she takes, which confused me, because I didn't know where some of these streets were. I googled.

We were only ten blocks away from St. Ann’s. ... I made a right onto Gifford, squealed around the corner onto West Street, and went through the intersection without stopping for the light.

Okay, so far so good. If her pet shop is south of Armory Square, this is the route she would take towards St Joe's.

As we passed the All Souls Pentecostal Church, I asked him if he knew who had sent him the package. ... Then as I was rounding the corner at Townsend and Clark I must have hit a patch of black ice because the car skidded out and I sideswiped a Jeep ... As I made a sharp turn onto Ash, John fell against my arm. ... I said a prayer, put my foot down to the floor, my hand on the horn, and went up West Street at eighty miles an hour. I careened into the hospital parking lot, tromped on the brakes and ran hollering into reception.

So. Yes you would get on Townsend, but there is no "Townsend & Clark," at least not near any of those other streets. There is a Townsen & Ash, but why does she end up back on West St after all that? Why be so oddly specific, and make up a street name, and then get the directions garbled? Even if St Ann's is in a made-up location and not where an actual hospital is, these directions don't make sense.

She does it again and again:

I backed my car out of the driveway and took a right on Crawford, a left on Scot, then another left onto Genesee. For some reason I caught every red light. I was waiting for the one at the corner of Cherry and Olmstead to turn when ...

There is no Cherry and Olmstead!!! Why? Why is she so specific, and then makes something up???

If you can't get it right, leave it out!

And why make up a hospital, where no one does anything wrong, but use the actual name of the zoo, where a zookeeper threatens Robin with a King cobra??

Also, I've lived in Syracuse for 28 years now, I've yet to hit a patch of "black ice" - I don't know what this "black ice" is that people always talk about.

Robin eats an awful lot of chocolate bars. I felt a little ill just reading it. Who lives like this??

Then I watered my jade tree, made myself a cup of coffee, ate a couple of chocolate bars out of the fridge, swallowed a handful of vitamins, grabbed the day’s newspaper, and listened to the messages on my answering machine.

*****

I got dressed, brewed myself some coffee, ate two chocolate bars, swallowed a handful of vitamin pills, and called the PSB ...

*****

I made myself a pot of coffee, got a couple of chocolate bars out of the fridge, sat down at the kitchen table, and began doing what I should have done in the first place ...

*****

so I got up, shrugged on my jeans and an old sweatshirt, got the paper from the mailbox, made myself some coffee, and ate two chocolate bars.

*****

I threw on jeans and another black turtleneck, put my hair up, went down to the kitchen, and made myself a big pot of coffee. Three cups of French roast, a chocolate bar, a handful of vitamins, and two cigarettes later, I was ready to roll.

*****

I collected the morning newspaper off the front porch and went inside. James was waiting for me in the kitchen. I fed him, refilled Elsie’s dog food bowl, then made myself a big steaming mug of caf6 au lait. I cradled the cup in my hands, savoring its warmth, as I took it over to the kitchen table. While I sipped the sweet, milky brew, I ate a chocolate bar, a couple of slices of French bread, and scanned the local paper, after which I lit a cigarette ...

And I have more complaints about locations. She takes 81 to the airport - fine - but then she says:
The road was even worse than I thought it would be. At the Liverpool intersection, a tractor trailer leaned into a ditch. Five miles further up another car was off the road,

There are several "Liverpool intersections" from the highway, but even from the first one, if you drive another FIVE MILES, you'll have passed the airport! But oh no she drives another five miles after that. She's well past the airport!

On her way back she details her route and clearly the pet store is not over by Armory Square, it's near Westcott:

I got off 81, took 690 East, and then exited at the Teall Avenue exit. As I was driving up toward Genesee Street, my stomach started rumbling and I realized that with everything that had been going on I’d forgotten to eat. At the next light I made a left on Teall, drove two blocks, parked in front of the 7-Eleven on the corner of Erie and Taylor, and went in.

Which means all her racing around up and down West and Townsend to the hospital in chapter one .... made NO sense. No wonder the guy died! She was taking him on a tour of the city!

And she just doesn't stop driving me crazy with this.

I wanted to take a run down to the Shining Crystal Bookstore. I knew they had books on tarot and magic. ... The drive over to the bookstore took twenty minutes. The place was sandwiched between a supermarket and a pizza store on the corner of Dell and Cherry.

Anyone who knows Syracuse will recognize this as the old Seven Rays bookstore (now defunct). That's cool and all, but the bookstore was on Westcott. Dell St and Cherry St are both real streets, but they do not intersect. They are in the same neighborhood, but several blocks apart. There is no "corner of Dell and Cherry"!!!!

And don't walk into somebody's house uninvited and then light a fucking cigarette while you walk around inside.

I turned and rang the bell. No one answered. I tried again. When no one answered this time, I tried the door handle. It turned. The door was open. I walked in. At that point it never occurred to me not to. That’s how obsessed I’d become. The hallway light was on. ... Maybe he was upstairs. I realized as I started down the corridor that in the five years I’d known Sam, I’d never been in his house. ... Piles of books stood alongside the chairs and sofa. I lit a cigarette before I glanced at their titles.

WHO DOES THAT??!!??

It's at this point that I realized I really hate the protagonist, this book is never going to get any better, and I might as well fast forward to the end just to find out whodunnit. The resolution was ridiculous. At least I read enough for me to decide it qualifies for my reading challenge.

And, this story ended up being so violent, with so many people (and animals!) dying, that I don't think it qualifies as a "cozy."

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you like snakes, women that smoke (lots) and winters in Syracuse, you'll love this book.

[Khanson919 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robin Light is running her deceased husband's pet shop when one of her employees is killed by a poisonous snake. The cops have decided that she is the number one suspect so she has no choice but to try to figure out who the actually killer is. Along the way there are more deaths and attacks that she is accused of but she continues to work hard until the real murderer is revealed. Overall, the story was decent. There are a lot of different suspects Robin focuses on and she learns a lot about her employees and her husband as she goes about her investigation. The only negative thing about the book was the setting of Syracuse, NY in the winter. The author's description paints a picture of a rundown town that is constantly grey and dirty. Not really cheerful to read this time of year. Not sure what the character will do next since the pet shop burns down at the end of the book, but Robin was a writer and photographer before she started running the pet shop so maybe she will go back to that.

[David Rash · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading Barbara Block’s Robin Light series around 15-20 years ago and I still go back and reread them. They’re not quite cozy mysteries—more like cozy-adjacent. They have quirky elements you’d find in a cozy mystery but there’s a darker, grittier side to them. Robin Light is a chain-smoking, Red Label shooting, foul mouthed mess riding one coffee ice cream caffeine high to another while trying to hold down the fort at her exotic pet supply store. The character was written flawlessly. for me, Block is essential reading for dark-cozy lovers. I can’t say the last in the series, No Good Deed, left room for much room for it but I still hope one day Block will revisit the series and we’ll get to see Robin again but until then I’ll go clutch the copies I have and maybe reread again.

[Brit (Circus_of_Damed) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning of a mystery series, despite the pun of a title this isn't a cozy mystery. Really enjoied the reptile focus aspect of the novel esspecially the care and keeping an the venomous snake aspect just added alot of interest. Which added to the dark grittiness of this novel. All the characters were a touch unlikable at so point in the novel, however this wasn't really a flaw of the book. However the ending of the novel was an issue for me it felt like it was a twist that didn't make sense and was rushed and disjointed with the rest of the novel. A content warning that should be mentioned is there is some animal cruelty in the novel that reads should be aware of.

[Jamie Jacopelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so fun to read. It is set in Syracuse, but written 30 years ago. So much is different now, but so much is familiar. It was a good book, and I didn't figure it out on my own. It may not be as interesting if you're not familiar with Syracuse (lots of streets and businesses named), but for me, it was a lot of fun.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robin Light has to run their pet shop after her husband dies. One of her employees dies after opening a pkg. containing a deadly viper. She has to prove her innocence to a detective who has it out for her.

[Phyllis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great page-turner! If reading about snakes creeps you out, you may not like it. It is a great story and it kept me reading past my bedtime.

[andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man this was dark. I'm not a huge fan of cozy and amateur sleuths per se. When I am in the mood for them...to say take a break from gruesome deaths, twisted characters and ugly motives I can enjoy the fluff and often humor of a well written cozy.
This is certainly not fluffy or humorous.
Felt a great deal of disconnect reading an investigation so gritty and harsh being carried out by a pet store owner.
A very strange reading experience.
Am a bit wary to try the others I bought at library sale. May end up being donated right back...

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even on my worst day, I would not want to trade with Robin Light for the time she is having as Chutes and Adders opens. Recently widowed and fending off strong advances from a local real estate kingpin who wants the land underneath her pet store, Robin gets the shock of her life when an employer is bitten by the contents of a deadly package package delivery, a saw-scaled snake. Greetings from the Unasnakecharmer, no doubt.

Local police, however, aren't laughing, and immediately Robin is fingered as the prime suspect. Officers Lorenzo and Cunningham, in particular, have made a hobby of riding Robin's tail, prompting Robin to launch her own investigation for the purpose of clearing her name. Her search unearths a shady side operation spearheaded by her late husband, the Santeria culture of Syracuse, and the revelation that most everybody Robin needs to talk to is turning up dead or injured to the point to death and unable to talk. Like I said, my worst day doesn't sound so bad.

Unfortunately for Robin, she seems to me to do almost everything wrong. I'm guessing Ms. Block wrote the character like this on purpose: a panicky redhead who confronts people head on without first playing the sly sleuth and gathering evidence. Maybe it's all those chocolate bars Ms. Block has her character eat. Many times I had to shake my head as Robin did something that likely would have made it easier for the police to pin the murders on her; some readers may find this behavior part of Robin's charm. I, anal retentive person that I am, found it plain aggravating.

Not to say I did not like Chutes and Adders; I found the book a quick read, as well as amusing as Robin sank deeper into trouble with each chapter. I do admit I was stumped at the revelation of the true killer, and that accounts for something when reading a mystery. Readers into a lighter read with a bit of scatterbrain action should consider seeing the Light.

[Nancy Rogan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am living temporarily in a small town with a limited library. I don't want to accumulate more books before I move again, so I browse the mysteries at the library and that has resulted in my reading some old series. And that has turned out to be a good thing! I am reading some interesting books that I am enjoying. This one, too, has no cell phones and not much computer sleuthing. The protagonist actually went to a bookstore and bought books for research. Wow - what a concept! I think it was much harder to write a mystery without the ease of calling for help on a cellphone and/or getting a person's life history online. I liked this book and will read the next one, but I have to say I had a hard time getting a read on the main character. She did some dumb things, came across as pretty rough around the edges and wasn't particularly likable except for her compassion for animals. An interesting read, though. BEWARE: if snakes creep you out DO NOT read this book.

[Cindy · Rating 1 out of 5]

With a Punny title like that, I expected a book with a little humor in it. I was wrong. This book is dark, depressing, and not very engaging. Robin Light is taking over her dead husband's pet store. He died, not from a nice heart attack, but from a cocaine overdose. That sort of sets the tone for the whole book. I know some people like their mysteries to explore the darker side of human nature, but I just want to be entertained. I finally gave up. I skipped ahead so I know whodunnit, but really, by then, I didn't care.

[Anne Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good mystery book, but bland too. It takes place in a pet shop where one of the employees gets bitten by a snake mysteriously sent in a package. The story tries to figure out who sent the package, and who is murdering several other people in the community. I was glad when all was over. I hope this woman was able to get a more normal car (not a taxi cab) in the future.

[Dany · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was pretty dark for a cozy-type mystery. The mystery itself was ok but the ending was really odd. The actions of the killer made no sense; the person totally had no need to do what they did in the end. Also, I didn't like all the creepy crawlies. So I wasn't really hip to it.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first book by Barbara Block. She also writes by her other name Isis Crawford. This book takes awhile to find out the killer. It is a good book and I plan on reading the rest of the series.

[Naseebeh · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love animals you will enjoy-the main character is a pet shop owner-and she solves murders on the side!

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish she'd cut to the chase sooner but yes, more.

[Catsalive · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://bookcrossing.com/journal/12054...

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 - Good