What do you think?
Rate this book
Mario Balzic Detective Mystery #16
Grievance
James Deford Lyon, philanthropist and CEO of one of Pittsburgh's greatest steel companies, has been gunned down in his palatial home by a sniper, and detective "Rugs" Carlucci is the man lucky enough to receive the call. Quickly besieged by the demands of media figures from Washington and New York and sifting through hundreds of able-bodied suspects who've been downsized by Lyons, Rugs has more than enough to worry about. Unfortunately, the rest of his life won't stop for the criminal investigation: His mother has a violent outburst that leads her to a mental hospital; Rugs' partner is operating behind his back, hoping to nail the killer and gain a promotion; and his relationship with one-time Miss Pennsylvania runner-up Franny Perfetti is coming to a critical crossroad. Meanwhile, a vicious killer is making sure no one feels safe...
279 pages, Hardcover
First published June 13, 2000
42 people want to read
About the author
K.C. Constantine
33 books45 followersCarl 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....
http://www.badattitudes.com/KCCintvw....
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 22, 2016
Boy, I forgot how great these books are.
August 19, 2011
1)
About a third of the way in and I guess I'll finish just to see how the story unfolds, but I'm none too thrilled. I'd heard that Constantine switched from chief Balzic to Detective Carlucci as protagonist somewhere along the line, but I'd forgotten. And I don't like it very much. This seems much flabbier than what I remember from the two Balzic novels I've read.
Especially disappointing is the dialogue, which is both too loquacious, and contains far too much phonetic transcription, which makes it sound like the dialogue from some overwritten superhero comic. And that just gets kinda annoying, ya know what I mean?
I wonder if Constantine slacked down, or if he used to have a better and stricter editor in the old days.
2)
This is nonsense. More than 100 pages into it and it's going nowhere. Lot's of dialogue, but the dialogue is so slack and dumb and repetitive. As is some of the narrative, sometimes it's as though Constantine is addressing a toddler – or his characters are, and that's when they're addressing themselves. I can't finish this, it's a complete waste of time. I'll try some of the earlier Balzic mysteries if I ever come across them, but it seems to me that at some point in his career this author seriously derailed.
About a third of the way in and I guess I'll finish just to see how the story unfolds, but I'm none too thrilled. I'd heard that Constantine switched from chief Balzic to Detective Carlucci as protagonist somewhere along the line, but I'd forgotten. And I don't like it very much. This seems much flabbier than what I remember from the two Balzic novels I've read.
Especially disappointing is the dialogue, which is both too loquacious, and contains far too much phonetic transcription, which makes it sound like the dialogue from some overwritten superhero comic. And that just gets kinda annoying, ya know what I mean?
I wonder if Constantine slacked down, or if he used to have a better and stricter editor in the old days.
2)
This is nonsense. More than 100 pages into it and it's going nowhere. Lot's of dialogue, but the dialogue is so slack and dumb and repetitive. As is some of the narrative, sometimes it's as though Constantine is addressing a toddler – or his characters are, and that's when they're addressing themselves. I can't finish this, it's a complete waste of time. I'll try some of the earlier Balzic mysteries if I ever come across them, but it seems to me that at some point in his career this author seriously derailed.
February 19, 2015
#16 in the series about the police force of Rocksburg, PA. Police Chief Mario Balzic was featured until his retirement after which "Rugs" Carlucci was promoted to Chief. This literate series was much more than a police procedural. If I were the type to use the expression, I would say that this series spoke of the "human condition".
Rugs Carlucci is called out at 3AM by Trooper Milliron to help investigate a murder. The murdered man is a philanthropist who had previously shut down the steel mill that employed a large percentage of the Rocksburg population. Rugs' mother is becoming increasingly irrational and his concerns become a source of stress with Milliron, who also wants credit for the case.
Rugs Carlucci is called out at 3AM by Trooper Milliron to help investigate a murder. The murdered man is a philanthropist who had previously shut down the steel mill that employed a large percentage of the Rocksburg population. Rugs' mother is becoming increasingly irrational and his concerns become a source of stress with Milliron, who also wants credit for the case.
December 6, 2013
Constantine pushes Rugs to some dark and uncomfortable places in Grievance. As in other Rocksburg novels, the story is less about solving a case, than about how the case affects the characters on a personal level. Constantine is a master of illuminating the invisible small town politics.
On a more ridiculous note, since I finished this 16th book in the series, Constantine just passed the "James Patterson" book count, so Patterson moves down a notch in my most-read authors list. I'm hoping to continue that process.
On a more ridiculous note, since I finished this 16th book in the series, Constantine just passed the "James Patterson" book count, so Patterson moves down a notch in my most-read authors list. I'm hoping to continue that process.
August 30, 2016
It's Rugs Carlucci book, who's dealing with a mother who is both mad and now demented. What courage, what strength, what confused love. It takes a couple of truly loving people to settle Carlucci down. Love the Italian and Polish of Constantine's writing, the immediacy of the dialect, the self doubt that makes the writing so true. Thank you.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews