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The Big Mitt
Life was finally looking good for Harm Queen when New Year's Day 1901 dawned over Minneapolis. His old crony "Doc" Ames had just been elected mayor. Queen’s promotion to chief of detectives—and a chance to line his pockets—was in the bag. Then, a gruesome crime at a Hell’s Half Acre brothel brings Queen’s ambitions to a screeching halt. The mayor’s brother and Queen’s new boss, Colonel Fred Ames, seems hell-bent on thwarting his investigation. To make matters even more difficult, Queen’s courtship of Karoline, an upright young Norwegian woman, is imperiled by the appearance of a seductive prostitute with her own game to play. As Queen digs deeper among the gangsters, gaslights and political machinations of turn-of-the-century Minneapolis, he finds himself on the trail of a sinister hobo with apocalyptic ambitions. In The Big Mitt, Erik Rivenes shines a colorful light on a treacherous and corrupt chapter from a great city's forgotten past.
401 pages, Paperback
First published May 31, 2014
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388 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 3, 2015
4 1/2 enthusiastic stars!
The Big Mitt captures the seamy underbelly of early 1900s Minneapolis and beyond in 400ish riveting pages. In my mind, the pace of the story would have been even more engaging if maybe ten percent of the dialogue were edited out. That is truly my only critique; this is a very well written novel!
Erik Rivenes has a knack for lush scene setting. As a reader who is very familiar with both Minnesota and North Dakota, I read Rivenes's descriptions with rapt attention. It was not difficult to travel backward more than a century in my mind's eye, familiar as I am with many of the cities and towns mentioned in this book. I was particularly delighted to read scenes set in North Dakota, as it is a bit rare for authors to tackle settings in this little known state.
Detective Harmon Queen kept me guessing throughout the novel. I did find his fascination with a prostitute slightly unlikely, but as I am neither a man, a detective, or a cog in anyone's elaborate game of corruption, I won't over-analyze that detail! My slight shake of head over that point actually drew me further into the story, wondering how on earth everything would shake out.
The Big Mitt is a gritty novel. Readers should be good and truly aware that the book grapples with the realities of organized abuse against women and children. I never felt like the book was graphic or gory in a sensationalized way; these details do indeed add to the grip of the story.
Overall, and excellent read. I enjoyed this book, and look forward to more by Erik Rivenes.
The Big Mitt captures the seamy underbelly of early 1900s Minneapolis and beyond in 400ish riveting pages. In my mind, the pace of the story would have been even more engaging if maybe ten percent of the dialogue were edited out. That is truly my only critique; this is a very well written novel!
Erik Rivenes has a knack for lush scene setting. As a reader who is very familiar with both Minnesota and North Dakota, I read Rivenes's descriptions with rapt attention. It was not difficult to travel backward more than a century in my mind's eye, familiar as I am with many of the cities and towns mentioned in this book. I was particularly delighted to read scenes set in North Dakota, as it is a bit rare for authors to tackle settings in this little known state.
Detective Harmon Queen kept me guessing throughout the novel. I did find his fascination with a prostitute slightly unlikely, but as I am neither a man, a detective, or a cog in anyone's elaborate game of corruption, I won't over-analyze that detail! My slight shake of head over that point actually drew me further into the story, wondering how on earth everything would shake out.
The Big Mitt is a gritty novel. Readers should be good and truly aware that the book grapples with the realities of organized abuse against women and children. I never felt like the book was graphic or gory in a sensationalized way; these details do indeed add to the grip of the story.
Overall, and excellent read. I enjoyed this book, and look forward to more by Erik Rivenes.
February 22, 2015
Eric Rivenes' book The Big Mitt captures your interest right from the get go. The first scene is gripping and definitely sets the pace in this gritty mystery set in the early 1900’s. Rivenes develops a great main character in Harmon Queen, a Minneapolis cop who we watch grapple with a horrific crime and corruption within his own ranks. The setting is almost a character in itself and Rivenes has done a great job in creating a bleak backdrop that matches the theme throughout the story. There were times though when I felt there was a little too much detailed description which sometimes took away from the pacing but overall he’s done a good job using all the senses to evoke time and place. Yes, there are some horrific events, sometimes uncomfortable scenes in the story, however, the author doesn't exploit it for shock value; they are integral to the story and the main character’s quest to discover the truth. I look forward to the next installment.
March 9, 2015
Great read. It was action packed and the historical accuracies made it especially interesting for people from Minnesota. Could not put it down!!!!! Can't wait to read the next one.
December 8, 2018
Really interesting history of Minneapolis, but the plot didn’t grab me.
July 4, 2014
“She awoke with a wild scream locked tight in her throat and fought to choke it back with short, hard bursts of breath. Her body froze with fear, the terrible fear of not knowing.” So begins the debut novel of author Erik Revenes. He successfully grabs you by the collar right from the start and doesn’t let go until he’s taken you through all 497 pages of his tale. It’s a wild ride, one full of twists and turns and built upon a solid foundation of research and extraordinary writing.
The Big Mitt takes place in Minneapolis and starts out on the very first day of the year 1901. The first chapter builds a tension that grows throughout the rest of the book, and new characters are added to the mix at an astonishing rate. At first I was a little nervous about this, and not sure if I would be able to keep them all straight as I read, but the author does not spend any time on anyone who isn’t vital to the story and does a good job of keeping his players in line.
The story is many things. It’s an amazing mix of historical fiction, thriller and crime novel. It reminded me a lot of Sherlock Holmes in many ways. I instantly liked the main character, detective Harm Queen, but wasn’t exactly sure why. He is a unique blend of both upstanding, hardworking gentleman who wants to do his job well and absolute cad who gambles and drinks too much. The author wrote him in such a way, however, that it was almost impossible not to feel some sort of affection for him. Rivenes has a talent for many things, one being his character development. Each one is unique and colorful, and it’s not easy to tell exactly which of them fall into the good guy column, and which of them fall into the bad. A handful of them are a bit of both which kept me eager throughout the novel to see how the different relationships developed between them.
This is a lengthy novel and Rivenes packs a lot into his pages. At the beginning of each chapter is a photograph of historic Minneapolis, and at the end, an engaging acknowledgement page that explains to the reader how many of the characters depicted in the book were either real people or based on real people. There are also credits given to the photos that were very interesting, and there is no doubt that the author took a substantial amount of time to learn about the time period and the setting and was very thorough in making sure he wrote an authentic story. It was edited well with no bumps along the way and the narrative moved along swiftly. This is not a snack sized morsel. The Big Mitt is a full course dinner with coffee and dessert at the end. It is a satisfying meal.
Well done, Erik Rivenes. I was happy to read that Queen will be back for a second round. It’s a good thing, too. There are many more questions about this story that I would very much like the answers to.
The Big Mitt takes place in Minneapolis and starts out on the very first day of the year 1901. The first chapter builds a tension that grows throughout the rest of the book, and new characters are added to the mix at an astonishing rate. At first I was a little nervous about this, and not sure if I would be able to keep them all straight as I read, but the author does not spend any time on anyone who isn’t vital to the story and does a good job of keeping his players in line.
The story is many things. It’s an amazing mix of historical fiction, thriller and crime novel. It reminded me a lot of Sherlock Holmes in many ways. I instantly liked the main character, detective Harm Queen, but wasn’t exactly sure why. He is a unique blend of both upstanding, hardworking gentleman who wants to do his job well and absolute cad who gambles and drinks too much. The author wrote him in such a way, however, that it was almost impossible not to feel some sort of affection for him. Rivenes has a talent for many things, one being his character development. Each one is unique and colorful, and it’s not easy to tell exactly which of them fall into the good guy column, and which of them fall into the bad. A handful of them are a bit of both which kept me eager throughout the novel to see how the different relationships developed between them.
This is a lengthy novel and Rivenes packs a lot into his pages. At the beginning of each chapter is a photograph of historic Minneapolis, and at the end, an engaging acknowledgement page that explains to the reader how many of the characters depicted in the book were either real people or based on real people. There are also credits given to the photos that were very interesting, and there is no doubt that the author took a substantial amount of time to learn about the time period and the setting and was very thorough in making sure he wrote an authentic story. It was edited well with no bumps along the way and the narrative moved along swiftly. This is not a snack sized morsel. The Big Mitt is a full course dinner with coffee and dessert at the end. It is a satisfying meal.
Well done, Erik Rivenes. I was happy to read that Queen will be back for a second round. It’s a good thing, too. There are many more questions about this story that I would very much like the answers to.
December 18, 2014
This is a well-written, thorough and topsy-turvy historical mystery. The author’s historical detail is thorough and really brings you into the setting, which I think is important for historical novels. It’s much more compelling for the story. The main character, Harm Queen, is well-written as a complex individual. At times, I found myself unsure of what to think of him, yet I think that the complexities of his life and the era leant itself to that. On one hand, he’s a hard working police detective who has empathy for others. On the other, he’s a hard partier who doesn’t hesitate to manipulate situations to his advantage when he can. I enjoy writers that shape characters more realistically – humanity is complicated and letting us get to know a character, witness internal conflicts and confusing actions is pretty much like life – we just don’t get to see the details for everyone. The characters that swirled around in the rest of the story were also well-written.
This was an interesting era and a time of rapid change. The interplay of politics and power is a timeless theme. This novel wove this interplay into the plot and characters. This is a gritty story with some graphic details – and yet, the grittiness exemplified the setting, the context, the characters and the world they inhabited. Anything else would have glossed over the realities of life for characters such as these in that era.
The plot was a tangled web. To start, we have a murdered prostitute and a new mayor whose brother is appointed to head up the police who promptly dissuades Queen from the investigation. On we go to the grandfather of the prostitute who’s a retired detective and a pretty good one at that. Throw in some turn of the century gangsters, political plots, and then some – rest assured that this novel will keep you guessing and keep you reading. The author included some genuine historical photos from Minneapolis – loved this touch. The photos were great and added to the sense of the setting.
Overall, this is an excellent historical mystery/thriller. It appears that this is the first in a series. As there were a few details left hanging, readers will enjoy more. It’s clear this author knows his history and endeavored to write a realistic and rollicking tale – he succeeded.
This was an interesting era and a time of rapid change. The interplay of politics and power is a timeless theme. This novel wove this interplay into the plot and characters. This is a gritty story with some graphic details – and yet, the grittiness exemplified the setting, the context, the characters and the world they inhabited. Anything else would have glossed over the realities of life for characters such as these in that era.
The plot was a tangled web. To start, we have a murdered prostitute and a new mayor whose brother is appointed to head up the police who promptly dissuades Queen from the investigation. On we go to the grandfather of the prostitute who’s a retired detective and a pretty good one at that. Throw in some turn of the century gangsters, political plots, and then some – rest assured that this novel will keep you guessing and keep you reading. The author included some genuine historical photos from Minneapolis – loved this touch. The photos were great and added to the sense of the setting.
Overall, this is an excellent historical mystery/thriller. It appears that this is the first in a series. As there were a few details left hanging, readers will enjoy more. It’s clear this author knows his history and endeavored to write a realistic and rollicking tale – he succeeded.
August 5, 2014
The Big Mitt
The author clearly had a great time writing this action mystery set in Minneapolis at the turn of the last century. He did his homework, too, interweaving fact and fiction and giving the reader a glimpse into the seediest possible underbelly of a burgeoning, evidently corrupt young city. I not only enjoyed learning a bit about Minneapolis but also about some famous characters hailing from Minnesota. The author even brushed up on the slang of the day to add more local color. The vintage photos were a nice touch, too.
The plot was also well thought out, coherent, and full of action, suspense, and more twists, red herrings, betrayals, scary characters, and cops on the take than any other story I've ever read. Herein lies its weakness as well as its strength. I began to feel as if some basics had been overlooked, as with the author's portrayal of his anti-hero: we have to take his word that Harmon Queen, corrupt police detective, is famous for something, but it can't be detecting. Another character in the novel, a retired sheriff, quickly finds out more than Harm does about the skulduggery surrounding a prostitute's death. Maybe it's the harm that Harm wreaks on a runaway tram, or the way he's on the take, or his violent behaviour toward street urchins and fellow detectives alike that have made him famous. I think Harm is supposed to be redeemed by his heroism toward the end, but by that time I was feeling slimed by all the loving descriptions of filth, halitosis, and gory murders, so I felt mostly relief that more people didn't get killed.
The other thing that the author needs to watch out for is using words that aren't quite appropriate for what he's trying to say. As an avid reader, I felt slowed down when such glitches occurred, and this is one novel that wants to carry you along with excitement. At its best, the writing is crisp, clever, and fun, so it's too bad when it sags.
All in all, despite feeling grossed out, I did enjoy this book, which clearly is the first in a series. Oh, and the title has nothing to do with baseball. It refers to a con played on innocents by colluding gamblers and cops.
The author clearly had a great time writing this action mystery set in Minneapolis at the turn of the last century. He did his homework, too, interweaving fact and fiction and giving the reader a glimpse into the seediest possible underbelly of a burgeoning, evidently corrupt young city. I not only enjoyed learning a bit about Minneapolis but also about some famous characters hailing from Minnesota. The author even brushed up on the slang of the day to add more local color. The vintage photos were a nice touch, too.
The plot was also well thought out, coherent, and full of action, suspense, and more twists, red herrings, betrayals, scary characters, and cops on the take than any other story I've ever read. Herein lies its weakness as well as its strength. I began to feel as if some basics had been overlooked, as with the author's portrayal of his anti-hero: we have to take his word that Harmon Queen, corrupt police detective, is famous for something, but it can't be detecting. Another character in the novel, a retired sheriff, quickly finds out more than Harm does about the skulduggery surrounding a prostitute's death. Maybe it's the harm that Harm wreaks on a runaway tram, or the way he's on the take, or his violent behaviour toward street urchins and fellow detectives alike that have made him famous. I think Harm is supposed to be redeemed by his heroism toward the end, but by that time I was feeling slimed by all the loving descriptions of filth, halitosis, and gory murders, so I felt mostly relief that more people didn't get killed.
The other thing that the author needs to watch out for is using words that aren't quite appropriate for what he's trying to say. As an avid reader, I felt slowed down when such glitches occurred, and this is one novel that wants to carry you along with excitement. At its best, the writing is crisp, clever, and fun, so it's too bad when it sags.
All in all, despite feeling grossed out, I did enjoy this book, which clearly is the first in a series. Oh, and the title has nothing to do with baseball. It refers to a con played on innocents by colluding gamblers and cops.
May 2, 2016
This book hits hard and never lets up. My first thought was "gritty", but by chapter two, I was thinking "gritty, but completely gripping!" It does deal with some abrasive subject matter (forced prostitution, child exploitation, and to an extent, homosexual child abuse) without getting graphic, which I greatly appreciated.
I enjoyed Rivenes's historical detail, and the wide cast of characters. I read lots of Victorian-era fiction, and lots of 1920's/1930's fiction, but it was nice to read something turn-of-the-century. You can see signs in the growing corruption, and political environment in this book that the climate is growing ripe for organized crime and gangs. The character of Sheriff Anderson is the personification of the old era, and his foray back into a Minneapolis that has transformed in his absence presents a clear picture of coming change, and the adaptation necessary to survive it.
I have to say though, I was not altogether satisfied with the wrap-up of some parts of this story… This book really doesn't indicate that it is intended as part of a series until the author's closing remarks after the story. I kind of wish I'd known that from the start…) Even so, I can see room for continuation of some aspects of the story, but without spoiling anything, other aspects reached clear conclusions that that I felt were kind of abrupt, and wish I'd been able to see more development in those areas.
Nevertheless, it is an excellent piece of historical fiction, and a gripping, tangled web of intrigue. I was really excited to learn that Rivenes's specialty is actually 1920's and 30's, and would definitely pursue the rest of the series as the timeline moves in that direction.
I enjoyed Rivenes's historical detail, and the wide cast of characters. I read lots of Victorian-era fiction, and lots of 1920's/1930's fiction, but it was nice to read something turn-of-the-century. You can see signs in the growing corruption, and political environment in this book that the climate is growing ripe for organized crime and gangs. The character of Sheriff Anderson is the personification of the old era, and his foray back into a Minneapolis that has transformed in his absence presents a clear picture of coming change, and the adaptation necessary to survive it.
I have to say though, I was not altogether satisfied with the wrap-up of some parts of this story… This book really doesn't indicate that it is intended as part of a series until the author's closing remarks after the story. I kind of wish I'd known that from the start…) Even so, I can see room for continuation of some aspects of the story, but without spoiling anything, other aspects reached clear conclusions that that I felt were kind of abrupt, and wish I'd been able to see more development in those areas.
Nevertheless, it is an excellent piece of historical fiction, and a gripping, tangled web of intrigue. I was really excited to learn that Rivenes's specialty is actually 1920's and 30's, and would definitely pursue the rest of the series as the timeline moves in that direction.
December 21, 2014
Detective Queen is a rough and tumble cop with an eye for mischief and a conscious that is fighting to get out. This historical fiction takes readers back in time to early Minneapolis. A booming city, newly born, overflowing with opportunity and corruption. There is a thriving underbelly of the city, and Det. Queen finds himself caught between the desire to help the unfortunate women and children being exploited there - and the lure of lording over the mayor's illegal gambling ring.
Author Erik Rivenes does a wonderful job of bringing 1901 in Minneapolis to life. The depth of the characters and their variety of flaws makes the story believable. It isn't long before you are both rooting for, and rolling your eyes at Harm Queen.
It should be noted that the novel wrestles with prostitution, and the sex trade of children. Scenes are only graphic enough to get their point across and I feel that the depiction of the characters stuck in this terrible situation is fair and respectful. It is a difficult topic to cover. While parts of the story are uncomfortable to read, it is a topic that needs to be discussed and Rivenes does a great job of painting the picture without being overtly graphic.
The only thing that I would have liked to be different was for there to be some sort of break or identifier between narration and Harm Queen's internal dialogue. There are points where the narration fails to transition well with what Harm is saying to himself and this could have been made a bit clearer with the use of italics, quotations, or a paragraph break.
Author Erik Rivenes does a wonderful job of bringing 1901 in Minneapolis to life. The depth of the characters and their variety of flaws makes the story believable. It isn't long before you are both rooting for, and rolling your eyes at Harm Queen.
It should be noted that the novel wrestles with prostitution, and the sex trade of children. Scenes are only graphic enough to get their point across and I feel that the depiction of the characters stuck in this terrible situation is fair and respectful. It is a difficult topic to cover. While parts of the story are uncomfortable to read, it is a topic that needs to be discussed and Rivenes does a great job of painting the picture without being overtly graphic.
The only thing that I would have liked to be different was for there to be some sort of break or identifier between narration and Harm Queen's internal dialogue. There are points where the narration fails to transition well with what Harm is saying to himself and this could have been made a bit clearer with the use of italics, quotations, or a paragraph break.
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June 29, 2015kindle
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews