Another Vanishing Act

by Pasquale Russo, Pete Conner

Another Vanishing Act is a humorous look at how one man's trouble plays out in a senior living community amid a mature cast of oddballs grandparents, who are alternately funny and surprising.

The quirky residents at the Excelsior Senior Apartments keep Dan too busy to do his job. And with a large gambling debt past due, he's forced to focus on coming up with the cash. Getting involved in a risky scam seems the only solution – even though he knows that it betrays the residents he wants to help.

If his secret gets out, more than his thumbs will be broken. The best girlfriend he’s ever had will leave him. And if he fails, he’ll either be occupying a pine box or wearing prison orange.

197 pages, Paperback

First published November 29, 2014

Reviews

[Katherine Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s not often a book makes me laugh out loud, and this one succeeded. The main character is relatable and quirky, and I really wanted him to get a happy ending out of his mess. I loved all the varied characters in the residential center. They were hilarious. Overall a super fun read!

[Eisah Eisah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

(Spoilers within)

This wasn't a bad book but it didn't grip me. I've been trying to figure out why, and I think I've got it. It's not the errors. Though there were a decent amount of them, they weren't too distracting. I think what it was for me is that the main protagonist, Dan, is very passive throughout the book. It's more things happening to or around him than anything. I'm trying to think of something that he did, and I'm not coming up with anything. He's told to do things or things happen and he reacts.

The story starts off with Dan fleeing because he has massive gambling debts. He gets a job at an apartment complex for seniors, where he ends up practically being a one-man-show and doing almost everything. While he's there he's approached by Simon with a scheme to get money: simply don't report it when a senior passes on and take their income when it keeps coming.

Seems simple enough, but not long after that he starts suspecting that the "natural" deaths may not be so natural after all. And he never really does anything about it. Even his role in the scheme is very passive - all he does is pass on a list of residents that don't get visitors. He doesn't do much else.

The apartments house many residents, including cranky folks and a pair who have finally found romance. Dan himself happens to meet a woman named Betty and falls for her. I think this is where his passivity kills it. The reason he stays at the building when he suspects Simon is highly dangerous is that he wants to flee with Betty, so he has to convince her to come with him. So, what does he do to convince her?

Read the rest here.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Vanishing Act is a comedic look at a retirement home and the funny characters who live there. I enjoyed the descriptions of the characters and their obsessions. The petty worries and complaints, which made the job of the all-around, do-everything guy, Dan, extremely trying at times. Add to that the evil-doers, bumblers though they all were, and you've got a novel packed with some pretty well-defined and funny characters and situations.

The author is Pasquale (Pat) Russo in tandem with his father-in-law (who decided he'd just tell the story to Pat and let Pat do the writing). But probably, some of the characteristics and behaviors of the residents in the book came from some real-life observations. Mr. Russo has a voice for comedy. I could see this being made into a movie someday. Maybe not an Oscar-winner, but an afternoon's worth of solid entertainment.

Were the characters credible? I'd say, exaggerated but I'm sure everyone knows someone who has one chronic nagging complaint which drives everyone nuts (like bugs in the laundry room) so yes, skewed slightly toward overly-quirky, but credible. To write a comedic novel, it is almost a given that the characters be slightly over-the-top.

I had trouble keeping all the characters straight though, until about one-third of the way through, and I would have liked a little more detail surrounding the vanishing act crimes. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was well-written, and the author's comedic voice was evident on every page.

[Kasey Cocoa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a request to read and review this book from the author. This is my opinion given without payment or bribery. I wasn't thrilled with the read. The main character really didn't add anything to the story except the narration; everything just happens around him. There really isn't any buildup to a climax or much of anything exciting that goes on. I've worked for a residential center so I understand the various characters you find there. In that aspect it seemed authentic although it didn't do a whole lot for the overall plot. I did my best to ignore the various mistakes and finish the book without it ending up in the DNF pile. I set aside my mild irritation at being called by an email address instead of my name, which was clearly presented multiple times. I could only finish reading the book because I was stubbornly determined not to have an unfinished book taunting me from the bookcase. That, and because I was curious if anything was ever going to happen besides being told of events as they happened around the narrator, which it didn't.

[Faye Ridpath · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book for free from Goodreads First Reads.

This book is hilarious. The residents are quirky and Dan's commentary is laugh out loud funny.

I think Tim Dorsey fans would enjoy this book.