Shoofly Pie

Bug Man #1

by Tim Downs

Forensic entomologist Nick Polchak (a.k.a. the Bug Man) is hired by thirty-year-old Kathryn Guilford, who is terrified of bugs, to solve her friend's death. When Polchak stumbles into the mystery of how Kathryn's husband was killed years earlier, the action kicks into high gear -- and Polchak finds himself on the run with his client from someone who will do anything to keep a secret.

This fast-paced murder mystery is more than the typical "Christian fiction;"it is good clean fun -- on a thrill ride. Biblical values are implicit rather than explicit, and its fascinating elements provoke thought on a conscience, consequences, and world-views. But mostly, this book is a sizzler of a story that will not let you go.

Genres: Mystery, Christian Fiction, Fiction, Christian, Thriller, Suspense, Crime

371 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2003

About the author

Tim Downs is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Indiana University. After graduation in 1976 he created a comic strip, Downstown, which was syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate (Calvin & Hobbes, Doonesbury, The Far Side) from 1980 to 1986. His cartooning has appeared in more than a hundred daily newspapers worldwide. Tim has written seven mystery/suspense novels: Shoofly Pie, Chop Shop, PlagueMaker, Head Game, First the Dead, Less than Dead, and Ends of the Earth. PlagueMaker was awarded the Christy Award for the best CBA mystery/suspense novel of 2006, and Less than Dead was a finalist for the 2009 Christian Book Award in suspense fiction. Tim lives in Cary, North Carolina, with his wife Joy. They have three grown children.

Reviews

[Maureen DeLuca · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun and different kind of read. Here we meet forensic entomologist Nick Polchak (a/k/a "the bug man") Remember the original CSI? Grissom- he always was fascinated with bugs- and doing all sorts of tests with them too. Well, Nick is very much like Grissom in that respect.

At the beginning of this book- we have 3 teenage boys- competing with each other for the 'attention' of Kathryn - all taking place in a small town in North Carolina. Now, all grown up- one of Kathryn's friends has died. They tell her he committed suicide , but she does not believe that. From there she goes and find Nick Polchak and asks him for help proving that it was not suicide.

It took me a while to get used to authors way of writing. It did have different POV and 1 or 2 times I had to re-read who was 'talking' --- don't get me wrong- I did figure it out , but if I let my mind wonder (talking to my cat, for example) I had to stop and think where I was (yes, I talk to my cat- doesn't everyone?!)

Nick is a great character, funny , smart, witty with a 'dry' sense of humor at times. I learned more about 'bugs' than I ever wanted to know- but that was ok by me.

It didn't take too much to figure out who the killer was, but that wasn't the idea of this book- To me it was the introduction of Nick and how he determines where and when a person dies.

The interaction between Nick and Kathryn was priceless ! A great, fun, different kind of read and I'm soooo looking forward to pick up the next in this series !!

[Stefanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book! If you're a fan of CSI, like I am, you'll find that the main character Nick will remind you very much of CSI's Grissom.
This book drug on a bit in a few sections, but overall it was a very gripping read and I loved the mystery.
I'm so glad I discovered this author and I look forward to continuing the series.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best forensic mystery novels that I have read. I have limited knowledge about forensic entomology from lectures from such people and from my friend who is pursuing a career in forensic entomology, but from what I have learned this book got it right. There were moments when I was like "Hey! I remember learning about this," and then feeling smart that I remembered such things! This book was full of awesome facts relating to bugs and just multiple fields of forensics. Going into forensic pathology I was cringing at the initial coroner's report of what happened to the body that the story revolves around. I was beyond frustrated when he went "it's a suicide, no need for autopsy." Noooo, thats not how you do things you inept coroner! This doesn't spoil anything but believed me I cheered when the Bug Man yelled at him for his shady work.
Besides being awesomely filled with forensic science facts the mystery itself was very intriguing. A women's friend turns up dead and it is quickly declared a suicide. Yet she doesn't believe this and wants a second opinion. Lucky for her the Bug Man, Dr. Nick Polchak, is in town doing research, and she hires him to look into the case for her. Of course being a mystery things aren't what they appear and people don't like them looking into things. Overall a very well researched and thought-out novel. This book will make you appreciate bugs at least a little bit, cause bugs are gross but they do have their uses. (Like maggot art... seriously grossly fun, the only time I willingly touched a maggot outside of the morgue). It also has just the right amount of gore, at least for me but hey I volunteer in a morgue I can handle a lot.
I give this book a 5/5 stars and would highly recommend it if you are looking for a forensic based mystery novel and I'm really excited to read the rest of the series!!

[Michelle Griep · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hate bugs. I'm talking scream-my-head-off-if-I-see-a-creepy-centipede kind of hate. In fact, this might be one of the few things I chat with God about when I get to heaven--why he needed to make bugs. He could've done something different. He's God.
With that kind of preface, it took my buddy's eye-teeth to get me to crack open the cover of this book. It's a BUG man novel. Sheesh. But loyal friend that I am, I said I'd read it. I meant I'd read the first page or two and call it quits. Boy, was I stupid, Charlie Brown.
Tim Downs is one of my newest favorite authors. Translation: I LOVE THIS BOOK! Not just the book, mind you, but his style. Sassy, informative, unexpected. I don't care if is next book is about centipedes, I'll read it, and I won't be able to get my hands on it fast enough. Currently my youngest daughter is reading Chop Shop (the next in the series), but being that I brought her into this world, I can take her out and the book will be all mine, mine, mine!

[Duffy Pratt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the only one-suspect mysteries I have enjoyed. When there's only a single viable suspect, then the mystery will stand or fall on the qualities of either the villain, the victim, and the detective. Here, the villain and the victim are both fairly pedestrian, so everything is left on the shoulders of the detective, but he carries the burden quite well.

The detective is Nick Polchak, a professor of entomology at the University of North Carolina. He's legally blind, afflicted with extreme farsightedness that makes everything simply a blur unless he's wearing his coke bottle glasses. He thinks of himself as a studier of other species, and includes people as one of those foreign species. He's arrogant, abrupt, hyper-competent, and almost without a shred of human feeling.

He's known as the Bug Man, and his specialty is forensic entomology. That means that he studies the behavior of carrion eating insects and uses what he's learned to assist in murder investigations. He has a habit of contributing to investigations without being asked.

Here, he is on exile to a small, rural town. The ostensible reason is to do research, but he's also been shooed away because the authorities are not happy with the way he had intruded on a recent investigation, and this assignment should keep him off the radar. Of course, it doesn't. One of the locals is found dead in what appears to be a suicide by gunshot. The victim's closest friend is sure that he would not have killed himself and, after the case has been closed, she hires Polchak to investigate.

Everything that happens after that is actually pretty obvious, but it's also fun to read. The interweaving of forensic science and entomology is well done, and fascinating. The plotting, despite being obvious for a mystery, is tight and engaging. And the character of Kolchak carries the whole thing along quite nicely. I will be happy to move along to Chop Shop, the second in the series. I have no idea how many wrinkles one can throw into the field of identifying carrion eating bugs, but I'm happy to explore further.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever read what you think might be the most perfect book ever? Well I just did and it is this book. This was a classic murder mystery thriller, with a hero (Nick) that is a "bug man", he literally studies the bugs of the dead. In that regard, he reminded my of the Jefferson Bass character Bill Brockton from the Body Farm series; he studies the bugs that form on the dead, he lets it tell the story of how a person lived and died. If you are a CSI fan, love forensics, or reading books by Jefferson Bass, Patricia Cornwell, or Kathy Reich this series will be right up your alley.

If you like an unpredictable hero, you will love Nick, he does things that no one else would even consider doing. Plus he's funny, despite the horror being played out in this book, Tim Downs had me laughing out loud more than once.

A side note, I read and sometimes play a game at the same time, just so I don't get bored...I kept forgetting my game when I was reading this book. I'd look down, read and lose 20 minutes before I knew it...

[Tammie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew I would probably like this series because it's all about forensic entomology. I am pretty much fascinated by anything that has to do with forensics and if I weren't a very busy full time mom right now, I would consider devoting a part of my life to the study of forensics.

I really liked the main character from the start. He's cynical but funny. After I had gotten into the book I realized his personality was strikingly similar to House's from the TV series, except this guy came before House. He's also a whole lot funnier. I find House annoying and offensive at times. I didn't mind this guy saying some of the things he said to people, because he's was saying them to people who had committed murder, not to people who were dying in the hospital.

I'm looking forward to reading the next book.

[Amanda Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that you read while you should be sleeping, that stays glued in front of your nose as you make a mess of doing your chores (and almost run into that open door…oops!), making dinner (or burning it…), and when you are talking to your mom on the phone (and your responses are limited to “uh huh….uh huh…”). I have not declared a favourite author since the days when I was obsessed with Brian Jacque’s “Redwall” series back in middle school.

Let me pause for a moment.

Alright, here it comes:

Tim Downs is my new favourite author.

I could pretty much end the review right there, but I never can keep anything short and succinct.

Dr. Nick Polchuk is one funky Bug Man. He’s crazy, quirky, ridiculous, split-your-gut-laughing hilarious, blunt in a way that makes you cringe and laugh at the same time, scientifically brilliant, dangerously curious, a hopeless failure in all matters regarding women, and contemptuous viewer of that strange race called ‘humans’. Nick is the most entertaining, multifaceted, and unique lead characters I have read in a very long time… maybe ever.

Nick is not just an entomologist. He is THE entomologist. Coined the “Bug Man” by his students and the law men he frequently “helps”, Nick’s interest in insects is a complete obsession. There is a lot of scientific descriptions and information regarding forensic entomology in this book – but somehow Tim Downs makes it fascinating. I am not 100% certain on the accuracy of the information as this is not my specialty, but it sounds very feasible.

The crime scene descriptions in this novel can be a bit intense if you are queasy about maggots and larvae crawling in and out of people’s orifices or bloated bodies – but what good is a crime novel without a little guts and gore? Plus, Nick dangling maggots in front of Katherine’s nose makes it all worth while. Bug-a-phobes beware!

The crime aspect of this novel was great. Tim Down’s doesn’t just give you the criminal, he makes you work for it right alongside Nick and there are always unexpected twists and turns. Basically, if you like CSI or Bones you will loves this book.

And, just for a taste, here is a quote from Nick – as only he can say it:
“As they approached, Nick’s eyes were drawn to Macy Donocan’s bulging midsection. “Wow, you really are pregnant – look at the size of you.’
“Thank-you, Nick. What every woman longs to hear.”
“When are you due?”
“In a couple of months.”
“You’ve still got a couple of months to go?”
“Nick, do you mind? You’re making me feel like a beached whale.””

Please follow more of my reviews at: http://cozywritersden.blogspot.ca/

[John Wiltshire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I began this one last night. I'm having difficulty with the constant shifting of pov, which is distracting. Major or tiny, minor character, the pov switches constantly. I'm not entirely convinced by the dialogue either. I've never heard a person in real life exclaim, "What is the meaning of this?" It doesn't ring true. In the very first chapter the forensic bug expert is at the scene of a crime, while the victim's husband is still present. He immediately realises the man is lying about the discovery of the body due to the insect infestation. There and then he confronts the guy, accuses him of the murder, at which point the husband runs, pulls a gun and shoots the cop present and gets shot dead himself. It's the most unprofessional behaviour. I can't believe the guy would ever be able to work in law enforcement again. I'll persevere for a while more.
Finished. I'm glad I did continue with this one. It's an odd book, with some odd characters, but it grew on me. The initial incident at the crime scene, which seemed so unlikely is actually rather a theme with the main character, Nick. It's quite funny. He's a law unto himself, and blurting out his suspicions is quite within character.
I'd recommend this one to anyone who likes forensic novels. There's graphic descriptions of insects, but other than that it's very tame--no sex, and not gory (other than various infestations of maggots and flies).
I've gone straight onto the second in the series, which is proving to be an excellent read as well.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this novel and #2 in the series, Chop Shop, in an omnibus version at the library after been introduced to the series in book #4 (Less Than Dead). The main character in each book is Dr. Nick Polchack, an extremely quirky forensic entomologist who would far rather be helping police with their investigations of days-old-corpses (whether or not they want it) than teaching class at the university where he unwillingly works to pay the bills.
There are certainly a lot more *bugs* in "Shoo Fly Pie," - I guess by #4 his primary job has been established and there's no more need for all the gory details. And they are a bit gory: I found myself just scanning a page or three filled with graphic descriptions of decomposed corpses when I actually started to feel a bit nauseated. Nick himself has also calmed down a bit by #4: there are moments when he's really kind of a jerk, if a good-hearted one, in ShooFly. But one thing I can say about each volume in the series I've read thus far: they're Real page turners. Some combination of witty dialog, unpredictable main characters, good pacing, and compelling mysteries manage to keep me up well past my bedtime each time I'm reading. Recommended to all mystery lovers.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nick Polchak is a professor of entomology at North Carolina State by day ... forensic entomologist by night (almost). In this case he is spending the summer in a Quonset hut in Holcum County, NC that is the university's research facility.

Kathryn Guilford is grieving the apparent suicide of a dear, lifelong friend. Only she isn't so sure of the suicide. In fact she is steadfastly determined to prove it wasn't a suicide. She goes to Nick, whose reputation as a forensic entomologist precedes him, for help. To further complicate things, she witnessed a multi-vehicle accident involving thousands of bees as a 7-yr-old. Thus begins the twisting, turning, funny, and educational story that is Shoo Fly Pie.

Nick is quirky, to say the least, described as wearing "the largest thickest eyeglasses ... which so distorted his eyes that they seemed to float behind the lenses like two soft, colorless orbs." Eww, I know, but fortunately the rest of the description makes him more appealing. He has an keen mind (what scientist doesn't?), a dry, quick wit and a certain amount of accidental charm. Not your traditional hero, but intriguing nonetheless. I predict most readers will like him.

This is the first of the Bug Man Novels (I accidentally started with The Ends of the Earth). Great stories and great characters.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Dr. Nick Polchak (aka the Bug Man) is sent to rural North Carolina as punishment and he sets out to do some simple research. However, Kathryn Guilford has just learned of the death of a friend and one-time suitor, and she asks the Bug Man to help her investigate. The only problem is that Kathryn has a pathological fear of insects (you'll learn why in the opening chapter, which starts with a horrific auto accident).

Tim Downs is the rare Christian author who doesn't evangelize through his novels. There's always an overtly Christian character (here, it's Dr. Jameson, the pastor of Mount Zion AME church), but this character is always treated with respect and not contempt. The plot is solid and taut, with subplots involving Gulf War syndrome, blowflies and their larva, and how close Kathryn was to three men from her hometown, all of whom feature into the mystery.

There's little actual violence aside from the homicides that Dr. Polchak investigates and no sexual content. However, if you suffer from a fear of insects as Kathryn does, beware the ending...it's a real stinger, er, zinger."

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I am a forensic entomologist . . . . I study the way different necrophilous arthropods inhabit a body during the process of decomposition . . . I'm the Bug Man."

When Kathryn Guilford's gut tells her that Jimmy McAllister's death was not a suicide, she makes a brazen decision to ignore the system and hire the reclusive, crotchety Dr. Nick Polchak, known to more than a few as the "Bug Man". She should have known after their first escapade (breaking and entering a funeral home?), that teaming with Dr. Polchak was going to be somewhat of an "off the record" experience, but it would have been impossible to predict the kinds of answers that she and the nearly blind eccentric were destined to unearth. . . . . . .

With a style all his own, this author has used every ingredient necessary to bake this quite memorable "shoofly pie" of a story.

[Connie Rea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVED this book. I think I might also love "the bugman". Have already started the 2nd book in the series, and so far it looks like it might even be better! Shoofly had the best opening chapter of a book that I can remember. It was super intense. The "bugman" himself, is a lovable, sarcastic, snarky love machine (ok, maybe I am fantasizing about the love machine part). I can't wait until I get to know him better. I think this might be a series that I finish all in a row and that NEVER happens!!!!!

[Joleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cary, North Carolina
April, 1999

Nick Polchak: "Bug Man", Forensic entomologist
Kathryn Guilford: Thirty-year old widow
Pete St. Clair: County sheriff
Jim McAllister: Found shot
Mr. Wilkins: County coroner
Beanie: County's simple-minded, very large deputy

About nine years ago I read a book by this author, and from my review I apparently really liked it. I don’t remember it, at least not much of it. But since I have two more books by Mr. Downs, I decided to read them. What fun! Suspenseful, but entertaining and often funny. Nick Polchak's (the bug man's) one-liners were hysterical.

These Bug Man books are about a forensic entomologist…a university professor/scientist. In his terms "I study the way different necrophilous arthropods inhabit a body during the process of decomposition.” In plainer terms, he can tell when someone died by the larvae in and around a body.

In this story, a woman's good friend was found dead, ruled a suicide by an inept coroner, but she was so convinced he would never have killed himself that she hired the Bug Man (who happened to be doing research in her small North Carolina town) to discover the truth.

Two more people end up dead along the way, and the chase scenes to flee the bad guys were, well, my fingernails are a bit shorter as a result!

This isn’t quite Christian fiction but there was a very mild element of faith within.

Good book!

Oh, by the way, the term shoo-fly pie (which I know is a Pennsylvania Dutch dessert) was used twice in the book, but I can honestly say I didn’t get it. If someone reads it, let me know its significance. Flies were an issue in the book, and studied for evidence, but the "pie" portion was lost on me.

[Travis Stroup · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really neat detective story with a really different kind of detective. Nick Polchak is a detective of the bugs, specifically the necrophilous bugs that come by after death and consume the dead flesh. Being a forensic entomologist, Nick studies the bugs and how much development has occurred. Having all the life cycles down to a neat, tidy science, you can tell how long the body has been dead and potentially even where the body was. That’s pretty cool and gross.

This actual storytelling is quite good as well. Nick is a hilarious character. I laugh out loud several times in each book of this series. His funny little quips about being a different species than human and disdainfully criticizing human weaknesses always get me. This story specifically is crazy. Small town murder that is more like a murder ring throughout the past decade. Kathryn Guilford is a great character. Her serious entomophobia makes for a great dichotomy with hiring the Bug Man to get to the bottom of her friend’s death.

[A.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

42 chapters/371 pages
Start/Finish: 5/1/12

First let me begin this review by saying that I read this book back in 2012. However, after I read a book, I always try to write out my feelings on the story when I finish. Sometimes, I’m moved to write a great deal to type up later. Other times, I just feel up to writing a very basic review. I never intended for it to take me almost six YEARS to get it on my GoodReads account, but it has. Obviously, by now, I don’t really remember much about the story, though sometimes my notes help jog my memory. So, if the following review doesn’t really say much or deal too much with the story or plot, that’s probably because I wasn’t moved by one or the other or both to write more than I did. However, such as it is I give to you.

My Review—GREAT! Just don’t read it near or during any meal!

The story was good, characters good, plot good. it’s nice to read a story where, if one or the other main characters is annoying, the other balances him out and is the impetus for said annoying character to change. In this case, both Nick Polchak (“Bug Man,” hero) and Kathryn McAllister (heroine) have annoying tendencies, but each seem to balance the other out and aid the other in changing—especially Kathryn to Nick. He’s even more “science geek-detached” than “CSI’s” Grissom was. But Kathryn isn’t shy about getting him to plug into the real world—the world of human beings with feelings and souls (instead of his safe bubble world of insects and aloofness).
All in all, a great read for mystery, drama, suspense, even the makings of romance. Excellent read for a guy. Great masculine “ick” factor in gross-out “CSI” scenes of Nick’s describing exactly how flies eat and why they’re so deadly to humans (if I’d ever heard the information on flies before, I’d blocked it out of my memory—but now I’m almost as phobic of them as Kathryn of bees!), of Nick’s collecting evidence (read: maggots) off a corpse, and of Nick’s checking in with his “clients” (carcasses of a pig he’s shot, an unclaimed body from the morgue, and a cow he’d suspended from a tree) from which he collects data about larval states on decomposing remains. Lovely!

Also, in the Prologue, there’s a detailing of how Kathryn develops her phobia. Didn’t like the scene only because two dogs die. I HATE animal-death scenes. (In Tim Downs’s book “Head Games” (the only other book I’ve read by him), he has an animal-abuse scene, which leads to the animal’s death. ☹ I HATE those kinds subplots.)

Still, this is a good read. It would probably be a great book for English teachers to use if they have any male students who dig in their heels about reading books. I would imagine, if a guy would only give it a try, he’d like it a lot.

Grade: A+

[Jill]

DNF
Just not for me. I was so excited to read it too! Boo. :(

[Dena Atchley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Very good! Mystery and murder, fast paced. A bit predictable but still satisfying!

[Beth Wakeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book! I didn’t expect to laugh so much! I was completely enthralled with this book beginning to end!

[Amanda Hunsberger · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't know why I kept reading... giant nothingburger.

[Shelby Rush · Rating 4 out of 5]

First night reading and I'm on page 51. Every page is just as engaging as the one before it. I'm loving this whole subject of forensic entomology--what a cool niche field. Thanks for both educating and amusing me, Mr. Downs. Oh, and by the way, the descriptions don't gross me out ... but then I'm not actually dealing with decomposed bodies, just reading about them. Hey, it's a fact of life. God has a very efficient manner of returning bodies back to the stuff they're made of: the earth. It's best we accept it and not get all weirded out by it.

UPDATE
Less than halfway through the story I knew the identity of the murderer and his motive. This deflated my enthusiasm. I finished the story in record time (for me): three days. Story is very engrossing but I had a hard time with the many unbelievable elements, which left me ultimately feeling cheated. Here are the most blatant ones:

1) The sheriff is the most stereotyped character in the story. How many times have we been dished out a similar character in fiction? Are we all tired of the corrupt small town scenario? Corruption is found everywhere; it's not endemic to small towns.

2) No sheriff would have as his deputy an imbecile. Because when stuff flies south, you'll want competent (fast-thinking) backup. Believe me.

3) Low IQ does not coincide with the absence of a conscience. All humans are born with a conscience--an innate sense of right and wrong. This can become twisted, true. But the deputy behaves as though he is conscience-free.

4) I don't care how big and strong you are, getting punched doesn't feel good. Flesh is flesh, folks. People have different pain tolerances, true, but how much you feel mentally is irrelevant. The body is still getting a pounding, and it will suffer.

5) Eight-year-old boys are not going to be romantically interested in a seven-year-old girl. Eight-year-old boys don't care about girls, unless it's a curiosity about how mature women look naked (peek at a Playboy, then go back to playing boy games).

6) People don't give detailed explanations of their sins/crimes before they kill you. That's Hollywood.

7) If you feel your life is in danger, you don't confront your potential killer with his crimes. You keep your trap shut and try to figure a way out of the situation. Again, Hollywood.

8) Do men have a code among themselves that it's not okay to attack each other's private parts? Dude, if the oaf you're attacking doesn't react to your fists, knee him where it counts.

9) A highly intelligent and perceptive scientist doesn't bother to tell his assistant to beware a certain person and tragedy ensues? Very unlikely.

10) Said highly intelligent and perceptive scientist fails to quickly haul butt after collecting specimens from grille of suspect's vehicle? Instead, he stays on scene sorting bugs, which means he gets caught.

11) Ain't nobody normal gonna let themselves be covered in bees without protection. And said bees would remain only on the front of said person? Wouldn't they be crawling everywhere? And said person would stand with his/her back toward sociopath while sociopath is detailing his crimes and playing with his gun? Absolutely not, ever.

A number of things in this book felt contrived/forced/bordering on superhero/comic book storytelling.

Yet still I read. Why? Because, dang it, Mr. Downs knows how to create suspense and maintain it. Because I like Mr. Downs' wit. And because I really like the Bug Man!

[Pr Latta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first in the Bug Man forensic mysteries by Tim Downs, Christian author, speaker, and syndicated cartoonist. Downs manages to combine forensic details (the character teaches entomology at NC State), subtle humor, a quirky but believable cast of characters, and mystery (sometimes revealed early in the story - note this, if you read to figure out the solution) without resorting to excessive profanity, sex, or violence. Well, they ARE murder mysteries and Nick Polchak does describe the effects of the insects and other forensic clues. And there ARE suspenseful sections where the characters risk bodily harm... No Bible spouting here, just good honest fun.

Shoofly Pie introduces Nick Polchak, PhD, "I'm a forensic entomologist, Deputy. I study the way different necrophilous arthorpods inhabit a body during the process of decomposition...I'm the Bug Man." (p. 15). This series is more amateur PI than police procedural: Nick spends most of his efforts AVOIDING proper (police, not scientific) procedure. So much so, his boss sends him to the deep woods of North Carolina to keep him out of trouble. But trouble finds him...

[Catherine Leggitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, a book that made me turn pages until I finished. Where have you been until now, SHOOFLY PIE? Loved the mystery, loved the bits of humor, love Dr. Nick Polchak, the Bug Man. In Book one of the Bug Man series, Dr. Polchak is exiled to a remote county of North Carolina because he can't keep his nose--or his tweezers--out of crime-solving. He works for a University as a forensic entomologist, for crying out loud, not a detective. He's supposed to be studying bugs on corpses and giving expert testimony, not chasing around the country collecting specimens to solve murders for his own clients.

But--Kathryn Guilford presents an impossible task and Dr. Polchak loves the impossible. So they team up to find out what really happened to Kathryn's lifelong friend. It's a wild ride, rife with way more information about the life-cyles of bugs than I could ever recall at will. But the action and convoluted plot keeps everything moving at a delightful rate. I'm off to order book 2 in the series. My summer reading prospects have brightened considerably.

[Kalena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mystery. This was my first Tim Downs book and I was wholly unprepared for the amount of detail, the familiar territory (we live in North Carolina at the moment), and the laughs. Wow! I am so impressed with this first offering that I cannot wait to read the next one already. I do want to forewarn those who are more sensitive, there are a number of descriptive passages about insects and bodies (decomposition in particular) that is not for everyone. It is not gory for shock value, but scientific (although I will admit that even I would not eat during certain passages). This an intelligent book that highlights many issues that are still alive today (the book was written in 2003). A satisfying, smart read. Highly recommend.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blame it on Darlene, I got sucked into this one despite my better judgment! Turns out reading about bugs isn't near as bad as actually letting them crawl on you. Well done mystery. Other than a series of uncharacteristic mistakes he makes that conveniently ratchet up the action to theater of the absurd levels toward the end, Nick Polchak is a slovenly, scientific amateur detective with a mind of steel and a stomach to match. I didn't think the novel had enough false suspects but it made up for some plotting shortcomings with fascinating and accurate detail about forensic entomology. I liked it so much I wrote this review. Thanks, Darlene!

[Nanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! The Bug Man (Nick) kept me laughing throughout the book despite the seriousness of the plot. I learned so much about bugs and crime investigation. The descriptions are pretty graphic, but fascinating. I will definitely read the rest of the Bug Man books.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, what can I say. I like to read about things that scare me. Insects, the Amazon, no air conditioning! This was a well written mystery, with some bugs thrown in. Read at your own risk.

Actually, this isn't about the Amazon. It's about the South. And bugs. And murder.

[Aurora Bennet · Rating 1 out of 5]

horrible sorry but the bug facts were interesting.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Nick, I found him to be very funny. I liked learning about the bugs. I'll be continuing the series, hopefully soon.