Lush Life

Artie Deemer Mystery #2

by Dallas Murphy

Artie Deemer's leisurely lifestyle abruptly ends when his girlfriend, pool shark Crystal Spivey, is kidnapped by a shady banker looking for information about Crystal's supposedly dead former husband. Reprint.

Genres: Mystery

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1992

Reviews

[Trina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay read. Previously I'd read 'Apparent Wind' by this author and that one was great. So I wanted to get everything by this author, but this was nowhere near as good as that one. All in all it was just mediocre.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing, modern and jazz-fuelled update of the classic gumshoe genre

[Connie N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

#2 in the Artie Deemer mystery series

Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am clearly not the demographic that Murphy was aiming for when he wrote this book. I found the pool descriptions to be excruciatingly boring, and I often found myself confused by the multiple bad guys surrounding the main characters and how they all connected. Just like with pool, with things going in all directions, I had a hard time keeping track of it all. That being said, I very much like Murphy's writing. He uses good vocabulary and often made me smile with a clever turn of phrase. And Jellyroll, of course, adds a lot of light-heartedness to an otherwise grim story. The characters certainly saved this story for me and kept me reading. Artie is an appealing character, with intelligence and the grace to admit that he's living off his famous dog's earnings. Crystal, his girlfriend, is a street-smart pool player and pool hall manager, and I liked how she and Artie worked together to solve the mystery.

[Jeff Dickison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not a bad book by any circumstance, it was just routine. Your tolerance for the plot will deal a great deal of how you feel about spending a lot of time in pool halls, which I used to do in my younger (way younger) years. The heroine of the book is an excellent character, but none of the rest, including the protagonist, are well developed. A quick read.

[Rebecca]

This was so weird. I can't even explain it. I don't think there was any problem with me not having read the first book in the series, but the main character is such a drip. I kind of liked Crystal, and honestly, I didn't hate Artie, he was just a odd duck. I couldn't find anything to care about to get me to read past 100 pages.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Getting better. Didn't like #1 all that much and was really just cleaning up the dusty pile of previously started multi-pack downloads. Moving on to the third. So enthused, more like a 2.5 rating.

[Dawn Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lush Life: An Artie Deemer Mystery, Book 2 by Dallas Murphy

273 Pages
Publisher: Brash Books
Release Date: September 13, 2014

Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Pool Games

Artie Deemer has a famous dog, Jellyroll. He wants to meet Crystal, a woman that comes to the pool hall. His attorney, Bruce, says he can introduce him to her. Bruce warns Artie that Crystal was married to Trammel Weems, a fellow law classmate with Artie.

Trammel asks Crystal’s Uncle Billy if he can use his boat. Next thing you know Trammel is missing and presumed dead along with $14 million. Now Crystal has been taken hostage. She calls Artie to come and get her but when he gets there, it’s not Crystal. That’s how Artie got kidnapped too.

The book centers around pool games, specifically nine ball. The pace is quick with a lot of action. The characters are developed, and it is written in the first-person point of view. There is a mixture of drama, comedy, and mystery. If you like stories with a dog as a main character, you will enjoy this book.