Heart Attack and Vine: A Crush Mystery

Crush #2

by Phoef Sutton

Praise for Crush:

"As slick as a switchblade with a pearl handle."—Lee Child, New York Times best-selling author

Los Angeles bodyguard/bouncer Caleb Rush (Crush) is back in this second Crush novel. When Rachel Fury, a con-artist friend who'd vanished for a couple of years after a big scam, reappears in Hollywood under a new name as a glitzy movie star, she hires Crush as a bodyguard, and he quickly gets drawn into a criminal mess that requires all his brawn, skill, and savvy to negotiate. It's rich with Hollywood lore, fast-paced action, and noir atmosphere.

Phoef Sutton is a novelist, television writer, and playwright whose work has won two Emmys, a Peabody, a Writers Guild Award, a GLAAD Award, and a Television Academy Honors Award. The first novel in the Crush series, titled Crush, was a Kirkus Best Mystery of 2015 and a Los Angeles Times "Summer Reading Page-Turner." Sutton has been an executive producer of Cheers, a writer/producer for such shows as Boston Legal and NewsRadio, a writer for Terriers, and the creator of several TV shows, including the cult hit Thanks. He is also the co-author, with Janet Evanovich, of Wicked Charms, a New York Times bestseller; a second in that series is coming soon. His other novels include the romantic thriller 15 Minutes to Live. Sutton lives in South Pasadena, California.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime

224 pages, Paperback

First published October 17, 2016

About the author

Phoef Sutton started as an actor and playwright in college; he was lucky enough to go to a small liberal arts college in Virginia, James Madison University, which encouraged student playwrights. Phoef was one of the only undergraduates to win the Norman Lear Award for Comedy Playwriting. After graduation, Phoef had plays produced at various regional theaters around the country, had his award winning play BURIAL CUSTOMS selected for publication by the Theatre Communications Group and was awarded a National Endowment for Arts Playwrights Fellowship.

After marrying and moving to Los Angeles, Phoef started his career at the NBC television show CHEERS. He stayed with the show for eight years, working his way up from staff writer to executive producer, winning two Emmys and a Writer’s Guild Award. A greater training ground for a writer could not be imagined.

After CHEERS, Phoef has produced and created a number of television shows and consulted on others, including NEWS RADIO and BOSTON LEGAL. He is honored to have won a Peabody Award, a GLAAD award and a Television Academy Honors award for this work on BOSTON LEGAL. Recently, he has worked on critically acclaimed series TERRIERS for FX and THE SOUL MAN for TV Land, DEFIANCE for SyFy Channel and ALPHA HOUSE for Amazon.

He has directed a short film – a suspense tale called ‘TIL DEATH. ‘TIL DEATH has been shown and various film festivals around the world and received prizes at the Garden State Festival and WorldFest in Houston, Texas.

Phoef has also worked for many years as a screenwriter and script doctor. MRS. WINTERBOURNE, directed by Richard Benjamin was an adaptation of a novel by one of his favorite authors, Cornell Woolrich. THE FAN, directed by Tony Scott and starring Robert DeNiro was an adaptation of the novel by Peter Abrahams.

Phoef is a published novelist – FIFTEEN MINUTES TO LIVE, a romantic-thriller; DEAD MAN: THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL, a horror novel and its sequel DEAD MAN REBORN.
2015 is a promising year for Phoef, with the debut of his collaborations with Janet Evanovich, WICKED CHARMS and publication of his hard-boiled crime novel CRUSH.

Phoef lives in South Pasadena, California with his wife Dawn and his daughters Skylar and Celia.

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great title and an opening act in Los Angeles' Grand Central Market sets the stage for great gritty fun. But, it ends up mired in Hollywood intrigue and didn't hold my interest. Might be worth a re-read down the road.

[Petrea Burchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot. Phoef Sutton knows his way around Los Angeles. He also knows his way around action and characters. I really enjoyed this almost-but-not-quite-light-hearted mystery/thriller. Main character Caleb Rush is a very human tough guy, and it's fun to hang out with him.

I usually read late in the evening, just a chapter, then set the book aside and go to sleep. This is the first time in ages that I've gone on and on, reading chapter after chapter, because I cared and I wanted to know what was going to happen next.

Some of the situations couldn't possibly be real, could they? Yet Sutton makes them believable in his wild world. Good stuff.

[mzbeastle · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started reading this book, it was similar to reading a dystopian cyberpunk novel: nothing was quite right, like walking a floor which was not set to level. I don't know how to better describe the feeling. As it progressed, it occurred to me that reading any books about Los Angeles and the attitudes/lifestyles of the rich and famous cast that same feeling to me. It's pretty funny - the gap between my lifestyle and theirs. This was very well done in Heart Attack and Vine. Characters were almost surreal, until later in the book, but even then the antics of Rachel were often unexplainable. That's just one of several factors that kept my attention, along with good writing and exciting flow of events, to name a few more. Nicely done!

[Carol Skill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast paced, plenty of twists to keep your interest, and a new character, Crush, to follow. Crush follows a unique moral code as he navigates the "crazy" that inhabits the entertainment industry. Fun and zany - I enjoyed the read.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that I could not put down. It is about an ex police officer. He has become a PI of sorts. His name is Caleb Rush and he gets the nick name of Crush in her first novel. He primarily works as a bouncer in a bar.

[Shirley · Rating 2 out of 5]

So much potential to be a good book, but poorly delivered. The end of the book read like a synopsis that the author was too lazy to flush out. Characters could be likeable or intriguing but just weren’t developed properly.

[Frau Ott · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bodyguard find himself in a true mixup between a very old girlfriend who is actually trying to con him / a film maker who hires him to protect the girl / a greek tycoon who collects movie props and the real mastermind. Lots of murder and other gory details

[Tom Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn this Covid Pandemic is crushing me, so I decided to read my second Crush novel. I love this guy and his antics and the surreal cast of characters surrounding him. I enjoy LA and New Orleans crime novels so this one has the best of both worlds. Stayed up all night reading this one

[Groovygaby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Caleb 'Crush' Rush is a very interesting 'hero' and I look forward to reading more of his adventures.

[Bethel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book! Crush is moving on

[Joanne Flanagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two likable characters and lots of despicable ones. It was a fun, light read with a few interesting settings.

[Elizabeth Crowens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. A page turner.

[mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crush is the Coolest body guard ever!!!!!

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little thriller with some great commentary on Hollywood.

[Phyllis · Rating 2 out of 5]

silly detective who done it book

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't read #1 but this is good enough to make me want to go back and read it.
Pretty much a light, fast, fun read. Primarily set in LA with a side trip to New Orleans.

[Kay Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots better than anticipated. The author has a long background in tv writing and it shows. Like many fluff mysteries it starts with a bang and kind of peters out. But short and fun. Will probably read first in series, titled Crush.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as enjoyable as the first book featuring Crush, a bouncer/security guard/man with a past, but still a lot of fun and a fast read. You can see that the author is a major screenwriter - this seems made for an action movie.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A modern LA noir novel that's fast-paced, intricately plotted, witty, and just plain fun to read. It's got a terrific con artist woman at its center, and it spends some time in New Orleans, and it adeptly makes fun of Hollywood... what's not to like? Full disclosure... I'm the book's editor. But I never would have chosen it if I didn't love it for real!

[Alyssa Drake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! A wild, suspenseful whodunit with twists and turns and an unpredictability which tested my limits to NOT read the end of the book first. This was my first interaction with Crush and he was fabulous (tough, gritty and yet surprising hopeful when it came to his relationship with Rachel). I have already added the first Crush book to my TBR. Well done.

[Art · Rating 3 out of 5]

Phoef Sutton's movie background gives her some interesting chops for her mystery series featuring Caleb Rush (Crush).

Some parts are really good, some not so. But there is always a nugget of action and possibility that makes this an interesting character to watch develop.

[Paul Parkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't remember his first book, but this one didn't seem as good. Did like it though.

I got to the exciting part before I realized I'd read it before. I apparently liked it better the second time around.

[P R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pacing good in this one.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious! Impressive noir. Characters are almost cartoonlike in their perfection. Is this a pitch or is this a con?

[Elizabeth Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting characters, great dialogue, tight and suspenseful plot with touches of LA noir and movie glamour: a mix of ingredients that make for a entertaining read.

[Brett Wallach · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I really liked this book most of the way through it. Standard investigator stuff, with wry comments about L.A./Hollywood, all's good. But the denouement was so awful, with characters and motives seemingly coming out of the author's ass, with the usual long, terrible speech from the murderer told to the main character for no apparent reason...killed what could have been a good book and new author to follow.

[Will Zeilinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sutton weaves a story that only someone who has been intimately involved in the "Hollyweird" world could concoct. Swift action, snappy dialog, and recognizable characters make the reader feel like a fly on the wall. A great read.