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Lenny Bliss Mysteries #3
The Middle of Nowhere: A Lenny Bliss Mystery
In its starred review, Publishers Weekly called Bliss Jumps the Gun "the book for the mystery reader who's looking for something fresh and strong." Now in The Middle of Nowhere, Bob Sloan has once again created an intricate plot and characters that will keep you on the edge on your seat.
Homicide detective Lenny Bliss wears consciousness like an albatross. He is looking for some inner peace. Instead he gets a floater fished out of the East River. Then his comedienne turned novelist wife wants to tag along. She's writing a novel about, of all things, a homicide detective. The investigation is not going swimmingly (they never do, with floaters) when another case takes precedent--the bludgeoning of a young man during a party in a swanky Upper East Side townhouse. Arriving on the scene, Bliss realizes he's been to this townhouse before, the night he went looking for his missing daughter who had also been to the swanky townhouse party. If his previous visit is revealed, it will taint the case and make Bliss a very likely suspect.
In The Middle of Nowhere, Bob Sloan writes with the lyrical toughness of James Lee Burke and the dark humor of Carl Hiassen, creating a torrid and revealing look at the dark underbelly of New York's wealthy elite-and the deeper darkness that lies under that.
Homicide detective Lenny Bliss wears consciousness like an albatross. He is looking for some inner peace. Instead he gets a floater fished out of the East River. Then his comedienne turned novelist wife wants to tag along. She's writing a novel about, of all things, a homicide detective. The investigation is not going swimmingly (they never do, with floaters) when another case takes precedent--the bludgeoning of a young man during a party in a swanky Upper East Side townhouse. Arriving on the scene, Bliss realizes he's been to this townhouse before, the night he went looking for his missing daughter who had also been to the swanky townhouse party. If his previous visit is revealed, it will taint the case and make Bliss a very likely suspect.
In The Middle of Nowhere, Bob Sloan writes with the lyrical toughness of James Lee Burke and the dark humor of Carl Hiassen, creating a torrid and revealing look at the dark underbelly of New York's wealthy elite-and the deeper darkness that lies under that.
304 pages, Paperback
First published March 31, 2003
5 people want to read
About the author
Bob Sloan
20 booksBob Sloan is a teacher, chef, and mystery writer.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See other authors with similar names.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See other authors with similar names.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 7, 2018
First book I've read by this author but it won't be my last. Loved the character Lenny Bliss for being funny and for loving jazz.
January 10, 2020
Really engaging little book. I don't believe I've read any stories in this series before, but I will look for them in the future. Well drawn characters, believable plot, fine conclusion.
August 15, 2011
I really enjoyed this book. It is apparently the third in the series, but I didn't feel that I lost anything my starting here. And check out how the story begins:
Bliss sat on the wooden floor of the yoga studio, his legs splayed indecorously in front of him while the rest of the class sublimely assumed Lotus position. Bliss was not in Lotus position. He was not anywhere near lotus position, or half-Lotus, or an infinitesimal speck of Lotus. He couldn’t imagine anyone being any more un-Lotus. He’d taken a wrong turn, missed his exit, and was miles away from Lotus, standing in a phone booth in the rain at a gas station reeking of beer and piss, holding a receiver without a dial tone. That’s how far from Lotus he was.
Bliss sat on the wooden floor of the yoga studio, his legs splayed indecorously in front of him while the rest of the class sublimely assumed Lotus position. Bliss was not in Lotus position. He was not anywhere near lotus position, or half-Lotus, or an infinitesimal speck of Lotus. He couldn’t imagine anyone being any more un-Lotus. He’d taken a wrong turn, missed his exit, and was miles away from Lotus, standing in a phone booth in the rain at a gas station reeking of beer and piss, holding a receiver without a dial tone. That’s how far from Lotus he was.
February 2, 2016
There are many characters and I had difficulty discerning who were the main ones....who was the story about. The key murder was not solved and the killer was only subtly identified. Strange.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews