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A Clean Sweep
In this crackerjack, twist-filled mystery played out on the winding streets of San Francisco, Aaron Asherfield is a close-to-down-and-out private eye, with three ex-wives and the alimony payments to prove it.
Troubled by his shady past and bleak future, Asherfield unwittingly stumbles into boardroom corruption and back-alley murder when he is hired to track down Roger Ellerbee, a successful business man in debt to "Mad Bad" LeRoy, a corrupt Berkeley councilman.
But before the search can progress very far, LeRoy is shot to death in front of Asherfield's astonished eyes. Even more perplexing, Ellerbee's beautiful wife Lauren informs Asherfield that Ellerbee has been missing for some time.
Asherfield's search for Roger Ellerbee introduces him to a number of California the proprietor of a pornographic theater; a madam whose specialty is bondage; a sinister district attorney; a preacher with a Jewish dog.
With a strong setting, lively dialogue, and an engaging protagonist, David Berlinski has written a remarkably accomplished mystery.
Troubled by his shady past and bleak future, Asherfield unwittingly stumbles into boardroom corruption and back-alley murder when he is hired to track down Roger Ellerbee, a successful business man in debt to "Mad Bad" LeRoy, a corrupt Berkeley councilman.
But before the search can progress very far, LeRoy is shot to death in front of Asherfield's astonished eyes. Even more perplexing, Ellerbee's beautiful wife Lauren informs Asherfield that Ellerbee has been missing for some time.
Asherfield's search for Roger Ellerbee introduces him to a number of California the proprietor of a pornographic theater; a madam whose specialty is bondage; a sinister district attorney; a preacher with a Jewish dog.
With a strong setting, lively dialogue, and an engaging protagonist, David Berlinski has written a remarkably accomplished mystery.
230 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1993
5 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
David Berlinski
34 books267 followersDavid Berlinski is a senior fellow in the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture.
Recent articles by Berlinski have been prominently featured in Commentary, Forbes ASAP, and the Boston Review. Two of his articles, “On the Origins of the Mind” (November 2004) and “What Brings a World into Being” (March 2001), have been anthologized in The Best American Science Writing 2005, edited by Alan Lightman (Harper Perennial), and The Best American Science Writing 2002, edited by Jesse Cohen, respectively.
Berlinski received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University and was later a postdoctoral fellow in mathematics and molecular biology at Columbia University. He has authored works on systems analysis, differential topology, theoretical biology, analytic philosophy, and the philosophy of mathematics, as well as three novels. He has also taught philosophy, mathematics and English at Stanford, Rutgers, the City University of New York and the Université de Paris. In addition, he has held research fellowships at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria and the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques. He lives in Paris.
Recent articles by Berlinski have been prominently featured in Commentary, Forbes ASAP, and the Boston Review. Two of his articles, “On the Origins of the Mind” (November 2004) and “What Brings a World into Being” (March 2001), have been anthologized in The Best American Science Writing 2005, edited by Alan Lightman (Harper Perennial), and The Best American Science Writing 2002, edited by Jesse Cohen, respectively.
Berlinski received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Princeton University and was later a postdoctoral fellow in mathematics and molecular biology at Columbia University. He has authored works on systems analysis, differential topology, theoretical biology, analytic philosophy, and the philosophy of mathematics, as well as three novels. He has also taught philosophy, mathematics and English at Stanford, Rutgers, the City University of New York and the Université de Paris. In addition, he has held research fellowships at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria and the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques. He lives in Paris.
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November 1, 2023Not good.
June 26, 2015
Just awful. The book was racist, homophobic, you name it. Presumably, this was supposed to be just the protagonist's viewpoint, but there's no way that someone could write this (and it did not appear to be written in any sort of satiric way) and not be expressing his own worldview. Second, it was a stupid attempt to mimic old school detective stories - Chandler, et. al. The sarcastic, wisecracking detective. But it didn't work - the "wisecracks" were just stupid, not even amusing in a sarcastic way, and continual, even in completely inappropriate situations. Finally, the book just didn't make a lot of sense. The eventual solution had to be explained at the end, because it didn't make any sense at all without elaborate explanation. Characters and events popped up, with no particular reason for being there - except to give the author a chance to express more negative views about pretty much everyone, particularly racial and ethnic groups other than WASPs.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews