The Mango Opera

An Alex Rutledge Mystery #1

by Tom Corcoran

Although he prefers magazine work, freelance photographer Alex Rutledge won't turn down an occasional crime scene shoot for the City of Key West Police Department. But when a string of murders takes his viewfinder into strangely familiar territory, Alex's mellow island lifestyle shatters. One after another, someone is killing women who have intimately crossed Alex Rutledge's path. Maybe it's a coincidence. Maybe it's a conspiracy. Or maybe he's crazy. But the connection marks Alex as the prime suspect in a case so hot it's drawn in the county sheriff, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. In a desperate race to save his name and his life, Alex dives into a one-man search for the dark, sweltering truth beneath a case that's pounding toward meltdown.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Mystery Thriller, Thriller, Suspense, Book Club

295 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Tom Corcoran first moved to Florida in 1970. He has been a disc jockey, bartender, AAA travel counselor, U. S. Navy officer, screenwriter, freelance photographer, automotive magazine editor, computer graphic artist, and journalist.

Reviews

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but I just had a hard time getting into it. The Key West setting was great, but other than that it was a bit difficult to push myself to finish it. I had trouble keeping all of the characters (cops and ex-girlfriends) straight, the ending was convoluted, and some of the writing was hard to follow. I just couldn't get into the perspective of the main character at all. I would possibly try the second one, but it's pretty far down my list.

[Carlton Phelps · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always I enjoy reading Tom CorCorans' books.
In this mystery, which is set in Key West, the main character, Alex Rutledge. He is a full time freelance photographer and a part-time photographer for the Key West Police Department.
Because he uses his power of observation he becomes in murder investigation.
Problem is the murder victims are mostly his old girlfriends or friends with benefits.
As the case unfolds in takes several turns but comes together with the District Attorney and several police office in different agencies being found out. Their past is finally coming to get them and debts will be paid.
If you have ever been to Key West you will feel the breezes and the constant salt on your body coming off the pages.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

I pride myself on providing useful reviews on all forms of entertainment - books, movies, music. I like it or I don't, and I can tell you why. I don't think I can be very helpful here. This book has all the ingredients of my type of book - an intricate plot, the most vivid details of Key West life I've seen in print (having been there really brings out the details), poetic writing, colorful characters - but in the end, I just didn't care for it. I can't really say why. Perhaps I just didn't take to Alex Rutledge and his understated boy-toy lifestyle. Perhaps the plot bordered on the unbelievable at times. I've liked books where neither of these posed an obstacle. This felt a lot like Ross MacDonald, if he had set his Archer mysteries in Key West. This is the first of a series, but one and done for me.

[Julia DeBarrioz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd searched high and low for a good fiction featuring Key West, and finally stumbled on this in a walgreens on Roosevelt. so glad I did! It is colorful and vibrant as the island itself. The prose reads like poetry at times, and the whodunit kept me turning page after page. Corcoran gets people-the good, the bad, the ugly, and the weird, and his truthful insight into that odd creature called human really made this an excellent read. I look forward to continuing the series.

[Tex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this while going through Hurricane Irma and it's aftermath made me see what a treasure is our Key West to the state. There was so much about the locale that is bet that you could wander each street mentioned. The lead character is a photographer who sometimes get a called to crime scenes and becomes wrapped up in old girlfriends being killed.

[Terry ~ Huntress of Erudition · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book the first time I vacationed in Key West and Tom Cocoran's well written story and vivid descriptions it made me feel like a local!

[Bill Hobbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s always a good time to read tales of flora and fauna from the Sunshine State while one is enjoying the beaches of Florida—or even thinking about those beaches. A recently discovered series (recommended by a devoted Floridian friend) has re-awakened my interest there. I’m a big John D. MacDonald (Travis McGee series) and Carl Hiaasen fan, too. "The Mango Opera," book No. 1 of Tom Corcoran’s Alex Rutledge Mystery series, is fast reading, fast paced, and fun.
Alex is a freelance photographer and is often called on by the Key West police department to help out—plus Alex seems to have a natural curiosity and talent for working with his abilities to help solve a crime or two. Seems harmless enough, but, alas, the mellow-minded Alex (who, of course, likes Jimmy Buffet music) finds himself (and his camera) in the middle of a crime puzzle. It seems that a number of women (coincidentally known by Alex) are dying, or, as he knows, murdered. But before the plot can be developed further—Alex becomes the prime suspect! The press is having a field day, law enforcers (county, state, and the feds) have all jumped in, and it is up to Alex to sort all this out—if he can stay out of jail long enough.
Lots of “interesting” characters move this story along—the law folks, the ex-girlfriends, and occasionally some “sane” folks, but not too many, it seems. Perhaps one of the elements of appeal is the author’s colorful descriptions of Key West(at the same time, giving us a picture of life that isn’t usually featured on their post cards).
Of course, as this is the first of the series, it comes as no surprise that Alex isn’t the murderer (but we knew that already). "The Mango Opera" actually reads more as an operetta (while we’re waiting for the fat lady to sing) of the classical touches of an opera—still, Corcoran and Rutledge are able to provide a sound duet (in the key of M—for murder!)!
Corcoran spins a good tale, of local color (lots of red blood), fast-paced lifestyles, and some excellent description to go along with this “moving” plot! I’m glad I’ve “found him”!

[Craig Pittman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read one of Corcoran's later entries in the Alex Rutledge series, "The Octopus Alibi," and liked it so much I decided to go back and try the very first one in the series. This is it, and it's a corker. Corcoran, who spent years living in the Keys, knows every nook and cranny of quirky "Cayo Huwso," and that knowledge informs every page of this book.

The set-up: Rutledge is a freelance photographer who sometimes shoots crime scene pictures for the cops. Meanwhile he's having trouble with his onetime live-in girlfriend, who has moved out. Suddenly the girlfriend shows up again, asking for a place to stay, because her wild roommate was just murdered. Then one of Rutledge's own ex-girlfriends turns up dead, stirring up a world of trouble not only for him but for a pair of local cops, a politically connected Miami gangster and a federal prosecutor who isn't as clean as he'd like to pretend to be.

The plot gets extremely convoluted before it's all straightened out at the end, there are some nicely done action set-pieces and the dialogue and characterization snap with wit. But the best part of the ride is just hanging out with an expert on the Keys who shows you a side of the place you'll never see from the Conch Train tour. I'm definitely going to read the rest of the series.

[Laura Poppenwimer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good classic summer novel to read on the beach. The author lives in Florida, so the descriptions of the Key West area is spot on and vivid. The mystery weaves through going back and forth between several possible plot lines but the ending is not expected. The characters are real, by the end of the book you feel you know then and living here in Florida, some of then could be my neighbors. A very enjoyable read.

[Martin Horner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the 1st book in the author's series featuring Alex Rutledge photographer, part time detective AND full fledged Key West insider/resident!! It was the author's first but it was my second novel in the series (I have previously read/reviewed Gumbo Limbo) I was as thrilled with this novel as the previous one I read.

Mr. Corcoran is a master of mixing a cast of eclectic sometimes oddball characters with an ever evolving twisting plot. He is able to blend all the ingredients into a genuine page turner of a mystery. His ability to peel back the layers of how most of us envision life in the Florida Keys and reveal a strange and sometimes seediness to this tropical paradise.

Upon finishing this book, I wanted to run to my bookshelf and grab the next novel in the series. Realizing there are ONLY five left in the current series, I have to restrain myself in order to savor each of Mr. Corcoran's masterful mysteries.

Until next time- Thank you Tom Corcoran for the amazing trip to Key West!!

[Jeff Tucker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tom Corcoran lived in Key West for ten years. He was a bartender at the Chart Room for many years and also a photographer. He was a good friend of Jimmy Buffett back in the 1970's and he took several of the photographs for Jimmy's early album covers. He also contributed some lyrics to two Jimmy Buffett songs. Corcoran passed away earlier this year and now we've lost Jimmy also. Tom Corcoran's Alex Rutledge series is set in Key West so I thought it would be interesting to read one of his books to get a feel for the island the way it was when he and Jimmy Buffett were living there. Unfortunately the book didn't work well for me. I didn't think the characters were developed very well and I was often confused about who was who. The plot was pretty far fetched and a little hard for me to follow. The writing was decent, pleasant to read and often funny. I'm glad I read one of Tom Corcoran's books but I think one is enough for me.

[H-Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard to read because the author introduces too many characters to track, plus refers to them by both first names or last names at different places, so it’s twice as many names to keep up with. About 1/3 way through I made a list of characters, and by the final third of the book abandoned trying to keep characters straight. The plot is not laid out for the reader to figure out who the guilty person is. The reveal goes on too long and doesn’t track well from earlier in the book. For a female reader, it can feel offensive at times with how the main characters refer to females; for example, one of the bad guys decides to rape a woman “just for the fun of it.” I live in FL and am a fan of Randy Wayne White, Carl Hiasen, John McDonald, but this hard-boiled detective story did not appeal to me. I forced myself to finish it because I had paid $7.99 for it. Have I said enough?

[✼Summer✼ · Rating 2 out of 5]

My head is spinning after reading this. There were too many characters, trying to keep them all straight was too much for me. Many of the characters going by first names in one paragraph and than just by their last name in the very next paragraph. And then of course there were the nick names some alternately used with their actual name. I needed a cheat sheet to remember who was who as well as who was from which bureau of law enforcement, FBI, local Sheriffs, Tobacco and Firearms. Every law enforcement was involved.

A spread sheet for this novel would of helped because on top of that I also needed to remember who of all these characters was having sex with who. It seemed like everyone was sleeping with everyone.

The many trips back and forth from the Keys to Miami was also annoying.

just too confusing for me.

[Lois Lane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bought this at my favorite beach bookshop. Sounded like a good beach read. Enjoyed the way he described Key West...I could imagine being there. Maybe because I live in Florida. And the plot. Not so fond of all the sex and one night stands. It’s like...get another hobby. Contribute something else to society.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started this series after reading Miami Noir, Tom Corcoran was a contributor.

Apparently this was his first novel. I liked the concept and the location and I will read the next in the series. For a first novel I thought the plot and characters were a bit ambitious , almost too much going on. On the other hand I think there is a lot to work with and I look forward to the next read.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the premise was good, but it took me a lot longer to read this than I anticipated. Maybe because I read it in smaller bits, it didn't capture me. I finished it because I wanted to find out whodunit, but my overall impression of Alex Rutledge and the style of writing was "meh." For me, there are much better mysteries that I'll spend my time on.

[Stephen Raguskus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book, interesting characters, and the absolute best locations. I originally gave it 4 stars, because I really did enjoy myself through most of the book. But I felt the ending was kind of flat and a few intriguing plot lines just kind of were glossed over. It was a shame. But I will give Corcoran another try, hoping that he gets better with experience.

[Jay Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like Randy Wayne White, you will probably like this book. Set in the Florida Keys, this is an action packed couple of days. A mans former girlfriend are being murdered. He gets into the hunt. The plot is fast paced and is full of suprises. Definitely a good beach read.

[Patty Gilson l · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite thing about The Mango Opera was the setting. I loved taking the journey through the Florida Keys especially the streets of Key West with the characters. The details made me feel like I was experiencing KW first hand.

[Maureen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn’t enjoy this too much…many names, all with the same first letter, many girlfriends, many cops, really a lot to keep track of…I did finish, but I can’t really tell why some of these people were killed or why a photographer is the one solving things, at least I think Rutledge solved something ….

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty well written noir set in the Keys. Great read pre- or post a visit down to Key West. The author's strength lies in capturing the setting and vibe of the enchanted land. Will read another Corcoran, but need to hold off until the mood strikes me.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very hard to keep characters straight even at the end. I should have made a flow chart. Corcoran's latest book was good and led me to start from his first one. I will skip a few and try another one.

[James Holliman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, quick read, and a great mystery story. The descriptions of Key West offer a great escape from reality, and he painted a perfect picture of that fascinating area. Can't wait to read the next one.

[Dustin · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the Florida details and eccentric characters of Hiaasen or Tim Dorsey, without all the zaniness. Hard-boiled, in a laid back sort of way.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was like I was back in Key West!

[mary santapaula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing Key West mystery

Complex story, lots of twists and turns. Portrays the quirky nature of Key West well. Almost too many villains to sort out.

[Patricia Piacentine · Rating 4 out of 5]

old Key West flavor lends interest to this book. References to places no longer there and added interest by going off the island. I'll read his next adventure.

[Vickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Alex Rutherford novel. Not sure how they can have so many murders in such a small island. Lots of intrigue, satire, twists and humor. Enjoy the local characters.

[Peggy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overly convoluted plot with way too many characters. I got tired reading this. I did wade through it to the end, but don’t need to read this author again.

[Carolyn (in SC) C234D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only vaguely remember this title. Since I noted that I would read more in this series, I’ll give it three stars.