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Mister Manners: A Story From the Files of Alexander Strange
Who is Mister Manners, the elusive vigilante marauding Florida? He's been gluing shopping carts to car roofs, hiding pythons in unsuspecting tourists' beds, and did he really try to kill a mob bagman by burying him in horse manure? Weird news reporter Alexander Strange is determined to discover the answer to that question. If he can keep from getting shot, survive a blustering hurricane, avoid toxic toads, fend off the Queen of Murrder and Mayhem, and, oh yeah, not piss of Mister Manners, himself.
Alexander Strange, America's only full-time weird-news reporter, is on the trail of the elusive Florida vigilante known as Mister Manners.
Mister Manners has been on a rampage, gluing grocery carts to car roofs, hiding pythons in tourists' beds, and now the cops believe he dumped a load of horse manure on a naked mob bagman.
He's become a social media phenomenon, a kind of modern Robin Hood, striking out against stupidity and rudeness.
Who is this guy?
Alexander Strange is determined to score the first interview with him. But first he must dodge a hired gun, a crazed narc who think's he's Hunter S. Thompson reincarnated, the Queen of Murder and Mayhem, and a deadly toad--all during a raging pandemic.
And Mister Manners, himself, could be tricky to deal with--he's a trained killer, after all.
Alexander Strange, America's only full-time weird-news reporter, is on the trail of the elusive Florida vigilante known as Mister Manners.
Mister Manners has been on a rampage, gluing grocery carts to car roofs, hiding pythons in tourists' beds, and now the cops believe he dumped a load of horse manure on a naked mob bagman.
He's become a social media phenomenon, a kind of modern Robin Hood, striking out against stupidity and rudeness.
Who is this guy?
Alexander Strange is determined to score the first interview with him. But first he must dodge a hired gun, a crazed narc who think's he's Hunter S. Thompson reincarnated, the Queen of Murder and Mayhem, and a deadly toad--all during a raging pandemic.
And Mister Manners, himself, could be tricky to deal with--he's a trained killer, after all.
386 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 6, 2021
7 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 29, 2023
A hilarious stroll through the annals of Florida life
Written by a writer from the viewpoint of a writer hiding out in Florida, or maybe who accidentally was searching for moisture in the air after living in Arizona and Texas and found the standing bathtub that Florida can be confused for, this tale holds just about all the craziness you'd want from any John D Macdonald and similar successor to the Florida travel almanac that shines a light on what living in moist heat interspersed with frigid air conditioning can do to your thinking. And while there's no mention of a loony governor gone native, politics and their zaniness appear based on the current political and social happenings during real events, like COVID and the conspiracy theories. And even wild animals, Latinos, and crazy authors appear. All with shorter sentences. Not to mention the mob NY-to- South- Florida connection. Wonderful turns of phrases, new idiosyncrasies (some I actually related to, like his good friend Mona, and his affecting for a certain lamp. I can certainly see myself devouring the rest of this series. This was the first one I read.
Written by a writer from the viewpoint of a writer hiding out in Florida, or maybe who accidentally was searching for moisture in the air after living in Arizona and Texas and found the standing bathtub that Florida can be confused for, this tale holds just about all the craziness you'd want from any John D Macdonald and similar successor to the Florida travel almanac that shines a light on what living in moist heat interspersed with frigid air conditioning can do to your thinking. And while there's no mention of a loony governor gone native, politics and their zaniness appear based on the current political and social happenings during real events, like COVID and the conspiracy theories. And even wild animals, Latinos, and crazy authors appear. All with shorter sentences. Not to mention the mob NY-to- South- Florida connection. Wonderful turns of phrases, new idiosyncrasies (some I actually related to, like his good friend Mona, and his affecting for a certain lamp. I can certainly see myself devouring the rest of this series. This was the first one I read.
February 6, 2022
witty, enjoyable and well developed story.
I love the trials and tribulations of Alexander Strange. I recommend this series to everyone I’m especially fond of Fred!
I love the trials and tribulations of Alexander Strange. I recommend this series to everyone I’m especially fond of Fred!
February 28, 2022
I received an ARC copy of this from NetGalley; all the views expressed in this review are entirely my honest thoughts
Disclaimer: This is the first book in the Strange Files series that I have read, and so I went into it knowing nothing of Alexander Strange and what kinds of mysteries he deals with.
I was drawn to this book for its premise promising strange and quirky mysteries, and honestly had no expectations diving into it because I didn't know what to expect that was strange and quirky. So in this book, Alexander Strange, a news reporter with his own column investigating various strangenesses, working alongside a private investigator and a police detective, is drawn to the curious case of a man dubbed Mister Manners who has taken it upon himself to punish the people of Florida for having bad manners through strange acts... such as dumping horse manure on the front door of an insouciant man?
Strange is indeed the word to describe this, but a good kind of strange, a bizarre kind that would have you smiling bemusedly. I enjoyed the interspersing of Strange's column articles with the chapters, and there's some political satire as well. There's a whole host of interesting characters, some of whom are seemingly larger-than-life figures, some are mysterious, and others are, well, strange. Throughout the book, Strange tries to uncover the man behind Mister Manners and what his motivations are, while contending with a strangely large bufo toad and an elusive microchip...
It was enjoyable enough, though some things that fell short for me were the whole cat-and-mouse game involving the microchip (it felt too long and dragged-out) as well as the motivations behind Mister Manners' actions, which left me with a slight frown on my forehead because I didn't fully think it was a really good one. Other than those minor gripes, it was a fun enough book, with several different plotlines running alongside one another sure to keep you entertained.
Disclaimer: This is the first book in the Strange Files series that I have read, and so I went into it knowing nothing of Alexander Strange and what kinds of mysteries he deals with.
I was drawn to this book for its premise promising strange and quirky mysteries, and honestly had no expectations diving into it because I didn't know what to expect that was strange and quirky. So in this book, Alexander Strange, a news reporter with his own column investigating various strangenesses, working alongside a private investigator and a police detective, is drawn to the curious case of a man dubbed Mister Manners who has taken it upon himself to punish the people of Florida for having bad manners through strange acts... such as dumping horse manure on the front door of an insouciant man?
Strange is indeed the word to describe this, but a good kind of strange, a bizarre kind that would have you smiling bemusedly. I enjoyed the interspersing of Strange's column articles with the chapters, and there's some political satire as well. There's a whole host of interesting characters, some of whom are seemingly larger-than-life figures, some are mysterious, and others are, well, strange. Throughout the book, Strange tries to uncover the man behind Mister Manners and what his motivations are, while contending with a strangely large bufo toad and an elusive microchip...
It was enjoyable enough, though some things that fell short for me were the whole cat-and-mouse game involving the microchip (it felt too long and dragged-out) as well as the motivations behind Mister Manners' actions, which left me with a slight frown on my forehead because I didn't fully think it was a really good one. Other than those minor gripes, it was a fun enough book, with several different plotlines running alongside one another sure to keep you entertained.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews