Full-bodied Red

Quinn Parke Mystery #3

by Bruce Zimmerman

Working together again to solve a crime, San Francisco phobia therapist Quinn Parker and underemployed stand-up comedian Hank Wilkie investigate the disappearance of one of Parker's patients

Genres: Mystery

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Bruce Zimmerman is a U.S. novelist, screenwriter, and television producer. Among the television series which Zimmerman has worked on are Desperate Housewives, CSI: NY, K-Ville, The District, Judging Amy, Reunion, So Weird, and Street Time. He has also written a number of movies for television, including the two "Inspectors" movies for Showtime.

Reviews

[Michele Mahussier · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're looking for a fun, light read this is perfect

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#3 in the Quinn Parker series. This is the best entry so far in this series. Quinn is a phobia therapist (an occupation you don't often run across) in San Francisco. In this case, his client is an agoraphobe from Napa Valley wine country. This leads to a lot of interesting trivia about the wine industry. The case, however, is ultimately about murder, deception and blackmail, with its roots in Vietnam. A side plot has friend Hank Wilkie, a struggling stand-up comic, living with Quinn after being thrown out by his wife. The ongoing saga of Hank adds comic relief.

Quinn Parker series - Called to the Napa Valley mansion of his 23-year-old patient Phillip Chesterton, Quinn is attacked by Phillip's stepfather, Frank Matson, who drunkenly blames the therapist for the young man's disappearance. When Matson's corpse subsequently turns up in one of the estate's wine vats, a local police detective declares Phillip the chief suspect. Searching for the young man and his older girlfriend who's also disappeared, Quinn unravels a web of death, blackmail, dark family secrets and crimes whose origins lie in Southeast Asia before and during the Vietnam war.

[MD · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd give this 3 and a half stars. I don't think it will stick with me long, but it's better written than most of the mysteries I've read lately and I enjoyed the San Francisco color.