What do you think?
Rate this book
Joe Kozmarski #2
The Bad Kitty Lounge
Michael Wiley’s first novel, The Last Striptease , was nominated for a Shamus Award and hailed as “riveting” ( The Chicago Tribune ), “delightful” ( Toronto Globe and Mail ), and “hard-boiled fiction with tenderness and compassion” (New York Newsday ). Now he offers another exciting, fast-paced page-turner with The Bad Kitty Lounge. Greg Samuelson, an unassuming bookkeeper, has hired Joe Kozmarski to dig up dirt on his wife and her lover Eric Stone. But now Samuelson has taken matters into his own hands. It looks like he's torched Stone’s Mercedes, killed his boss, and then shot himself, all in the space of an hour. The police think they know how to put together this ugly puzzle. But as Kozmarski discovers, nothing’s ever simple. Eric Stone wants to hire Kozmarski to clear Samuelson. Samuelson’s dead boss, known as the Virginity Nun, has a saintly reputation but a red-hot past. And a gang led by an aging 1960s radical shows up in Kozmarski’s office with a backpack full of payoff money, warning him to turn a blind eye to murder. At the same time, Kozmarski is working things out with his ex-wife, Corrine, his new partner, Lucinda Juarez, and his live-in nephew, Jason. If the bad guys don't do Kozmarski in, his family might.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
1 person is currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
Michael Wiley
34 books85 followersMichael Wiley’s new novel is The Long Way Out, featuring Franky Dast, an exonerated ex-con who investigates a series of murders in Northeast Florida. Michael is also the author of three mystery and detective series, including the Shamus Award-winning Joe Kozmarski books, the Daniel Turner thrillers, and, most recently, the Sam Kelson PI novels. His short stories appear often in magazines and anthologies, including Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2022.
Michael grew up in Chicago and lived and worked in the neighborhoods and on the streets where he sets his Kelson and Kozmarski mysteries. He teaches literature at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville—the setting of The Long Way Out, an earlier Franky Dast novel (Monument Road), and the Daniel Turner novels.
Series:
* Joe Kozmarski Mystery
Michael grew up in Chicago and lived and worked in the neighborhoods and on the streets where he sets his Kelson and Kozmarski mysteries. He teaches literature at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville—the setting of The Long Way Out, an earlier Franky Dast novel (Monument Road), and the Daniel Turner novels.
Series:
* Joe Kozmarski Mystery
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
October 23, 2014
Again I seem to have started a series with the second book, as I did the one before this. I don't know what's up with my library not having the first books of series, but it is a bit frustrating. The author seems to have done a decent job filling me in on the first novel without boring anyone who had read the first.
This sounded interesting & started out very well. All through the book there were some very good writing & some that I didn't care for. The hero kept getting flowery with his language. Sometimes it was fun, the way it is in a Mickey Spillane novel, other times it was jarring, but overall the writing was pretty good. Ditto with the reading. While it was well read, the voice varied between chapters a lot. The same POV should have the same voice, shouldn't it? It didn't, but that was minor. Overall, it was well read, both male & female voices.
Unfortunately, motivations were never particularly believable & the overall logic of the story was forced. The ending was particularly horrific in that regard, glossed over by never emptying guns, falling bodies, & 'hero' that, like the bad guys, should certainly spend some time in jail for sheer idiocy. My suspension of belief snapped entirely at the metal works, maybe the last 1/8th of the book. If I hadn't been about done mowing the fields as well, I probably would have looked for another book at that point. As it was, I let it run to the end which coincided closely enough with the mowing.
This sounded interesting & started out very well. All through the book there were some very good writing & some that I didn't care for. The hero kept getting flowery with his language. Sometimes it was fun, the way it is in a Mickey Spillane novel, other times it was jarring, but overall the writing was pretty good. Ditto with the reading. While it was well read, the voice varied between chapters a lot. The same POV should have the same voice, shouldn't it? It didn't, but that was minor. Overall, it was well read, both male & female voices.
Unfortunately, motivations were never particularly believable & the overall logic of the story was forced. The ending was particularly horrific in that regard, glossed over by never emptying guns, falling bodies, & 'hero' that, like the bad guys, should certainly spend some time in jail for sheer idiocy. My suspension of belief snapped entirely at the metal works, maybe the last 1/8th of the book. If I hadn't been about done mowing the fields as well, I probably would have looked for another book at that point. As it was, I let it run to the end which coincided closely enough with the mowing.
March 24, 2017
This author is new to me. The book features Chicago's crime side - believable and fast-paced with a large dollop of violent acts. The private detective Joe Kozmarski has his personal struggles to deal with while untangling what is really at the bottom of fires and murders connected to a multi-million dollar condominium building under construction. "Now the rest of the neighborhood's gone, wiped out. Wrecking ball, bulldozer, backhoe, and steamroller--every machine that weighs ten tons or more has been through there...once [the location of] The Bad Kitty Lounge." The body count multiplies and Joe is almost counted among them. I hope to read another Kozmarski book before long.
December 24, 2023
We Have the Technology
The Bad Kitty Lounge is less a sequel than a rewrite. As demanded by the Film Noir genre, Joe Kozmarski hasn’t changed: his terrible professional life is only exceeded by his neglected personal one. The private eye is such a mess that it’s surprising he solves mysteries before the police; he’s neither practical nor intelligent, and gets into enough scrapes that it’s a wonder he’s still alive. Stubbornness is his most positive quality and that’s a double-edged sword.
Inspired by the civil rights era of Chicago, The Bad Kitty Lounge is a hurricane of racial, commercial and political dynamics. It’s fertile ground but the author retraces the same steps covered by its predecessor. The protagonist gets beaten and threatened, someone close is kidnapped and a ridiculous car chase ensues. Kozmarski continues to screw up every relationship and antagonize the police. Once you notice the plot outline’s similarities, you’ll be able to predict the next scene.
However, sordid histories and clever application of political and monetary power result in devilishly complex schemes. There are many players with ulterior motives, and that’s before encompassing the nuanced exposition of decades of racial struggle. The Bad Kitty Lounge is not just fast-paced, but manages to do all the above in under three-hundred pages. Simple in execution but twisted in the details, it’s a superior imitation of The Last Striptease, but an imitation all the same.
Recommended, with reservations.
The Bad Kitty Lounge is less a sequel than a rewrite. As demanded by the Film Noir genre, Joe Kozmarski hasn’t changed: his terrible professional life is only exceeded by his neglected personal one. The private eye is such a mess that it’s surprising he solves mysteries before the police; he’s neither practical nor intelligent, and gets into enough scrapes that it’s a wonder he’s still alive. Stubbornness is his most positive quality and that’s a double-edged sword.
Inspired by the civil rights era of Chicago, The Bad Kitty Lounge is a hurricane of racial, commercial and political dynamics. It’s fertile ground but the author retraces the same steps covered by its predecessor. The protagonist gets beaten and threatened, someone close is kidnapped and a ridiculous car chase ensues. Kozmarski continues to screw up every relationship and antagonize the police. Once you notice the plot outline’s similarities, you’ll be able to predict the next scene.
However, sordid histories and clever application of political and monetary power result in devilishly complex schemes. There are many players with ulterior motives, and that’s before encompassing the nuanced exposition of decades of racial struggle. The Bad Kitty Lounge is not just fast-paced, but manages to do all the above in under three-hundred pages. Simple in execution but twisted in the details, it’s a superior imitation of The Last Striptease, but an imitation all the same.
Recommended, with reservations.
June 10, 2010
Hey, another day another post. The biggest mystery to me once I got a groove on this novel was why I didn’t know this was Wiley’s second offering. I totally missed the boat on the first novel in this series The Last Striptease. That novel won the PWA Best First Private Eye Novel Competition and was nominated for a Shamus Award. The main character, Joe Kozmarski rocks. Trust me when I say as soon as I can get my hands on that, I will pop into the Blast from the Past rotation ASAP.
Now to the novel I did get to read. I love the packaging, the novel is a smallish hardback, but it packs a punch. The action grabbed me right away and didn’t let go until the last word. I guess you could tell from my updates on the Goodreads meter I was going through this novel quickly. The ensemble cast around Joe Kozmarski is excellent. I love these types of novels. The plot has many twists and turns and just when I thought, hey it is time to disembark this rollercoaster, Joe K. is nice enough to point out I missed a little something and we hit another turn and the pace quickens yet again to the very end. Wiley crafts a great read. He fleshes out his characters and gives them a depth and humanity that are endearing and make us want them to succeed with their quest for the truth.
The Bad Kitty Lounge is a novel you don’t want to miss. This has all the right elements for all the right reasons. Michael Wiley has created an amazing microcosm in and around Joe Kozmarski. The characters are believable, the plot is tense and moving, and the pages seem to turn themselves. I hope that Joe K. has many more adventures, I love the ride. Put this in your Goodreads –to read – list without hesitation, and learn from my mistake, don’t forget The Last Striptease too.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter and visit us on Book Blogs. Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
PS – Please visit our store for all of your Amazon shopping. Thanks.
Now to the novel I did get to read. I love the packaging, the novel is a smallish hardback, but it packs a punch. The action grabbed me right away and didn’t let go until the last word. I guess you could tell from my updates on the Goodreads meter I was going through this novel quickly. The ensemble cast around Joe Kozmarski is excellent. I love these types of novels. The plot has many twists and turns and just when I thought, hey it is time to disembark this rollercoaster, Joe K. is nice enough to point out I missed a little something and we hit another turn and the pace quickens yet again to the very end. Wiley crafts a great read. He fleshes out his characters and gives them a depth and humanity that are endearing and make us want them to succeed with their quest for the truth.
The Bad Kitty Lounge is a novel you don’t want to miss. This has all the right elements for all the right reasons. Michael Wiley has created an amazing microcosm in and around Joe Kozmarski. The characters are believable, the plot is tense and moving, and the pages seem to turn themselves. I hope that Joe K. has many more adventures, I love the ride. Put this in your Goodreads –to read – list without hesitation, and learn from my mistake, don’t forget The Last Striptease too.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter and visit us on Book Blogs. Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
PS – Please visit our store for all of your Amazon shopping. Thanks.
May 14, 2012
THE BAD KITTY LOUNGE got its claws into me from the first line, which is the best I've read in a while: "I sat in Tommy Cheng's Chinese Restaurant facing a window onto North LaSalle Street and watched a four-story condo complex where Eric Stone was screwing another man's wife." Loved this book from the first page to the last. I haven't read Michael Wiley's work before, but this has convinced me to pick up his other books. I'll be recommending this to friends who enjoy a great PI novel.
October 24, 2010
Second in a series featuring ex-cop and private-eye Joe Kozmarski, who is paid not to investigate the murder of a nun, but who, of course, continues to investigate at his own and family's peril. It was a fast read, had humor, believable characters, and a good story. There were too many murders as the book went along and then a very few pages allocated to tying them all together.
December 5, 2024
A great follow-up in a series featuring Joe Kozmarski, an ex-cop private eye in Chicago.
Joe is back doing his typical work, taking pictures of cheating spouses for divorce work. This time his client is Greg Samuelson, a clerk at a local church, and his wife is definitely cheating with Eric Stone, the son of a local real estate family. As Joe watches, Greg comes by, torches Eric's car, and returns to work, where shortly he is found with half of his face blown off by a gunshot next to his dead coworker, a local celebrity nun who espouses celibacy for teenage girls.
Greg manages to somehow survive the gunshot, but soon disappears from the hospital. Meanwhile, an aging 60's radical is keeping tabs on Joe and paying to try to keep him away from investigating the nun's murder, which just makes Joe more and more curious.
Missing suspect. Crooked real estate deals. A cold-hearted mother protecting her empire. Gangsters pursuing Joe and beating him up. Cops providing some information but withholding others. An 11-year-old nephew getting left alone a bit too much. A decision between his sexy business partner and his ex-wife. And bodies, more bodies wherever Joe goes, all tied back to The Bad Kitty Lounge, a 1960's squat where many threads seem to have crossed and spilled into the present.
Just another typical outing for Joe Kozmarski, and great entertainment for us.
Joe is back doing his typical work, taking pictures of cheating spouses for divorce work. This time his client is Greg Samuelson, a clerk at a local church, and his wife is definitely cheating with Eric Stone, the son of a local real estate family. As Joe watches, Greg comes by, torches Eric's car, and returns to work, where shortly he is found with half of his face blown off by a gunshot next to his dead coworker, a local celebrity nun who espouses celibacy for teenage girls.
Greg manages to somehow survive the gunshot, but soon disappears from the hospital. Meanwhile, an aging 60's radical is keeping tabs on Joe and paying to try to keep him away from investigating the nun's murder, which just makes Joe more and more curious.
Missing suspect. Crooked real estate deals. A cold-hearted mother protecting her empire. Gangsters pursuing Joe and beating him up. Cops providing some information but withholding others. An 11-year-old nephew getting left alone a bit too much. A decision between his sexy business partner and his ex-wife. And bodies, more bodies wherever Joe goes, all tied back to The Bad Kitty Lounge, a 1960's squat where many threads seem to have crossed and spilled into the present.
Just another typical outing for Joe Kozmarski, and great entertainment for us.
July 15, 2017
3.5*
I would have read this for the title alone. Who hasn't wanted to go to a bar called 'The Bad Kitty Lounge' at least once in their lives. One would hope meeting bad kitties at a bar call Bad Kitties would be par for the course.
Quote;
"You have a gun?"
"Just a minute." He disappeared into a bedroom and reappeared cradling a FAMAS assault rifle. "Yeah," he said, "I've got a gun."
"You have anything smaller?"
"Yeah, if you insist." He disappeared and reappeared again, this time with a Smith & Wesson pistol that would have looked enormous in anyone else's hand but his.
"Does this suit your delicate tastes better?"
"What if i said no?"
"Darlene's got a fingernail file somewhere. I could borrow it."
"Your fingernails look fine. Let's go."
Despite some good parts i felt this novel was uneven and the author was writing it according to some blueprint entitled"How-to-write-a-badass-hardboiled-mystery" rather than tapping into a natural resource of his own.
It's 3.5 stars from this reader.
I would have read this for the title alone. Who hasn't wanted to go to a bar called 'The Bad Kitty Lounge' at least once in their lives. One would hope meeting bad kitties at a bar call Bad Kitties would be par for the course.
Quote;
"You have a gun?"
"Just a minute." He disappeared into a bedroom and reappeared cradling a FAMAS assault rifle. "Yeah," he said, "I've got a gun."
"You have anything smaller?"
"Yeah, if you insist." He disappeared and reappeared again, this time with a Smith & Wesson pistol that would have looked enormous in anyone else's hand but his.
"Does this suit your delicate tastes better?"
"What if i said no?"
"Darlene's got a fingernail file somewhere. I could borrow it."
"Your fingernails look fine. Let's go."
Despite some good parts i felt this novel was uneven and the author was writing it according to some blueprint entitled"How-to-write-a-badass-hardboiled-mystery" rather than tapping into a natural resource of his own.
It's 3.5 stars from this reader.
August 28, 2017
There's a bunch to like about this novel. Great plot-money, sex-, and tantalizing characters are two reasons. But the best reason is that Wiley writes like he was born with the noir gene in his dna. Just one tiny example- An auto gun battle is going on, and Joe says his shot "killed anything that slept in his trunk." Man, it doesn't get better than that. Oh, and the best title, hand down, I've ever seen. For me, the only negative again is the regular appearance of dreams. How I hate fiction dreams.
August 16, 2020
不好看快降成两星了，and reading police shooting in self defense outside jurisdiction result in being removed from the force in a story while knowing real police killing people without consequences before social movement and public pressure kicks in is…idk. 2020 ruins things for you on a lot of different levels.
April 7, 2018
Fast paced and entertaining.
April 13, 2019
Interesting private investigator story.
May 5, 2021
Fast moving thriller. Standard for genre
November 27, 2011
Full disclosure, I thought the first Joe Kozmarski book, The Last Striptease was fabulous and was completely robbed by Bad City, Bad Blood for the 2008 Shamus award for best first novel. Consequently, my expectations for this were very high, and so the 3-star review is perhaps less-than-objective. It was a decent novel, but it wasn't as good as the first one. (Ironically, the sequel to Bad City, Bad Blood was fabulous.)
This is a perfectly serviceable private eye novel. However, any private eye series lives and dies on the strength of the main character. In the last novel, I though that Joe Kazmarksi was both heroic and human, and that his interesting and imperfect relationship with his nephew was icing on a cake made out of car chases, shootouts, and good old-fashioned detective work. In this outing, the relationships just don't make as much sense, consequently they are less believable, and much less engaging. Based on the first novel, I didn't think the detectives maturing relationship with his nephew was believable, and based on the actions of the characters I didn't find the love-triangle aspects at all compelling.
How about the mystery? Well, it's pretty good. Michael Wiley has a fantastic flair for action. Both this and the Last Striptease had some fantastically cinematic action scenes, which I love, but in this book, they didn't really make sense or flow into the narrative of the mystery. Finally, *spoiler alert* he kills off (in and inexplicable and unrealistic fashion) what might have been the best PI sidekick since Hawk. What the $%^&, Michael Wiley?
This is a perfectly serviceable private eye novel. However, any private eye series lives and dies on the strength of the main character. In the last novel, I though that Joe Kazmarksi was both heroic and human, and that his interesting and imperfect relationship with his nephew was icing on a cake made out of car chases, shootouts, and good old-fashioned detective work. In this outing, the relationships just don't make as much sense, consequently they are less believable, and much less engaging. Based on the first novel, I didn't think the detectives maturing relationship with his nephew was believable, and based on the actions of the characters I didn't find the love-triangle aspects at all compelling.
How about the mystery? Well, it's pretty good. Michael Wiley has a fantastic flair for action. Both this and the Last Striptease had some fantastically cinematic action scenes, which I love, but in this book, they didn't really make sense or flow into the narrative of the mystery. Finally, *spoiler alert* he kills off (in and inexplicable and unrealistic fashion) what might have been the best PI sidekick since Hawk. What the $%^&, Michael Wiley?
June 15, 2011
The plot is good (with one exception, the personal back story)), the writing is assured, and the Chicago background is believable. Having said that, I'm tired of private eyes whose lives are dysfunctional. That's one reason why Spenser's clear personal vision (except in a couple of books when Susan strayed) was refreshing. He was true to those he valued, and to his responsibilities to his clients, and was clear about why he valued them. Wiley's Joe Kozmarski juggles two women, his mother, a "nephew" and dislike of what his job entails. Man up, Joe. (It's another really 2 1/2-star one.)
July 9, 2011
I was torn between giving this a three or a four star rating. I really love this author's tone and writing style. I really like his characters and I love the mysteries that he weaves...but on this one, I had the killer figured out from the get-go. Kind of proud of myself actually...quite often, I am surprised at the end because I try really hard to just go with the story as it unfolds. Overall, another great book by Michael Wiley. I just love the main character, Joe Kozmarski. Can't wait to his latest book that just came out...A bad night's sleep.
March 10, 2010
A page-turner with unexpected plot twists. A classic noir novel with interesting charaters. Plus, I love the references to Chicago.
I don't want to give anything away - so be sure to read this one for yourself!
I don't want to give anything away - so be sure to read this one for yourself!
September 7, 2016
Hard-boiled, high body count, excellent dialogue. True Chicago feel, both in terms of atmosphere and character. Sorry I waited so long to circle back around to this author! Joe Kozmarski is my kind of ex-cop turned PI.
Read
July 30, 2011Ex Chicago cop and reformed alcoholic Joe Kozmarski tumbles from gig staking out client's cheating wife into murder of nun with a past. More bodies fall as Kozmarski and his equally damaged side kicks investigate.
July 5, 2014
I liked this book. I gave it 3 stars only because it was more a detective story than a page turning thriller. Actually a book doesn't have to be a heart thumping page turner to be a staisfying read. Perhaps it deserves more...:)
March 26, 2010
A great follow-up to Wiley's The Last Striptease.
Read
June 18, 2011Standard stuff.
August 11, 2016
Honestly can't remember anything about this book(it's been three years)
October 9, 2022
(Ginny pick)
February 9, 2015
more hard-boiled than first novel. liked the softer elements that are missing here.
April 1, 2017
The Bad Kitty Lounge is an urban procedural with a flawed city cop turned detective who stumbles onto a murder surrounded by interesting characters and various levels of corruption. The mystery begins with the murder of a well respected nun and unravels from there. The flawed hero can't let a good mystery go despite being paid off. It's a quick read that entertains.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews