The Cool Cottontail

Virgil Tibbs #2

by John Dudley Ball

The Cool Cottontail is the second Virgil Tibbs mystery series (the first being In the Heat of the Night). In this mystery, Tibbs finds himself at a nudist colony in Los Angeles where the victim (who was not one of the guests) is found floating dead in the pool. Set against this unusual backdrop, the guests of the resort prefer guarding their secrets to solving the murder mystery, particularly when the investigating detective is black. Author John Ball often used social issues of the day to feature as issues in his work, making his work controversial but at the same time, some of the best and most relevant fiction of his time. Along with racism and other social taboos, Ball had no problem with nudism; naked people are the least of the problems these characters face.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook, Police, Procedural

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

John Dudley Ball writing as John Ball, was an American writer best known for mystery novels involving the African-American police detective Virgil Tibbs. He was introduced in the 1965 In the Heat of the Night where he solves a murder in a racist Southern small town. It won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel from the Mystery Writers of America and was made into an Oscar-winning film of the same name starring Sidney Poitier; the film had two sequels, and spawned a television series several decades later, none of which were based on Ball's later Tibbs stories. He also wrote under the name John Ball Jr..

Ball was born in Schenectady, New York, grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and attended Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He wrote for a number of magazines and newspapers, including the Brooklyn Eagle. For a time he worked part-time as a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy, was trained in martial arts, and was a nudist. In the mid 1980s, he was the book review columnist for Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine. Ball lived in Encino, California, and died there in 1988.

Reviews

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many readers have heard of Ball's first novel starring Detective Virgil "they call me MISTER" Tibbs of the Pasadena PD - In the Heat of the Night - which was made into an acclaimed and successful film starring Sidney Poitier as the big city detective who becomes entangled in a murder investigation while passing through a small town in the deep South. This second installment in the series brings our hero back to southern California where he is called upon to investigate a dead body found floating in the pool at a nudist resort. The good news is that the police procedural story is very readable, although somewhat predictable and noticeably dated, and we are able to get a slightly deeper look at the character of Tibbs (who in the book series is not quite as fiery as Poitier's film performance). The bad news is that there are some really cringe-y parts, especially those involving the nudists - Ball's descriptions of the resort owners' 18 year old daughter are truly regrettable - as well as some of the parts dealing with Tibbs's internal monologue regarding some of the casual and overt racism he encounters. At the time of the book's publication in 1966, this all probably felt progressive to Ball - who was white - but modern readers will find themselves rolling their eyes at times.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Ball's second novel featuring detective Virgil Tibbs is a compelling story full of well drawn characters. In The Heat Of The Night was a tough debut to follow, but Ball creates a superbly atmospheric, character driven story.
Originally published in 1966 it still feels fresh, & there's terrific dialogue throughout. This may be a sedate crime story lacking in action until near the end, but it's a great read. I will definitely be reading the third story featuring the legendary Virgil Tibbs.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Cool Cottontail by John Dudley Ball is the 2nd book in his Virgil Tibbs mystery series. I enjoyed the first story, In the Heat of the Night, and this book was just as entertaining. In the 2nd volume, Tibbs is once again back in California as an LAPD investigator.

Tibbs is called out to the scene of a murder. A dead body has been found in the pool at a nudist park. The body also is nude. Tibbs begins the investigation, helping the local cops with the investigation. It's all done very methodically, first the work to identify the victim and also the final investigation to discover the murderer. It's a well-crafted and presented story with nice character development as well.

There are interesting, topical (for the period, the 60s) issues covered as well as a crime investigation. Tibbs' constant having to deal with being a black cop, even to the questioning of his actual job, is an ongoing issue. I also enjoyed the discussion of the nudist park people, of their standards. It's not made a big issue but it is an ongoing theme. Tibbs is an excellent character and his methods make me think of the Spenser books by Robert Parker. He's low-key and capable, both physically and mentally. Excellent 2nd story and I look forward to the next one. (4.0 stars)

[Leonard Mokos · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess I first started wanting to be black when I was a little kid watching Sidney Poitier.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner: "You think of yourself as a colored man. I think of myself...as a man."

Sidney again in "To Sir With Love", easily one of the all time truly great novel-film adaptations (produced and directed by novelist James Cavell, from the novel by E.R. Braithwaite): "I am sick of your foul language, your crude behavior and your sluttish manner. There are certain things a decent woman keeps private, and only a filthy slut would have done this and those who stood by and encouraged her are just as bad. I don't care who's responsible - you're all to blame. Now, I am going to leave this room for five minutes by which time that disgusting object had better be removed and the windows opened to clear away the stench. If you must play these filthy games, do them in your homes, and not in my classroom!

Then in "In the Heat of the Night": "Virgil—that's a funny name for a nigger boy that comes from Philadelphia! What do they call you up there? Answer: "They call me... MISTER Tibbs!"

I had no idea that 'In the Heat of the Night' was book one of a series of novels featuring Virgil Tibbs. Reading "The Cool Cottontail", book 2 of the series, it is impossible not to see and hear Sidney Poitier. All of the cool. All of the courteous, tolerant and patient power. The presence. The assured masculinity without all the arm waving speeches or expletive ridden threats needed by so many other heroes to demonstrate how capable they are. He just enters a room, sizes it up and very politely, very calmly, is completely commanding, obviously omnipotent, and by his cast iron self containment, is quietly beyond cool.

Now as you know you cannot grow up to be black (if you are born white) but anyone can learn a ton about how to be a man by watching Sidney Poitier on screen. In this novel, I liked that very much. But the story was methodical. Not bad, but not quite a page turner, and the Big Reveal contained so much hidden from the reader, deluged out at the end in a multi page "and that is how it happened" denouement, that the datedness of it dragged a capable albeit uninspiring yarn into something I can't really recommend.

Book Verdict: hardcore Virgil fans only. As an aside, is it just me or would it be really cool to see the other Virgil Tibbs character books updated into screenplays and filmed. The dilemma: who could fill Sidney's shoes? They don't come that smooth that often.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ball wrote a monster first novel that confronted deep set opinions, societal values, and outright racism, becoming a cultural touchstone in the process through its film adaptation. His second novel...not so much.

The same lead, Virgil Tibbs, is still here. He's still restrained in the face of systematic adversity. Many people who interact with him react in period-appropriate ways some would find shocking today. But for his second novel, Ball decided to step things up a notch and confront what was - to him personally - the real scourge in our society. The stigmatization of public nudity. Seriously. That's his follow-up to racism. Why don't people want me naked in public? Literally a third of the book is straw-man take downs and blatant promotion of the 'benefits' to a nude life. So that was unexpected.

The B-plot story of murder and financial intrigue was neat too. Now if the next one would only take on the unfair bias against the left-handed, JBs work will be done.

[Cathy Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised and delighted by this follow-up to In the Heat of the Night, John Ball's tale of a black detective, made into the superb film starring Sidney Poitier.
You'd expect a detective story written and published in the 60s and concerning a nudist colony to be sexist and cheap, but this is neither. Virgil Tibbs, the detective of the earlier novel, investigates when a body is found in the swimming pool at a nudist resort.
It's a fine detective story and the clues are there for the reader - though I missed many of them.
But what a joy to read a non-mysogynist detective story, especially from that era! John Ball, who was a naturist himself, really was far ahead of his time and a very enlightened man.
Recommended.

[Josh Hitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really well-done mystery tale. Well written like everything I've read from Ball and kept me interested throughout. A nude male body was found in a pool at a nudist camp. The owners claim he isn't one of their members and didn't know who he was. Inspector Virgil Tibbs is called in to take over the case. Tibbs is faced with a difficult case since they don't even know who the man is, and when he does find out, there are more than one viable suspect.

Highly recommended, Ball is a great writer, and again, this one had me interested in the tale the entire time.

[Phil Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cool cottontail of this story is a naked man in the pool of a respectable family run nudist resort. However, he is not a member and no one recognizes him. He is clearly not a practicing naturist; "cottontail" refers to his distinct lack of overall tan. And he's cool because he's been dead for a while, not necessarily from drowning. Virgil Tibbs ("They call me Mr. Tibbs"), homicide investigator from Pasadena, is dispatched to investigate. This is a classic pre-CSI police procedural, with fewer resources available to aid in identification. Even the man's dentures were missing. Someone apparently went to a fair amount of trouble to keep anyone expecting or looking for him in the dark. Tibbs makes a reference to Sherlock Holmes in his first adventure, "The Scarlet Letter" after examining the body in situ, accompanied by the owners' daughter, Linda, and comparing notes on their deductions made upon observation. The author soon after makes reference to what Tibbs thinks of a Yellow Face case, another allusion to a Holmes story title.

Ball gives a good sense of setting and characters, even those not a vital part of the investigation, and of the pace at which the investigation proceeds including the legwork and inevitable paperwork. Race relations are often a subtext in the stories, and Virgil (who prefers "Negro" to "Black") is gratified to be accepted at face value by these people, to the extent that they eventually offer him an application for membership even despite his unmarried status, normally a deal-breaker.

All in all, this is a satisfying story, above and beyond a "bare"-bones whodunit. And, yes, Virgil does find out, as always, whodunit (and why).

Something I did not learn until after I finished this review (I thought) is that John Ball was a nudist/naturist himself. He was also a part-time LA County sheriff's deputy and trained in martial arts, as was Tibbs himself.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps because “In the Heat of the Night” is such a cultural icon, any follow up book about Mr. Tibbs will fall short. This book, second in the series, is a decent police procedural featuring the ever-cool Mr. Tibbs. He uses his logic, his demeanor and his martial arts training to solve a murder, facing bigotry along the way. Pretty standard police procedural with a unique protagonist.

Narration by Dion Graham is outstanding.

[Lesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second of John Ball's books featuring his most famous creation, Virgil Tibbs, the Black homicide investigator from Pasadena, California. Ball, who was a nudist, explores that life style when a body is found in the pool of a nudist resort. "Cottontail" is a person who covers their genitals when sunbathing, hence a white streak about the hips. "Cool" means "dead". The victims tan lines make it clear that he is not a nudist, but great lengths have been taken to obscure his identity while making sure that the body is found promptly: a seeming contradiction.

Ball not only spins an interesting tales about a well-developed character, he explores issues of race, as well as conformity and individuality. Virgil generally gets along with most people, but struggles to keep his calm when racism faces him again. At several points, characters must decide whether to stand by Virgil and face the anger or disgust of racists, or whether abandon him to avoid friction. First published in 1966, the book has held up well. And alas, the racial issues are still alive today.

The one weakness in the story is that Ball does not give all the clues to the reader. Since I read mysteries as novels, rather than attempting to solve them, this doesn't bother me, but may be annoying to some readers. At the end of the (first two books at least), Virgil assembles the cast to explain the solution.

A series that deserves to survive as a classic.

[Andy Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The strength of the novel is really the depiction of the nudist park and the family that run it and their interactions with the police. I gather John Ball was a naturist himself which is no doubt why all this was managed with no snickering or sleave. There is a mild effort to draw a comparison with the prejudice suffered by people seen to lead unusual lifestyles with that faced by African Americans. Unsurprisingly not overlaboured that one. It may obviously be somewhat galling to some that a white writer should produce quite such a famous African American detective when many African American writers have written far better who dunnits than these. I don't particularly rate In The Heat of the Night as a whodunit but it is better than this. The motivations of the twin murderers are so laboured and silly that I won't even set them out here. The nudist park is entirely peripheral to the solution. The handling of the drama from race issues is less developed than In the Heat of the Night, sensibly handled again but not highly insightful.

[Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Ball’s Cool Cottontail grabs you with its vivid setting. A killer murders a wealthy investor, strips him naked, removes his false teeth, and leaves him floating face-down in a nudist park’s swimming pool. The victim’s identity eludes authorities for days, complicating the case.

Back in California, Virgil Tibbs, the sharp homicide investigator, hunts an elusive killer. Identifying the victim proves as challenging as catching the murderer. Ball paints the nudist park with such warmth and detail that you itch to visit, even if just with a guest pass. It’s one of the most captivating mystery settings I’ve encountered.

The motive centers on money. A young woman, set to inherit a fortune after the investor’s death, finds her life threatened. Dating the nudist camp owner’s son, she anchors a romance you root for. Ball crafts the suspense tightly, pulling you into the stakes as danger mounts. Tibbs’s relentless pursuit and the couple’s fate keep you gripped until the final page, where resolution lands with satisfying clarity.

[Karen GoatKeeper · Rating 5 out of 5]

The body is floating in the pool of a nudist camp. The man was not a member and not recognized by the owners. He has no clothes or other identification.
Virgil Tibbs happened to be in the area for another reason and is loaned to this department to solve the case. All he has to go on are his observations (in the manner of Sherlock Holmes) and the victim's contact lenses.
Clues are given by two daughters of the camp owners. This police procedural has officers out combing the area because of one clue. Persistence and luck can lead to a break in a case.
This is the second Virgil Tibbs novel and as riveting as the first "In the Heat of the Night". It is fast paced, easy reading and interesting. The clues are there, if the reader can spot them.

[Patricia Ibarra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never read a book about this author. A family has a nudist resort where a nude dead body was found.Virgil Tibbs is the black detective in charge of finding the murderer. I found the detective very likable. What called my attention mainly is how this book is felt as very old-fashioned because it was written in the 60's when racial discrimination was terrible in the States. We cannot believe the humiliations black people had to endure and deal with. Shameful! Entertaining.

[Joel Atella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this much better than the first Tibbs novel. An enjoyably easy read. That said, I dislike how forced and abruptly the author has his detective reveal everything in the final 10 pages. Robotic. Also contains information that comes out of left field - totally random and never even alluded to previously in the plot.

[Jeff Mayo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first follow up to “In the Heat of the Night” has Detective Virgil Tibbs back in Los Angeles. Written in 1966, a year after the first book, and a year before the film, Tibbs, who is black, faces racism despite his position and experience. Not as good as the first book, the biggest controversy here was that part of the story was set in a nudist colony.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in the 60's this is the followup novel to In The Heat of the Night. Let the reader know to watch for the vague clues to the mystery. I missed them completely, although at the end I knew when the final attack came. All is explained at the end of the story.

[David Highton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great story as Tibbs, a few months after operating down south in the heat of the night, is back in Pasadena and assigned to an unidentified naked dead man found in the swimming pool at a nudist resort.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#2 in the Virgil Tibbs series. Tibbs has to solve a murder in a nudist resort. The unusual environment adds to this mystery. Ball brings his background as a nudist to add realism to the settings.

Virgil Tibbs series - Sun Valley Lodge was in a nudist park which had an excellent reputation and a most careful screening of members. Though the body floating in the pool was nude, it was not the body of one of the members. The dead man was well-to-do, perhaps even prominent. But his clothing was nowhere to be found; and someone had tried to prevent his being identified. It was going to be a hard murder to solve, but Virgil Tibbs was determined to solve it –and even to get used to carrying on his investigations in the midst of a nudist park, which added certain problems of its own.

[Vladimir Ivanov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Чернокожий сыщик Вирджил Тиббс только вернулся из расистской Каролины в родную толерантную Калифорнию, а его уже ждет новое расследование - в местном лагере нудистов найден труп неизвестного, до смерти забитого голыми (pun intended) руками! Тиббс, конечно, со своей обычной тщательностью принимается расследовать это злодейство.

Как детектив книга по-прежнему неплоха, но былой социальной остроты уже нет, и местами случаются приступы голливудской идиотии, когда менты задерживают опасного преступника не как нормальные люди, а бьются с ним один на один приемами карате (не шутка). Тем не менее в целом вполне читабельно.

[Rita McDowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Excellent Read!

This author was so ahead of his time! The story is both riveting and entertaining! The characters are very believable and the prejudice against a nudist lifestyle as well addressing the prejudice towards the color of the leading character, Virgil Gibbs. I truly wish I had discovered this author a long time ago. Truly entertaining and an exceptional read.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Police officer Virgil Tibbs' investigation leads him to a nudist colony.

[Jenene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the writing style. Looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series based on Virgil Tibbs. Kept seeing Sidney Poitier's face :)