Status Updates From Murder on Location (Benny C...

Something appeared to be wrong with Goodreads the last 3 days or so. I could load it but clicking to update most things didn't work: like bestowing stars, declaring you are 'currently reading', or 'finished' a book. By the absence of comments and activity, I guess this was a problem for all. However refreshing the browser cache memory for this site has done the trick! I have updates galore by now. Enjoy.

I haven't been as attached to this case as I have with the pioneering two, possibly because we didn't see Benny from the beginning. The 'how' of encountering a case and 'why' of accepting it; sympathy or desperation of income; brings the audience in with him. Seeing him casing a joint on page one was dry and took a while to invest in. However this is a fantastic, involved mystery too. I can't guess its answer.

Now we have a puzzling mystery and we're trundling along. A dead individual without any industry clout. Why? Not the missing gal. Is it the mob that has become obvious to Benny, or could it be any of the film stars?

Ah, good. We're approaching the level of enjoyment with which I always read Howard's creations. My favourite part is his visit to both parents, for supper with a girl he used to know. It advances the mystery with information imparted at the reader's level and puts everything on more personal ground with both of them.

Hm, this is the first volume that didn't enchant me upon the first page. I guess because it opens with a great deal of external detail, rather than emotion or inner thoughts. They make us relate to Benny immediately. He is also starting out, except for a quick visit to his Mom, entirely with characters and locations foreign to the series. But I'm sure I'll sink my teeth into it shortly.