Loot the Moon
A Billy
Povich Mystery
Mark
Arsenault
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-312-55576-8 (0312555768)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-55576-4 (9780312555764)
Publication Date: October 2009
List Price: $24.99
Synopsis (from
the publisher): Former journalist and beaten-down gambler Billy Povich
returns to aid Martin Smothers, the Patron Lawyer of Hopeless Causes.
Martin’s old law partner, the well-respected superior court judge
Gilbert Harmony, has been shot by a thief who dies in a car crash. The
cops close the case, but Martin doesn’t believe a two-bit
shoplifter would suddenly kill a judge -- somebody must have paid him
to do it.
The suspects range from a vengeful mobster to a jealous brother to the
judge's widow, and -- oops -- his mistress and her son. And as Billy
comes closer to the truth, it isn't long before the killer takes aim at
him.
Review: Former
investigative reporter, now a writer of obituaries, Billy Povich is
asked by his old friend Martin Smothers to look into the murder of a
judge in Loot the Moon, the
second mystery in this series by Mark Arsenault.
Smothers is known to his colleagues as the "Patron Lawyer of Hopeless
Causes". Says something about the case he hires Billy to investigate.
Superior Court Judge Gilbert Harmony was, according to official police
documents, killed when he interrupted a thief in an attempted robbery
of his home. The thief didn't get away, though; he was killed in a car
crash during his escape. Smothers doesn't believe it, though. A small
time crook wouldn't risk killing a judge. His theory is that someone
paid the thief to do it. When Billy begins his investigation, he
immediately comes across more than one person who would have a strong
motive for murder. There is a mobster who threatened the judge when he
imposed a very stiff sentence on his son, the judge's alcoholic brother
who lived in Harmony's shadow and is jealous of his accomplishments and
lifestyle, and, of course, Harmony's wife, who had recently found out
about his mistress and condo in New York City. Any of these people
would have ample money to hire a hit-man ... but did they?
The mystery plot of Loot the Moon
is well developed, but what elevates the story above a mere whodunit is
the character of Billy Povich. Three generations of men live in his
small house. Billy's father is on dialysis three days a week to keep
him alive, but he wants to quit. He just wants to die. Billy is also a
single father to his son Bo since the death of his ex-wife. He wants to
do right by his father, but also set an example for his son. His
situation becomes infinitely more complex when, during an investigation
that zeroes in on the truth, a killer sets his sights on his family.
Arsenault blends the right amount of suspense, compassion, humor,
investigative prowess and deductive reasoning into Loot the Moon, a book that can
simply be described as a first-rate mystery.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Loot the Moon and to St. Martin's Minotaur for providing a copy of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Loot the Moon? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series …
Gravewriter
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), November 2006
ISBN-10: 0-312-33596-2 (0312335962)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-33596-0 (9780312335960)
Loot the Moon
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), October 2009
ISBN-10: 0-312-55576-8 (0312555768)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-55576-4 (9780312555764)
Omnimystery keywords for Loot the Moon ...
Location(s) referenced: Providence, Rhode
Island.
