Hunting Sweetie Rose
Review: Vlodek "Dek" Elstrom, a self-trained (read unlicensed) investigator, has an unusual client, a local philanthropist, and an even more unusual case, looking into the death of a clown, in Hunting Sweetie Rose, the third mystery in this series by Jack Fredrickson.
Dek generally does minor insurance work, getting his business primarily from referrals. So it comes as a bit of a surprise when Tim Duggan, an attorney for Sweetie Fairbairn, hires him to look into the death of a clown, who had fallen — accident? suicide? murder? — from the top of a high-rise. Sweetie has no apparent connection to the clown, but a case is a case from Dek's perspective. It isn't long before Dek's investigation takes yet another unusual turn, the murder of Duggan and the disappearance of Sweetie. As Dek digs further, he discovers an old murder from many years earlier that may have a connection to his present case. To answer his questions — and he has a lot of them — he needs to speak to the one person that simply cannot be found: Sweetie Fairbairn, who seems to have vanished … as if she had never existed.
There are many elements in this mystery that make it a most enjoyable read. Dek himself is a charming character, but his investigative companions are equally delightful: TV reporter Jennifer Gale and his long-time best friend Leo Brumsky. The creative storyline has a sort of madcap quality to it that keeps the action moving forward at a rapid clip to an unexpected conclusion. Readers new to Dek Elstrom will, once the final page of Hunting Sweetie Rose has been turned, likely want to seek out the previous books in the series.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Hunting Sweetie Rose.
Acknowledgment: Minotaur Books provided a copy of Hunting Sweetie Rose for this review.
Review Copyright © 2012 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Location(s) referenced in Hunting Sweetie Rose: Chicago, Illinois
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Hunting Sweetie Rose by Jack Fredrickson — A Dek Elstrom Mystery
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Format: Hardcover
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-60526-1
Publication Date: February 2012
List Price: $25.99

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Page Author: Lance Wright Site Publisher: Mysterious Reviews
Mysterious Reviews is a Division of The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books and a Business Unit of the Omnimystery Family of Mystery Websites
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