Death Will Get You Sober
A Bruce Kohler Mystery
Elizabeth Zelvin
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-312-37589-1 (0312375891)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-37589-8 (9780312375898)
Publication Date: April 2008
List Price: $23.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): On Christmas Day, Bruce Kohler wakes up in detox on the
Bowery in New York City. He knows it’s time to change his life,
but how can he stay sober without dying of boredom?
When homeless alcoholics start to die unexpectedly, Bruce is surprised
to find he cares enough to want to find out why. Most of them had been
down and out for many years, but Bruce’s friend Guff was
different: a cynical aristocrat with a trust fund and some secrets.
Two old friends give Bruce a second chance and agree to help him with
his investigation: his best friend, Jimmy, a computer genius and
history buff who’s been in AA for years, and Jimmy’s
girlfriend Barbara, a counselor who sometimes crosses the line between
helping and co-dependency.
Barbara works a night shift at the detox and confronts a counselor who
might still be dealing drugs. Bruce gets a job temping for Guff’s
arrogant nephew. Between the three of them, suspects start piling up.
The trail leads back to the detox. Or does it?
Review: Elizabeth Zelvin's first full-length mystery Death Will Get You Sober
features amateur sleuth Bruce Kohler, an alcoholic struggling to stay
sober, a character first introduced by the author in the short story Death Will Clean Your Closet.
Bruce wakes up in detox on Christmas Day, not surprised he's there but
not thrilled about it either. His roommate is Godfrey Brandon
Kettleworth III, Guff for short. Guff's not the stereotypical
down-and-outer resident of the ward; he has a trust fund and family
connections. When Guff suddenly dies one night, Bruce is suspicious.
Another alcoholic had died just a day earlier, not in a similar
fashion, but still, it was too coincidental. Bruce begins an informal
investigation into Guff's background and finds no shortage of people
who might want him dead. Maybe his death was just a coincidence. But
then another alcoholic dies, diverting Bruce's attention back to the
detox ward. If Bruce can stay sober, he might just figure out what's
going on.
Death Will Get You Sober
is one of those appealing mysteries that starts strong then just sort
of meanders along never really regaining the strength of its opening
chapters. To be sure, the book has much going for it. The characters
and setting are original and deftly drawn, and the wryly written
narrative is entertaining. The author takes great care in portraying
the environment in which these characters exist as an essential element
of the story without editorial or moral judgment as to why they are
there. In contrast to this, the plot seems almost clumsy with too many
suspects (and consequently too many red herrings) and a convoluted
pathway to its somewhat predictable conclusion.
Now that Death Will Get You Sober
has properly established the characters and setting for what promises
to be a most entertaining mystery series, it is hoped that future books
will provide a more compelling story in which they can participate.
Special thanks to St. Martin's Minotaur for providing an ARC of Death Will Get You Sober for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
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Mysteries in this series ...
Death Will Get You Sober
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover), April 2008
ISBN-10: 0-312-37589-1 (0312375891)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-37589-8 (9780312375898)
Omnimystery keywords for Death Will Get You Sober ...
Location(s) referenced: New York City.