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Nightingale & Bly #2
The Skirt Man
An eccentric man's inclination to wear a skirt erupts into chaos in his small New York town when he dies in a house fire that some believe to be a case of spontaneous combustion, an event that reveals shocking truths when investigated by state trooper Sebastian Bly and her fire marshal uncle. By the author of Tabula Rasa. 25,000 first printing.
250 pages, Hardcover
First published June 5, 2006
About the author
Shelly Reuben
15 books18 followersShelly Reuben's first novel, Julian Solo, was nominated by the Mystery Writers of America for an Edgar Award and by the Libertarian Futurist Society for a Prometheus. Her crime novel, Origin and Cause, was nominated by the Maltese Falcon Society of Japan for a Falcon; and her adult fable, The Man with the Glass Heart, was a Freedom Book Club selection. Her fiction has been published by Scribner, Harper, Harcourt, and is also available through Blackstone Audio Books.
Her new book, Dabbling in Crime, November 2016, is a collection of short fiction originally published in The Forensic Examiner and The Evening Sun.
Shelly Reuben is a licensed private detective, and the years that she spend investigating fire and arson inspired many of her stories and books.
Her new book, Dabbling in Crime, November 2016, is a collection of short fiction originally published in The Forensic Examiner and The Evening Sun.
Shelly Reuben is a licensed private detective, and the years that she spend investigating fire and arson inspired many of her stories and books.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 3, 2012
A unique character in a small town draws attention. He is an old farmer. He has a loyal dog, drives a tractor, stutters, and wears a skirt. Why? No one knows. The Skirt Man has a few enemies, but more people love him, even though they don’t know why. When he is found burned to death in his house, State Trooper Sebastian Bly, his wife Annie, and her brother, fire investigator Billy Nightingale track down clues, learn about local feuds and foibles, and discover what a remarkable man he really was. You will love The Skirt Man, and you will love this book.
October 29, 2013
I really enjoyed this book.it was one of those books i just opened and started reading, not knowing at all what it was about.i was pleasantly surprised.the writing was great, really flowed well.also characters were relatable and believable.I'm glad i discovered this book and plan to read more by this author.
December 22, 2020
Quick read, standard mystery.
May 8, 2010
PROTAGONIST: Annie Bly, small town reporter
RATING: 2.5
There’s something about a small town that seems to appeal to people who are a little more quirky than average. That’s certainly the case in Killdeer, New York.
One of the most eccentric inhabitants is an older man named Morgan Mason who is commonly referred to as “The Skirt Man”. His nickname is derived from the fact that he wears long skirts rather than trousers. His mode of transportation is a tractor, and he is quite a sight to see as he drives around the town. Somewhat reclusive, his only real social encounters are confrontations with an obnoxious bothersome neighbor. When Mason is killed in a house fire, some theorize that he was a victim of spontaneous human combustion. State trooper Sebastian Bly and his visiting brother-in-law, Billy Nightingale, who is a fire marshal, soon put that theory to rest as they find that the fire resulted from arson.
Generally speaking, having an author who is experienced in the topic that they are writing about results in a work that is very satisfying because of the level of authenticity that comes across as they describe their field of expertise. Shelly Reuben is a certified fire investigator; unfortunately, she spends very little time dealing with the details around investigating the arson. Instead, the narrative focuses on the interactions of the residents of Killdeer. The narrative really came to life when Reuben focused on the procedures undertaken to conduct an in-depth analysis of the fire scene. However, this happened all too rarely in the book. It felt to me that The Skirt Man had the wrong tone for the topic and tried to combine a hardboiled arson procedural with a somewhat flighty amateur sleuth dealing with the eccentricities of a small town.
My main problem with the book was the selection of Sebastian Bly’s wife, Annie, as the narrator. Annie works as a reporter for the local paper. Seeing the action from the point of view of Annie was illogical, as she was rarely directly involved in any of the events that occurred. Thus, reporting the various characters’ observations and conversations in full detail down to when a person stuttered was implausible.
In addition, viewing the other characters through Annie’s eyes was like putting on a pair of rose-colored glasses. Her daughter is a beautiful, supremely talented dancer; her husband handsome and perfect—none of the people close to Annie exhibited any negative traits. The rest of the characters did not have any depth at all. Instead, they each had a role to play—Comic Relief, Hateful Person #1, Sleazy Man #2 and so on. And we never find out much of anything about the potentially interesting character of the Skirt Man until the end of the book.
Reuben is a talented writer, whose prose flows easily. In spite of the issues that I had with point of view and approach, I found her writing style appealing. My expectations from reading the plot summary were that the book would deal with the forensics and techniques used in an arson investigation which led to disappointment on my part. Certainly, the reader who is fond of books set in a quirky small town and a likable amateur sleuth would enjoy The Skirt Man far more than I did.
RATING: 2.5
There’s something about a small town that seems to appeal to people who are a little more quirky than average. That’s certainly the case in Killdeer, New York.
One of the most eccentric inhabitants is an older man named Morgan Mason who is commonly referred to as “The Skirt Man”. His nickname is derived from the fact that he wears long skirts rather than trousers. His mode of transportation is a tractor, and he is quite a sight to see as he drives around the town. Somewhat reclusive, his only real social encounters are confrontations with an obnoxious bothersome neighbor. When Mason is killed in a house fire, some theorize that he was a victim of spontaneous human combustion. State trooper Sebastian Bly and his visiting brother-in-law, Billy Nightingale, who is a fire marshal, soon put that theory to rest as they find that the fire resulted from arson.
Generally speaking, having an author who is experienced in the topic that they are writing about results in a work that is very satisfying because of the level of authenticity that comes across as they describe their field of expertise. Shelly Reuben is a certified fire investigator; unfortunately, she spends very little time dealing with the details around investigating the arson. Instead, the narrative focuses on the interactions of the residents of Killdeer. The narrative really came to life when Reuben focused on the procedures undertaken to conduct an in-depth analysis of the fire scene. However, this happened all too rarely in the book. It felt to me that The Skirt Man had the wrong tone for the topic and tried to combine a hardboiled arson procedural with a somewhat flighty amateur sleuth dealing with the eccentricities of a small town.
My main problem with the book was the selection of Sebastian Bly’s wife, Annie, as the narrator. Annie works as a reporter for the local paper. Seeing the action from the point of view of Annie was illogical, as she was rarely directly involved in any of the events that occurred. Thus, reporting the various characters’ observations and conversations in full detail down to when a person stuttered was implausible.
In addition, viewing the other characters through Annie’s eyes was like putting on a pair of rose-colored glasses. Her daughter is a beautiful, supremely talented dancer; her husband handsome and perfect—none of the people close to Annie exhibited any negative traits. The rest of the characters did not have any depth at all. Instead, they each had a role to play—Comic Relief, Hateful Person #1, Sleazy Man #2 and so on. And we never find out much of anything about the potentially interesting character of the Skirt Man until the end of the book.
Reuben is a talented writer, whose prose flows easily. In spite of the issues that I had with point of view and approach, I found her writing style appealing. My expectations from reading the plot summary were that the book would deal with the forensics and techniques used in an arson investigation which led to disappointment on my part. Certainly, the reader who is fond of books set in a quirky small town and a likable amateur sleuth would enjoy The Skirt Man far more than I did.
December 17, 2012
A unique character in a small town draws attention. He is an old farmer. He has a loyal dog, drives a tractor, stutters, and wears a skirt. Why? No one knows. The Skirt Man has a few enemies, but more people love him, even though they don’t know why. When he is found burned to death in his house, State Trooper Sebastian Bly, his wife Annie, and her brother, fire investigator Billy Nightingale track down clues, learn about local feuds and foibles, and discover what a remarkable man he really was. You will love The Skirt Man, and you will love this book.
January 27, 2010
This book was slow for me to get into. I had a hard time wanting to keep reading it, but once I got into the story some, it got better. By the end, I cared about the characters, and I even got a little teary. It's a good story, but I would have liked it if it was more interesting from the beginning. Too much time was wasted talking about Merry, and not enough time was spent on Sonny and Moe. It was ok, but could have been better.
January 15, 2013
There was a lot of characters thrown at you which made me have to really concentrate while reading this book. The first half was very slow going and I kept pushing my way thru. I liked Annie and Sebastian- they were a great team. This story could have used a few sparks or maybe another fire or two to really get the blood pumping instead of fizzling out.
Read
August 15, 2016Shelly Reuben weaves a complex tale of interesting characters (with intriguing names), fire investigation and wonderful vocabulary (one character is described as having a head shaped like a vitamin) into a fascinating story. My regret is that she does not have all that many mysteries in print and I now think I have read them all.
June 30, 2008
about 1/3 in, and so far i love this book. the writing style of the author is great!
August 5, 2013
Most of the book was interesting, actually. I just thought the ending was lame.
If I was in a different mood, I might give this more stars. As it is, I think 2.5 is about right.
If I was in a different mood, I might give this more stars. As it is, I think 2.5 is about right.
May 27, 2013
Odd title, pretty good mystery
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews