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Killer Weed: An Ed Rosenberg Mystery
Out-of-work journalist Ed Rosenberg is turning his toking into a full-time job when Silicon Valley billionaire Gene Simons suddenly hires him to research the hippie era of San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury. Ed's reporter’s instinct leads him to investigate the unsolved murder of Gene’s mother, a low-level pot dealer brutally killed in Golden Gate Park in 1968. Meanwhile, Ed’s wife Julie has become the media maven for mayoral candidate Dave Kirsch, a former pot dealer and the author of best-selling guides to growing weed. In front of Julie’s eyes, Kirsch is suddenly Ed has another crime to unravel. Ed’s research into Haight-Ashbury’s tie-dyed past introduces him to a rogue’s gallery of aging hippies, who, he discovers, may have been involved in Kirsch’s demise. Then bullets start flying at Ed.
Killer Weed is a fast-paced, ingeniously plotted novel that brings the underground worlds of old and new San Francisco vividly to life. You’ll want to turn on, tune in, and drop everything to reach the surprising, deeply satisfying conclusion.
Killer Weed is a fast-paced, ingeniously plotted novel that brings the underground worlds of old and new San Francisco vividly to life. You’ll want to turn on, tune in, and drop everything to reach the surprising, deeply satisfying conclusion.
- GenresMystery
216 pages, Paperback
First published July 10, 2013
1 person is currently reading
526 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
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September 12, 2013This book was fantastic! I wished it could go on and on, but alas, all good things come to an end. Can't wait to read more from Mr. Castleman. :)
October 13, 2018
Killer Weed was a wonderfully-written, engrossing mystery that also worked as a history of the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco. None of the characters was superfluous and the mystery was resolved in a reasonable way, without straw men or red herrings. Whether or not you have an interest in cannabis, you will enjoy this mystery which hews closely to a traditional whodunit framework. Highly recommended!
July 29, 2013
Title: Killer Weed
Author's Name: Michael Castleman
ISBN: 978-1-84982-240-4
Publisher's Name: MP Publishing USA
Reviewer: Jennifer Andrew
Date: July 28, 2013
Website: http://www.femmevip.com
When I first read the title of this book, I thought it was going to be a story about potheads but it surprised me. Not only is this book filled with facts about the seventies and marijuana, the author is able to put the facts together to make a great story. Killer Weed, this murder mystery, is set in modern day United States. It's refreshing when you can read a book that puts you in the action of the story right away and fills out the blanks later. Michael Castleman grabs the reader and starts the mystery from the first page.
There are many characters to make the story engaging, but the main characters, Ed and Julie Rosenberg, a married couple, suffer through conflict. Not only in their own personal lives but in their professional lives as well. They both held jobs to which they lost and left them struggling to make ends meet. Ed eventually gets an opportunity to make some money, through his journalism and research work, which puts a strain on their relationship since trouble starts to ensue. To cope, Julie and Ed engage in their own vices – with Ed smoking more pot and Julie drinking a little too much, which also puts a stain on them. The author is able to keep you engaged with the relationship between the characters as well as bring the mystery to life.
The main plot is the murder of Dave Kirsch, a mayoral candidate who intends on legalizing marijuana. Julie has an opportunity to work along side him but with his sudden death, it blows all her financial plans out the window. The author uses the relationship between Julie and Ed and the professional job Ed obtains from a tech billionaire as the subplots.
The setting is descriptive and explains the areas of the city to which Ed travels. As Ed travels through the story, the author describes the setting and the characters as Ed encounters them in his or her own surrounding.
The characters in the story come alive. The detective investigating the story and Ed, who is interviewing and questioning the characters, is vibrant and captivating. The reader is engrossed with finding out what kind of relationship they all had Dave Kirsh as well as what role they played in the hippie movement. Ed Rosenberg is a down to earth character who enjoys smoking pot and at times, I thought he is somewhat of a hypocrite when he watches his wife drinking. If he thinks his wife drinks too much, he should lay off the smoke as well but you could tell that he is also concerned for his partner and his family. He does everything he can to work towards completing a project that is going to take them out of financial distress. The reader learns to warm up to Ed so that he becomes one of your favorite characters.
The dialogue is entertaining, intelligent, and funny. You never know what you're going to read next, when the characters begin to reminisce about the past full of drugs, alcohol, women, and rock and roll. Michael Castleman keeps the story interesting and the characters alive with his dialogue.
The story is written in the point of view of Ed. As he travels around the city, trying to obtain information on his research as well as trying to answer his own questions about Dave Kirsch's death, the story remains in his point of view. He takes on a journalistic aspect as he tries to get a hold of the major players of the era and how he pieces the puzzles together. Although the detective is trying to solve the case of the murder, Ed also takes on the role of trying to find answers. Dave was everyone's friend and the fact that he wanted to legalize pot may have put him into danger.
The reader gets immersed in what the characters are doing. It was hard to put the book down as it is a fast-paced, riveting, roller coaster ride of pleasure. The author makes you feel what Ed is going through and when you think you're getting to the answer, something else gets thrown in the mix.
Killer Weed is a book that you should add to your bookshelf. It is a must read. Don't let the name fool you. It is not about using drugs or characters immersed in drug use, it is an intelligent, fictional murder mystery that will keep you reading until you can't put it down.
Author's Name: Michael Castleman
ISBN: 978-1-84982-240-4
Publisher's Name: MP Publishing USA
Reviewer: Jennifer Andrew
Date: July 28, 2013
Website: http://www.femmevip.com
When I first read the title of this book, I thought it was going to be a story about potheads but it surprised me. Not only is this book filled with facts about the seventies and marijuana, the author is able to put the facts together to make a great story. Killer Weed, this murder mystery, is set in modern day United States. It's refreshing when you can read a book that puts you in the action of the story right away and fills out the blanks later. Michael Castleman grabs the reader and starts the mystery from the first page.
There are many characters to make the story engaging, but the main characters, Ed and Julie Rosenberg, a married couple, suffer through conflict. Not only in their own personal lives but in their professional lives as well. They both held jobs to which they lost and left them struggling to make ends meet. Ed eventually gets an opportunity to make some money, through his journalism and research work, which puts a strain on their relationship since trouble starts to ensue. To cope, Julie and Ed engage in their own vices – with Ed smoking more pot and Julie drinking a little too much, which also puts a stain on them. The author is able to keep you engaged with the relationship between the characters as well as bring the mystery to life.
The main plot is the murder of Dave Kirsch, a mayoral candidate who intends on legalizing marijuana. Julie has an opportunity to work along side him but with his sudden death, it blows all her financial plans out the window. The author uses the relationship between Julie and Ed and the professional job Ed obtains from a tech billionaire as the subplots.
The setting is descriptive and explains the areas of the city to which Ed travels. As Ed travels through the story, the author describes the setting and the characters as Ed encounters them in his or her own surrounding.
The characters in the story come alive. The detective investigating the story and Ed, who is interviewing and questioning the characters, is vibrant and captivating. The reader is engrossed with finding out what kind of relationship they all had Dave Kirsh as well as what role they played in the hippie movement. Ed Rosenberg is a down to earth character who enjoys smoking pot and at times, I thought he is somewhat of a hypocrite when he watches his wife drinking. If he thinks his wife drinks too much, he should lay off the smoke as well but you could tell that he is also concerned for his partner and his family. He does everything he can to work towards completing a project that is going to take them out of financial distress. The reader learns to warm up to Ed so that he becomes one of your favorite characters.
The dialogue is entertaining, intelligent, and funny. You never know what you're going to read next, when the characters begin to reminisce about the past full of drugs, alcohol, women, and rock and roll. Michael Castleman keeps the story interesting and the characters alive with his dialogue.
The story is written in the point of view of Ed. As he travels around the city, trying to obtain information on his research as well as trying to answer his own questions about Dave Kirsch's death, the story remains in his point of view. He takes on a journalistic aspect as he tries to get a hold of the major players of the era and how he pieces the puzzles together. Although the detective is trying to solve the case of the murder, Ed also takes on the role of trying to find answers. Dave was everyone's friend and the fact that he wanted to legalize pot may have put him into danger.
The reader gets immersed in what the characters are doing. It was hard to put the book down as it is a fast-paced, riveting, roller coaster ride of pleasure. The author makes you feel what Ed is going through and when you think you're getting to the answer, something else gets thrown in the mix.
Killer Weed is a book that you should add to your bookshelf. It is a must read. Don't let the name fool you. It is not about using drugs or characters immersed in drug use, it is an intelligent, fictional murder mystery that will keep you reading until you can't put it down.
October 14, 2013
I won a copy on Goodreads Firstreads.
Journalists Ed and Julie Rosenberg have both been let go from their newspaper jobs. They are both scrambling for work. As their troubles continue, their marraige becomes strained as Ed smokes more marijuana and Julie drinks more. Ed gets a lucrative job with a billionaire, The billionaire wants Ed to researcg the hippie Haight-Ashbury for a musuem exhibit. In addition the billionaire's birth mother had been a small time drug dealer who had been killed in 1968, So he wants Ed to see what he can find out about her as well. Meanwhile Julie is working as media liason for mayoral candidate Dave Kirsch, a former pot dealer and author of a bestselling book on growing pot. When Dave Kirsch is killed, ed's research starts to uncover a whole list of characters who might have been involved in the ex-pot dealer's death.
There are 2 major and 1 minor elements in this story. The first of course is the mysteries of the 2 murders. The one that occurred in 1968 and the more recent one of Dave Kirsch. The second is a history of the hippie movement in San Francisco including a history of pot dealing. There is also the element of whetehre pot is bad or not and if it should be legal.
The murders are well-developed with plenty of clues and red herrings. Unfortunately the reader lacks the final clue until the killer is revealed, so at best you can only have your guess confirmed . That is not to say that the ending is a letdown. The history element was interesting to me but not necessarily fascinating. This was due more to my level of interest in the subject than anything the writer did.
Before we look at the final element, let me make a quick statement about myself. I have been around for nearly half of a century. During that time I have had all of 2 alcoholic drinks, never smoked (tobacco,pot, or anything else), never used drugs recreationally or abused prescription or over the counter medications, and finally don't drink coffee and sodas only rarely. I am not a health nut though. I have a slew of problems that come with growing older and being overweight including breathing problems which causes me to use oxygen.(So no open flames or smoking around me please.)
So while I have chossen to not do any of these things, I do not hold it against anyone who does until it affects me.
So now let's look at the theme of if pot is bad and should it be legal. The author does a fairly good job of pointing out that there have been many conflicting studies done about marijuana. So it is more of a decision about which research is best (and therefore true). The thing that gets me is the arguement of saying that pot isn't as bad/dangerous as other drugs. To me, that is like saying crossing a busy highway blindfolded isn't as bad/dangerous as walking into a lion's cage while mearing a suit made of meat. This also implies that pot smokers aren't doing anything else. I can't think of a single person that I knew that uses pot that doesn't also drink and usually at the same time. So if you really want to be accurate you would need to look at the combination of pot and alcohol use. Since alcohol is quite often used as the second half of the pot isn't as bad as alchol arguement, it becomes like saying pot and alcohol isn't that much worse than alcohol. There is also the question of addiction. Personally I don't think anyone can really explain addiction. There are some people who can smoke pot or drink everday and never be an addict while others quickly become alcoholics or drug addicts. Finally is marijuana a gateway drug? Again for some, it will be and for others not. I feel it is more about the individual than the substance itself. But I do worry about pot being a gateway drug when it comes to legalization. As more drugs become legal, the easier it will be to make others legal. Again I feel the author handled this topic fairly well. He didn't try to definitely convince the reader but did say you should look at all of the data yourself(while letting you know he was for it). The only problem I had was his assumption that everyone is a pot user given the chance.
Overall this was a good mystery with some history thrown in as a bonus. How much of a bonus will depend on your interest in the subject though.
Journalists Ed and Julie Rosenberg have both been let go from their newspaper jobs. They are both scrambling for work. As their troubles continue, their marraige becomes strained as Ed smokes more marijuana and Julie drinks more. Ed gets a lucrative job with a billionaire, The billionaire wants Ed to researcg the hippie Haight-Ashbury for a musuem exhibit. In addition the billionaire's birth mother had been a small time drug dealer who had been killed in 1968, So he wants Ed to see what he can find out about her as well. Meanwhile Julie is working as media liason for mayoral candidate Dave Kirsch, a former pot dealer and author of a bestselling book on growing pot. When Dave Kirsch is killed, ed's research starts to uncover a whole list of characters who might have been involved in the ex-pot dealer's death.
There are 2 major and 1 minor elements in this story. The first of course is the mysteries of the 2 murders. The one that occurred in 1968 and the more recent one of Dave Kirsch. The second is a history of the hippie movement in San Francisco including a history of pot dealing. There is also the element of whetehre pot is bad or not and if it should be legal.
The murders are well-developed with plenty of clues and red herrings. Unfortunately the reader lacks the final clue until the killer is revealed, so at best you can only have your guess confirmed . That is not to say that the ending is a letdown. The history element was interesting to me but not necessarily fascinating. This was due more to my level of interest in the subject than anything the writer did.
Before we look at the final element, let me make a quick statement about myself. I have been around for nearly half of a century. During that time I have had all of 2 alcoholic drinks, never smoked (tobacco,pot, or anything else), never used drugs recreationally or abused prescription or over the counter medications, and finally don't drink coffee and sodas only rarely. I am not a health nut though. I have a slew of problems that come with growing older and being overweight including breathing problems which causes me to use oxygen.(So no open flames or smoking around me please.)
So while I have chossen to not do any of these things, I do not hold it against anyone who does until it affects me.
So now let's look at the theme of if pot is bad and should it be legal. The author does a fairly good job of pointing out that there have been many conflicting studies done about marijuana. So it is more of a decision about which research is best (and therefore true). The thing that gets me is the arguement of saying that pot isn't as bad/dangerous as other drugs. To me, that is like saying crossing a busy highway blindfolded isn't as bad/dangerous as walking into a lion's cage while mearing a suit made of meat. This also implies that pot smokers aren't doing anything else. I can't think of a single person that I knew that uses pot that doesn't also drink and usually at the same time. So if you really want to be accurate you would need to look at the combination of pot and alcohol use. Since alcohol is quite often used as the second half of the pot isn't as bad as alchol arguement, it becomes like saying pot and alcohol isn't that much worse than alcohol. There is also the question of addiction. Personally I don't think anyone can really explain addiction. There are some people who can smoke pot or drink everday and never be an addict while others quickly become alcoholics or drug addicts. Finally is marijuana a gateway drug? Again for some, it will be and for others not. I feel it is more about the individual than the substance itself. But I do worry about pot being a gateway drug when it comes to legalization. As more drugs become legal, the easier it will be to make others legal. Again I feel the author handled this topic fairly well. He didn't try to definitely convince the reader but did say you should look at all of the data yourself(while letting you know he was for it). The only problem I had was his assumption that everyone is a pot user given the chance.
Overall this was a good mystery with some history thrown in as a bonus. How much of a bonus will depend on your interest in the subject though.
September 3, 2013
I won this book through Good Reads, and they couldn't have chosen a better person to give it to. As a child of the late 60's (still hopelessly stuck in the 60's according to my son), It was heaven to read about the old days. I thoroughly enjoyed the way the story was constructed and the amount of research and detail that went into it. I smiled every time I read about Jerry Garcia, Janis or Bill Graham - and thought about how much I miss them. As someone who saw the scent through the Village ini NY, it gave me a great feel for the Haight in the day. I didn't get there until 2005 personally.I found Ed Rosenberg to be a great character, razor sharp, a irreverent and snarky --just my kind of character. It was a page turner that cost me a night's sleep (darn you Mr. Castleman!) I will be buying his other Ed Rosenberg books and he now has a place in my large library--right after Castaneda I believe. Ironic. Thanks for the book, thanks for the read, and thanks for the memories. While I am 16 years clean and pot has long since been replaced by antidepressants for bipolar disorder, thanks for the high. It was smooth and mellow. Loved it!! Here's hoping NY legalizes one day and I can get a card and replace some of this crap I take daily!! Thanks again.
September 25, 2013
I was fortunate to win this advanced copy of Killer Weed from Goodreads.com. Anyone who has fond memories of weed past or present will enjoy this book. It is billed as a murder, mystery and marijuana hot read. I would say it is more of a retrospect of marijuana and the hippie movement with a subtext of a murder and a 40 year old unsolved murder mystery. Character development is there and you are curious of about the murders but I found myself more interested in the hippie and weed movements than solving the mystery about the murders. That said, the book is informative and lets the reader escape to the 60's hippie culture and how that in a way into today's feelings about weed.I liked it
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January 16, 2014The prose here is a little clunky but the story and mystery keep you reading straight through. Dave Kirsh, a marijuana legalization candidate for mayor of San Francisco is shot and journalist Ed Rosenberg investigates his past while working on a history of the Haight Ashbury in the 60's. Eventually everyone's story is told, mostly revolving around a group of dealers, but revealing the wife as mundane culprit in current and past murder. If you know the Mission and Excelsior area, you'll feel at home here.
September 29, 2013
A great, fast-paced whodunit in the amateur-sleuth style of Dick Francis, only the protagonist is a laid-off newspaper reporter, the two victims are both marijuana dealers, and the action revolves around the Haight-Ashbury in the 1960's and the struggle over pot legalization today.
A fun read with great characters.
A fun read with great characters.
October 12, 2013
I enjoyed this book. Easy to keep up with and I will recommend it to my friends. I will definitely read more of Michael Castlemans books.
December 19, 2016
Quirky little story that keeps you guessing till the end.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews