Bite Me

Dev Haskell Mystery #3

by Mike Faricy

Wise cracking, back slapping, wrong thinking Private Investigator Dev Haskell has just landed his dream job, providing security for people who don't need it in the first place. His dream ends the moment someone shoots at them in broad daylight. Things quickly fly out of control when Dev suddenly finds himself under the police microscope, literally tied up in a relationship and dodging a growing pile of bodies that all seem to be linked to him.

This is the third book in the Dev Haskell series, they can be read in any order.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Amazon, Cozy Mystery, Contemporary, Crime, Detective

355 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 29, 2012

About the author

I was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, I still live there as well as in Dublin, Ireland. I've been a soldier, freelance journalist, tended bar, sold designer cakes, owned a painting and decorating company along with a number of other schemes and scams. If that doesn't offend you I also play bagpipes with the Brian Boru Irish Pipe Band. All my books stand alone, read them in whatever order you wish. They are filled with the sort of oddballs we are all curious about, but wisely, prefer to keep at a distance. None of my characters will be saving the world from terrorism, international banking conspiracies or coups to take over the government. Rather, they inhabit a world just below the surface of polite society, characters with one foot on either side of the law. The circumstances they find themselves in are usually due to bad decisions, but bad decisions lead to interesting stories. They serve not so much as an example but as a warning to us all. Thanks for taking the time, happy reading.

Reviews

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I see that this was rated fairly high by other readers which puzzles me. I do not consider this a well-written crime book by any stretch of the imagination. Since I have not read the first two books of the series, I'm cutting it some slack -but not much. Spoilers below!

Readability: the book was easy to read in the regard that ample description was given for the scenery and characters. Although this is the third book in the series, I felt that the author took his time and properly set the story up. My main problem was it lost momentum and hit it's rate of diminishing returns rather quickly as we shall see below. All in all, I enjoyed the author's writing style, if not his writing. His style is witty, concise and not given to dramatic fluffery. Yes I just used fluffery and I just totally made it up.

Character development: this part of the book was inconsistent. I made allowances for I-started-with-the-third-book situation. My biggest problem was the character development for one of the main characters, Kiki, who is the antagonist. I think she was supposed to be a stark raving genius? I'm not sure. Because the one thing the book insists is that she is certifiable but that she might also be a criminal mastermind. Things are pretty loose and carefree on that point. More on that below in my section about the actual story.

Story: ok. (Please imagine me rubbing my hands together in a gleeful fashion). Let's get down to business. Dev, the protagonist, is a private investigator (PI). He likes alcohol and "likes" his women. He is kind of a perv and misogynistic. So, my point is that Dev might be normal to most men and I think he is disgusting. He has a "relationship" with the aforementioned crazy Kiki. Relationship in quotes because they do not actually do anything but drink and have sex. Thankfully none of the sex is descriptive. Things run downhill from here. Kiki's brother hires Dev to guard the radio station he works out. Dev is so obtuse. I would never hire him as my PI. He does not immediately recognize that the station is probably not legit, except for one other guy there. Their supposed death threats are faked by Kiki and her "brother". To what end, it was never revealed. But basically the third guy used the station as an outlet to rage against the man/government/. Down the road, Kiki drugs Dev and sets him up for rape charges against her and murder charges on the third wheel at the station. Why? It was never explained. Maybe he was convenient. Regardless, so much time was spent on creating this intrigue. Why would Kiki drug Dev? Why would she set him up for the murder of the only legit guy at the radio station? Why would she create fake murder threats against the station? Why would she then murder her brother who turns out to be her husband and set up Dev for that? Why would the author throw an entire chapter about a friend Dev gets out of rehab for a day and Kiki basically drugs the guy? Nothing else was said about it. Kiki is not so very smart. She drugs him one night with huge amounts roofies (or floories for you Hangover fans) and ecstasy and accuses him of raping her. Um, duh. His lab tests will show he was clearly too drugged to do anything but babble to himself in the corner. She presses on and is mysteriously able to get Dev's public attorney fired and replaced with a lady who hates Dev and gives him weird legal advice (with a blurb in the book about she will later be called on the carpet for but does not). After Dev gets himself out of the situation and the charges dropped, Kiki shows up at his house and drugs him for the fun of it. Although she knows she's a wanted women because now the bumbling police have figured things out. And her showing up at his house is a complete Arrested Development "take a look at these" moment. If you watch the show you will know what I am talking about. So. Much. Story. Yet so little told because the books ends pretty much there. Dev is innocent and everyone knows Kiki did it, but why? Book four I suppose.

Bottom line: don't read this book. It's pretty bad. I gave it two stars as apposed to one because I genuinely liked his actual style. But he needs some serious work on putting together a decent crime story.

[Mike French · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

Not going to win awards for best detective novel ever, but very enjoyable and entertaining. Dev Haskell has everything a PI needs. A crummy office and apartment,no business,old car and a drinking problem! What more does he need?

[Madelon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The titles in this series have a connection to a running theme in the book; you might say they're a running gag. BITE ME fits this one to a T. As in the first couple of books, Dev finds himself in trouble, only in BITE ME trouble doesn't begin to describe it.

Devlin Haskell drinks… a lot! Yet, he doesn't seem to be an alcoholic. His ability to turn down a drink, even go cold turkey for a period of time is remarkable. (Don't think of this as a spoiler, but as an observation.)

It takes a skilled writer to create havoc around the central theme of a guy who thinks about only three things… babes, booze and, well, the third one varies, but usually ends up being bodies… yet keep it interesting and new book after book. Mike Faricy does just that. Last time I checked, there are now 17 books in this series, and I plan on reading them all.

[Rusty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fairly entertaining. Amusing plots and characters. If you don't mind the truly impressive neolithic depiction of women. All women are either stunningly hot sexual dynamos, or physically loathsome man-hating lesbians. And their personalities and likeability tracks their physical attractiveness, or lack thereof. The main character doesn't actually have any qualities to recommend him, aside from a vaguely Fletch-like semi-acceptance of his circumstances. Like Carl Hiaasen if he stopped developing in 5th grade...

[Farhan Saya · Rating 1 out of 5]

What the heck was that???? Spoiler Alert:

This is what you call an ending????? I had to literally search the web to make sure I didn't get faulty e-book. If it was a paperback I'd have sworn that someone had ripped of the last few pages!!

Talk about wasting my time reading it and then not getting ANY answers in the end. The author just decided he had enough writing this book and turned off the computer!

Easily the worst book I've read this year. I might give the next one in the series a chance cuz of the first 2 books but this quite possible the worst end I've ever read in my life.

[Books_n_critters · Rating 3 out of 5]

[SPOILER ALERT] This book was ok. Not as good as the first two in the series, mainly because early in the book, Dev kept being sucked in by Kiki even though, from the first, she had shown herself to be bad news. You would think he would have stayed away from her, but, if he had, there wouldn't have been a story here.
The ending wasn't great either. The only thing resolved was the charges against Dev suddenly being dropped. What about Kiki? I guess we find out in the next book...? Regardless, it seemed like the story was moving along and then, out of nowhere, The End.

[Lynn Worton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review 7*******

I was gifted an ARC copy of this book by the author, and I am so pleased that I was one of the few lucky people to receive it! I absolutely LOVED it!
Dev Haskell is what I would call a lucky P.I. He seems to fly by the seat of his pants (and I mean that literally), as he seems to get caught in the most bizarre cases. Trouble seems to find him on a regular basis. But, he's only got himself to blame some of the time. He see's himself as a bit of a ladies man, and he is certainly charming. However, his propensity for the ladies, and drink, is his downfall!
I kept shaking my head as I read this book and thinking to myself, "What are you doing that for? You know you're heading for trouble, and you still do it!". Mind you, if he didn't do those stupid things, there wouldn't be a fantastic book to read!
Mike Faricy has written another fantastic novel, with the most colourful of characters. I loved all the characters, but I've got to say that a couple stood out. One was the Court appointed defence attorney, Louie, and the other was Kiki, Dev's latest girlfriend. I think Louie is a great guy, but he needs to stop drinking so much. And Kiki is one seriously messed up lady!
I am certainly looking forward to reading more of Dev's adventures (or is that misadventures?) as a womanising P.I. I highly recommend this book if you love a detective story with a difference.

[Stanley McShane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure I came in on the best of the series, but this book was definitely a stretch for me. First, the main character is a sloppy, hard drinking, slight thinking middle-aged PI. I'm not sure how he survives in the world of sleuthing as he manages to get himself into more trouble than the perp; in this case a drop dead gorgeous woman long on knife wielding named (what else) Kiki. Of course, it helps she's good in bed (gimme a break). Faricy does exhibit a sense of humor and perhaps that's what got me reading to the end, which wrapped up most loose ends, but stopped rather abruptly. Dev Haskell is not the brightest bulb in the kitchen, so it's good he gets a decent attorney (Louie) after firing the female man-hating lawyer (I think I'm beginning to see a pattern here) he was first assigned. While the attorney is a little smarter but over-weight, he is as hard drinking, and as ill-equipped for real work as Dev. Dev manages a cadre of friends and acquaintances (many are women)that he seems able to use in times of crisis, which seems to happen fairly often. Punctuation and edit problems need attention. I got this book as a free download--glad I did--and might try a second, but I get the feeling that men might identify better with Dev than do I.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m new to Mike Faricy’s books, and reading the premise for “Bite Me” I was a little skeptical that it might not be a book I would enjoy. But on the recommendation of a good friend with similar tastes in books as what I have, I took a leap of faith and gave it a go. I was not disappointed!

What an enjoyable and wonderfully humorous read it was. Dev Haskell is a one-of-a-kind character - you either love him or hate him. I found him very entertaining and the calamitous situations he got himself into had me devouring one chapter after the other.
The only downsides were a few unnecessary grammar errors, and a rather abrupt ending, but I nonetheless enjoyed the book tremendously and had a hard time putting it down.

Great story, a few twists, realistic characters, superb dialogue, and a lot of laughs made this a fantastic read! I’ll definitely be reading the other Dev Haskell novels as well, and I’m eagerly looking forward to the next book, “Bombshell”, being released in September 2012. “Bite Me” is more than deserving of its 5 star rating!

[Tes Layne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'll be up front and just say that I couldn't finish this. The main character is despicable. And I'm not talking about he's a guy with a good heart but a few "problems." No, he is not in any way a good guy. He's not even an anti-her; he's just a douchebag. I don't know if Dev is someone you're supposed to hate--it seems odd that the author would have someone so completely un-likable to be the main character.

Perhaps the misogyny is a bleed-over from the author. The drinking doesn't bother me. The sex doesn't bother me. What bothers me is that every female character is exactly the same; senselessly crazy with no development at all. No reasons for their behavior beyond "women are just nuts amirite?"

When Dev says he only needs women "drunk enough that they can't testify" I had to put this down. I was beyond disgusted. I read this book far longer than I wanted to, hoping it would pick up or that Dev might turn over a new leaf. No dice. Dev is a cunt and this book sucks donkey balls. Be warned that if you pick this up you're going to need brain bleach.

[Autumn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bite Me was a really good crime book. I have never read anything by Mike Faricy so when I was given the opportunity to read this book I decided to give it a shot, since crime books are right up my alley. I truly enjoyed reading this book, and seeing what was going to happen next. Though I do believe I need to read the books before this one that has the P.I. Dev Haskell in it, since when talking with all the females in this story there seemed to be a background with each one that I was missing.

Bite me is about a Private Investigator named Dev Haskell who often finds his self in trouble with the ladies. A one night meet with a female named Kiki has it's consequences. Within one day of meeting Kiki, Dev has a whole lot of charges against him and he does not remember any of it. Dev finds his self in a crazy situation that he tries to find a way out of. With all the bad things coming his way this book had me laughing at times.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third in a series. Dev is on a case again but this time he is acting as protection for 2 guys in radio. Once again Dev's attraction to a beautiful woman gets him in trouble with the police. This time he is accused of all sorts of things rape, kidnapping, murder to name a few. With the help of a few friends Dev tries to clear his name once again. Yes there are times I want to reach in the book and slap him along side the head and tell him to wake up. There are also times I think how stupid can one guy be. But I really like this series and will continue to read it all. There are laugh out loud moments in these books. They are quick easy reads.

[Mike Faricy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Dev Haskell tale, they can be read in any order you wish. Wise cracking, back slapping, wrong thinking PI Dev Haskell has just landed his dream job, providing security for people who don’t need it in the first place, until someone shoots at them in broad daylight. Things quickly fly out of control and Dev suddenly finds himself under the police microscope, literally tied up in a relationship and dodging a growing pile of bodies that all seem to be linked to him. Another in the entertaining Dev Haskell series from Minnesota’s Master of the Bizarre, Mike Faricy

[Gary Burke · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very disappointed with this book. The are a number of story lines that don't seem to go anywhere or are left dangling. The ending doesn't make any sense - at least not to me.

Although I have abandoned a few books that I felt weren't of interest to me, I read this one to the end to we how things finished up. Unfortunately, most didn't.

I have this book a rating of 2 rather than 1 because Dev is still an interesting character. I plan on reading the next book in the series only because I have a boxed set of 7 books.

[Mcf1nder_sk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having read the first two books in this series in April, and not enjoying either one, I thought a few months away would prepare me for the third book. No such luck. Dev Haskell is as much of a loser as he was previously. The plot to this tale is convoluted, and the characters, including our "hero" Dev, are all difficult to embrace as real persons. Third strike, Dev's out. I just removed the other four books in the boxed set from my To Be Read list. There is much better crime fiction to spend my time with.

[Larry Piper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Devlin Haskel is a sort of PI who doesn't have impulse control and who is obsessed with sex, but who also has no respect for the objects of his lust. Why did I think he would be interesting to read? The guy's a jerkwad. OTOH, this book is so much better written than the p.o.s. by [redacted] that I read just before it.

It might be better than a 2* book, perhaps 2*+, but definitely not so good ad 3*-. I'm done with Devlin Haskel.

[Jacquie Talento · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky to receive a copy of this book to read. Dev Haskell is a Private Investigator with either the best luck or the worst luck. He meets up with Kiki and instantly has been charged with rape, kidnapping and then someone’s murder. Why doesn’t he remember anything? Who’s trying to frame him? This book kept me laughing at all the bad luck poor Dev had. It was a pleasure to read.

[Angie Hackett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first two books.

I didn’t think this was as good a read as the first two books.

The plot was a bit grim and seemed to meander. Not much investigating was done until almost the very end. I feel this was definitely the weaker book so far.

I will see how the next book goes though.

[Jennifer K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I like his writing this was not one of the authors best. It was a bit slower paced and the main character made some pretty stupid decisions but not every book can perfect and so far of all the rest of the series I have read so far this is the only one I had anything negative to say. So I will continue on with the series and hopes the next book is back on track.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smart aleck Detective

Easy read. Thin plot but intriguing character development.The end was weak. Multiple characters whose primary focus was drinking and causing problems for themselves.

[Robbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

New author for me. The book wasn't bad, but the main character, Dev Haskell, PI, was somewhat difficult to like. He did solve the mystery, however. I'll probably try another by this author.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of this book is run-on sentences. Sometimes three or four sentences without punctuation. There are many apostrophe and grammar errors. This book needs an editor!

[LAURENCE EWING · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK, But not good.

The book was really silly and boring. Was good if you needed sleep, and it could absolutely put you to sleep.

[Nefol_ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Forty plus chapters of stereotyping and rank stupidity. Thank goodness it was free.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Makes to many dumb mistakes. Finally decided not to finish series.

[Claire Kuyp · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was so dumb it was good.

[Emz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting plot, inconclusive and disappointing ending.

[Ziggy Nixon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am an investigator for God’s sake. I make my living watching people do stupid stuff.

Mike Faricy's "Bite Me (Dev Haskell - Private Investigator, Book 3)" passes for what I assume is a fairly entertaining - and I suspect very typical - basic P.I. story. I've also seen that many call this a "cozy mystery" although I have no clue what that entails. I have to admit that this kind of basic approach to mystery isn't in my usual wheelhouse of preferences and, honestly, it could have done with some trolls, goblins, and even witches helping things along. No, I don't think Kiki counts in the latter case as I would describe her more of a crazy b-itch than someone respectable belonging to a coven. Not only were my preferred urban fantasy elements missing but this "mystery" as it were was much, MUCH less complex that other authors are putting out. Don't believe me? Well, all I can do - and yes, you can count this as a favor - is recommend you pick up any of Douglas Lumsden's works or also selected tomes by Alexander Nader, especially with his "Beasts of Burdin" series! And I'm not even counting the innumerable zombie-P.I. tomes floating around out there!

They think they can silence the Craze, K-R-A-Z. We’re speaking the truth, and the lefties don’t like it.

I mean the writing isn't all that unacceptable per se (ok there was that weird case of "then gave her a peck on the check"), it's just I felt like things in terms of the actual plot just constantly went around in circles. Perhaps that is more realistic for what it is that a P.I. actually does from day to day. But after about the 25th time we parked in the same lot to watch for folks or had to meet with someone for a clandestine drink or 12 in some shady bar, well, it just got a bit too meh for me. And maybe I'm looking at the entire story a little bit differently now that it's done - as far as this story actually reaches any kind of definitive conclusion - well, the entire "whodunnit" aspect seems way too obvious. I mean, the hot girl freaking out from the beginning and threatening to cut her date into tiny pieces didn't set off alarms?

A little voice inside my head warned me, Leave, right now. For your own safety, just run.

I also wasn't enthralled with too many of the characters, including our main protagonist Dev Haskell or even his ersatz court-appointed attorney Louis Laufen aka Louie the Lout. Ignoring for a moment that both gentlemen were high-(low-?)functioning alcoholics with extreme personal hygiene issues, their continued borderline misogynist behavior was more than a little uncomfortable. OK, one could argue that Dev had women constantly showing up at his house to use him like a well-inflated sex doll so why not treat them as objects, huh? Still, every description of women in the book was based on looks. She's hot and has a nice butt. She's fat and probably has never had sex. Again, if this is how "normal world" P.I.'s are usually depicted, then thanks but I won't be trying any more out any time soon.

Try and fool everyone into thinking you’re a decent guy. Got it?

Still, Faricy must be doing something right as he's got around 40 books including novellas - and that's not even counting box-sets that make the perfect Christmas gifts! - with Dev doing his thing over and over again. I mean, at the end of the day, I found the book very readable even though I wouldn't necessarily call the pacing all that quick. I'm not sure how other of the stories transpire as even now by Book 3, Dev has got just about every cop in town hating his guts and longing to see him sent up the river. So what if he's not exactly James Bond or even Sherlock Holmes? To everyone their niche or something clever like that, right?

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am surprised by some of the low ratings for Bite Me. I really enjoyed it. After reading the first two books in the series, I know what kind of guy PI Devlin Haskell is and I don't expect much from him! Yes, he drinks too much and yes, his mind is always in the gutter! But now he actually has an office to work out of since he got six months rent free in lieu of payment on a New Year's case. Dev takes on a case of watching and protecting two guys at KRAZ radio station. Easy money, right? Not for Dev. What follows are a lot of accusations, an arrest and jail time, avoiding the police, murders, and all around danger. He just can't seem to choose honest clients. This is an entertaining series and I look forward to reading book 4.

[Shaari Oolong · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love me my Devlin Haskell: Smart-alecky, mystery-solving, alcoholic, all-around charming PI. This time, Dev gets involved with a woman who likes to signal a night of (consensual) sex is over by throwing knives at her 'guest'. And then recommending his sleuthing services to her brother-one of the team of two who run an an alt-right radio station that's on only 4-times a day. And *then* the weirdness begins.

Like all the others in the series, this book is a fast read that's a bit hard to put down and even though you'd probably find Dev frustrating as a friend-reading about him is pretty fun.