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Trace #5
Once a Mutt
A withdrawn widow of a once-famous animal activist comes forward with a $2 million claim, saying her furry-friendly husband has been dead for eight years. With an ocean-themed investment drying up his coffers, Trace sets out to find out if she's batty or if the husband flew the coop. But things get tricky when a gorilla-sized housekeeper gives Trace the strong-arm and a bored housewife tries to slither her way into his bed. Can Trace get out of this zoo alive?
- GenresMystery
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 3, 2024
3.5 stars
September 9, 2014
In Once A Mutt, Warren Murphy's 5th Trace novel, insurance investigator Devlin Trace is asked to figure out why, after 7 years, the widow of a missing man is finally asking for her $2,000,000 insurance payout. His boss, Walter "Groucho" Marks, is sure there's something amiss, but previous attempts to ferret out the truth have failed, so in goes a very reluctant Trace.
A typically light Trace novel from the prolific Murphy, with tons of sardonic wit, crazy internal dialog and even crazier characters. This time, Trace shows a bit more self-pitying whining than usual, as he's been suckered into investing all his life saving in a New Jersey seaside restaurant. And, as everyone is anxious to point out to him, 75% of all restaurants fail, so when his friend needs more money to pay for hurricane damage, he becomes really depressed. Especially when his on again, off again girlfriend, Chico, wisely refuses to help out.
In the end though, Trace does all the legwork but it is a late arriving Chico that puts all the pieces together. To be honest, I saw this on coming from a mile away. I wonder if there wasn't a similar setup in a Travis McGee novel? But Marks isn't real happy with him, as they do end up having to pay out the insurance claim.
Probably the weakest Trace novel thus far, more deserving of 3.5 stars. It still has its fair share of laugh out lines, esp. with everyone telling him the failure rate of new restaurants. I just love these "filler" novels!
A typically light Trace novel from the prolific Murphy, with tons of sardonic wit, crazy internal dialog and even crazier characters. This time, Trace shows a bit more self-pitying whining than usual, as he's been suckered into investing all his life saving in a New Jersey seaside restaurant. And, as everyone is anxious to point out to him, 75% of all restaurants fail, so when his friend needs more money to pay for hurricane damage, he becomes really depressed. Especially when his on again, off again girlfriend, Chico, wisely refuses to help out.
In the end though, Trace does all the legwork but it is a late arriving Chico that puts all the pieces together. To be honest, I saw this on coming from a mile away. I wonder if there wasn't a similar setup in a Travis McGee novel? But Marks isn't real happy with him, as they do end up having to pay out the insurance claim.
Probably the weakest Trace novel thus far, more deserving of 3.5 stars. It still has its fair share of laugh out lines, esp. with everyone telling him the failure rate of new restaurants. I just love these "filler" novels!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews