Doll Eyes

Rooster Franklin #4

by Randy Russell

Hot on the heels of the acclaimed Caught Looking, Alton Benjamin "Rooster" Franklin returns for a fourth caper in Randy Russell's "snappy series." Here, the former car thief is seeking out his first love - and instead finds in her place one very dead look-alike, and a murder rap to boot. "Let me tell you about women," she says. "We've got doll eyes. The kind that close when you lay the doll down on its back. They open again when you stand the doll up. A woman lays down with a guy, her eyes close. She can't see any fault in the guy." Too bad for Rooster that Rosalinda doesn't see him like that anymore. But for Rooster, Rosalinda has no faults, eyes open, closed, or just blind. And now he has come back to marry her - and has landed himself smack in the middle of a mystery no one wants, let alone asked for. At least someone wants Rooster, though, because even before he arrives in town, Rosalinda's brother, Marc, fresh from a stay behind bars, wants to settle a score with him. Then there's the dead body in Rosalinda's home, and the clue that leads him to Inside Moves, an upscale art gallery now being run by his elusive love and, shockingly, her new society husband, Joseph Warman. When the two men take an instant dislike to each other, Rooster figures his only way to Rosalinda is to expose her husband for the fake he is. And in his search he finds a few other fakes. Meanwhile, the police are watching his every step, trying to prove he's guilty of murder. Suddenly Rooster's in a lot of trouble for a man who only wants to be in love.

181 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1992

About the author

Novelist. Ghost Lore. Ghostlorist.

Reviews

[Kathy KS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I decided to read this mystery because it was supposed to take place around the area my mother grew up. Near the state line in Kansas City. The story DOES wander back and forth from the Kansas side (her side) to the Missouri side. I recognized some of the roads, definitely. But I wish she was still living so I could ask about some of the other described locations and businesses. (I do know the KU Medical Center...)

The story itself was pretty interesting. But, when poor Rooster returns to KC to reclaim his lost love, Rosalinda, murders ensue. Bombings, wiretaps, fires, art shows, drinking in the local bars... we have all these and more. Red herrings, definitely. Why? Who? This one does provide a lot of possibilities.

We learn much about Rosalinda, naturally. Good and bad.

This was the fourth, and final, book in this series I discovered. I probably won't go back and read the others, at least soon. Not because it was bad, but I'm just not in the mood to read about a group of friends and enemies that all walk on the shady side of the law. Rooster and his friends seem to be loyal and basically not bad people. But, they don't grab me enough for now. Originally written in 1992, so it's a short read!