The Shimmering Blond Sister

Berger and Mitry #7

by David Handler

In this delightful new adventure featuring the mismatched crime-fighting duo of film critic Mitch Berger and Connecticut state trooper Des Mitry, Mitch?s New York City past and his Dorset present collide head on. 

Back when Mitch was a chubby thirteen-year-old living in Stuyvesant Town, Beth Breslauer, a lovely blond single mother, lived across the hall with her son, Kenny. These days, she?s a wealthy widow who owns a condominium in the Captain Chadwick House, the Dorset Historic District?s most exclusive condo complex. Kenny is engaged to marry Mitch?s yoga teacher, Kimberly Farrell. Kimberly?s parents are Beth?s neighbors. They are also social pariahs. Her father was one of the Wall Street power brokers responsible for the sub-prime home loan meltdown and her mother is praying that Kimberly?s elaborate engagement party will endear them to their lost friends.

Meanwhile, Augie Donatelli, a retired police detective who manages the Captain Chadwick House, is positive he?s figured out the identity of the infamous Dorset Flasher, an elusive, ski-masked figure who has been terrorizing wealthy widows after dark. He also believes that Beth is the proud descendent of a long line of professional thieves. He demands that Des do something about it, but Des dismisses his charges as the wild rants of a lonely, bitter drunkard, which is rather unfortunate---because when Augie turns up dead, Des is included in the round-up of suspects.  That leaves it up to Mitch to find out what really happened, even though it means he?ll have to find out more about the people in his life than he ever wanted to. 

The Shimmering Blond Sister is David Handler?s most emotionally gripping book in the series yet.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Humor, Crime, Detective, Cozy Mystery, Interracial Romance

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 12, 2010

About the author

AKA Russell Andrews (with Peter Gethers)

David Handler, who began his career in New York as a journalist, was born and raised in Los Angeles and published two highly acclaimed novels about growing up there, Kiddo and Boss, before resorting to a life of crime fiction.

Reviews

[Monica **can't read fast enough** · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Des and Mitch and I'm so glad to have picked this series up again. Another enjoyable installment to the series.

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[Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent Mitry/Berger case. Loved it as usual. What starts out as a case of indecent exposure escalates to murder. Murderer surprised me completely!

[Anne, Unfinished Woman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, in the end, Mitch solves the case of the Dorset Flasher and the murderer of Augie Donatelli. The Flasher has exposed himself to multiple elderly ladies of the town, and pulled a couple of malicious pranks. And Des and her mates are getting nowhere. When the Det Lt Very from NYPD comes on the scene, a former colleague and friend of Augie, it muddies the waters even more. He points out that a number of the ladies, and especially Beth Breslauer, are not what they seem. A hard pill to swallow for Mitch, who was once her and her son Kenny's neighbor (Mitch was 13), as he had a crush on the beautiful older woman, and he even now blushes in her presence and when her name is mentioned. She is having an affair with a mobbed up married man, and both she and Bertha, the doyan of the community are descendents of a Jewish mob of the past.

As an aside to the story, Des' father is facing bypass surgery. She finds this out when comfronted by Capt Richie Tedone, of Internal Affairs. Her career is nearly spotless, but her father is faced with it being blemished intentionally, if he does not step down as the ranking senior officer, known as the Deacon, to make way for mob connected police to take over. That's like waving a red cloak in front of a bull and she sets out to get the dirt on Tedone. She skulks and finds out that he is involved with a male trans prostitute, who was a "witness" in a prior case, and blackmails him into backing off.

I laughed out loud throughout this installment of the series. There are plenty of perfect lines and situations that give this mystery/police tale its charm. And the new beafcake Mitch has become is a calm port in the storms.

[Pammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't care if Mitch and Dez are married or engaged or living separately or together.
I just want that chemistry they have when working and loving each other. That's not much to ask, so Mr. Handler, bear that in mind for future mysteries, please.
Ouir loving crimes fighting duo are dealing with the socially eleite of Dorset once again. Seems that group can't be trusted to stay out of trouble!
This time there's a flasher, doing his thing (or rather showing it) to wealthy widows; there's a retired police detective secretly tailing various residents; some one in Internal Affairs trying to blackmail Dez; and the remnants of an old cartel of gypsies.
What could go wrong with all that flying around town?

[Susan Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this mystery, and the characters remain compelling in this 7th in the Berger and Mitry series. This book finds the relationship between the two, changing direction, for the better. The premise starts with a serial "flasher" and proceeds to murder on the quiet little island where Mitch Berger resides. It isn't until the last 15 pages that the mystery is "solved" and the murder "revealed". The story ends with a bit of a cliff hanger in a hospital waiting room. I will continue to read this series.

I borrowed this book for the Pines Library System in Georgia.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did Not Go Where I Thought It Would

This series gets better and better. There’s a visit by a character from the Stewart Hoag series, which sent me squeeing. Love it. I think I might need a family tree or a list of all the secondary and tertiary characters - they get mentioned from book to book in different capacities. The MC’s are of course, pretty awesome as well. I wonder if Hoagy and Doughboy will ever meet up? Hmm.

[Hrn1947 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another murder in the same small town. Don’t try to figure it out because that’s not the point. The murder is just a vehicle to move the ongoing love story along. There are never enough clues to solve the case. As always a few words you should look up. No sure where the shimmering blond sister was.

[Gbug · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this installment in the Berger and Mitry series not as compelling as the others. But still a worthy read. There is a flasher and a murder. And they are connected in some way. I really enjoyed the old movie trivia dropped by Berger throughout the story.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book in the series was much better than the last because Mitry and Berger were back together.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found it a bit contrived.

[Emile · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being a retired State Trooper and having lived in Old Lyme, I found a lot to like about this story.

[Lynn Sinclair · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like this series.

[Lynette Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always enjoy an afternoon reading one of Handler's books. Well plotted with strong characters, an unfolding romance, slowly and steadily builds momentum to a satisfying ending.

[James Willey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A film critic and state trooper team-up to solve crimes in a snobby setting.

[BRT · Rating 4 out of 5]

The books in this series never disappoint. The characters feel like friends and neighbors. The crimes are grisly, the mysteries complex, and the motives always salacious.

[Elizabeth Tysdal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Berger & Mitry winner. Great characters and a confusing murder to solve. Now on to #8 😁

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending came out of nowhere and I wonder what happens next.

[Fictionophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just like the worm in the apple, even the affluent and seemingly idyllic Connecticut coast can hide some sick and damaged individuals. The shimmering blond sister, the seventh novel in the Berger and Mitry series, once again serves up a healthy dose of justice served.

Des Mitry is like a fish out of water. She is a svelte, tall, black policewoman enforcing the law in a predominately white, historic, upper class New England community. She seems undeterred by all this however, and she and her white film critic boyfriend keep the criminal element of Dorset, Connecticut under wraps.

In this outing Des is trying to discern the identity of the Dorset Flasher. Someone who has been exposing himself to the matrons of the community for some time. She believes that the flasher might be Augie Donatelli, a retired policeman who is now working as the caretaker for some of the community's exclusive condos. He and Des do not get along and have a pubic disagreement. Later when his body is found bludgeoned to death, Des is questioned and relegated to desk duty for the duration of the case.

It doesn't seem to help that Mitch's first crush is now living in one of the condos and has recently re-entered Mitch's life. She was also the subject of Augie's interest, and might have some secrets to hide. Can Mitch get past his feelings for her to discover what those secrets might be?

When Des finds out that her Dad is to have open heart surgery, she realizes that her predicament has fallen into the hands of internal affairs who sees this as leverage to get her father off the job. It is up to Des and Mitch to find the identity of the murderer to keep both Des's and her father's job out of jeopardy.

Both Des and Mitch are great series characters. Mitch is a widower who writes film reviews and books related to film. Des is a policeman's daughter who is following on the heels of her dad in the family profession. She and Mitch have been engaged and now are just back to being boyfriend and girlfriend, but this case brings them into a deeper understanding of what true commitment is.

Des's professionalism and street savvy, along with Mitch's keen intellect enable them to discover who the murderer is just in time... What more can you want from a mystery novel?

I have been following this series from the beginning with 2001's The cold blue blood. The ritzy community, beautiful historic shore, and fascinating characters have held me from the first.

If I have any complaints at all about the book, it is that this novel, more than others in the series, seems to rely on hip jargon more than is necessary. Terms like 'yo girlfriend' and 'my bad' seem to permeate the dialog. Do people really talk like that?

All in all, after seven books, I still want to read more in this series which is about as glowing an endorsement as I can give.

[Cheryl A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Des Mitry and Mitch Berger are back together and at it again. This odd, odd couple - Des, a 6 ft black State Trooper and Mitch, a formerly pudgy Jewish film critic - reside in upscale historic Dorset, Conn., where little old ladies of the upper echelon are being terrorized by a flasher. Well, mildly terrorized, anyway - the mysterious man in the ski mask isn't quite rising to the occasion and the women aren't able to give a physical description. The media and town leaders are on Resident Trooper Des to catch the culprit. As Des is tracking leads and patrolling the town, Mitch runs into an old flame - his old neighbor from his childhood, the mother of his friend Kenny and his first crush. Just how she managed a unit in the ritziest place in town, why she's being followed by the caretaker and why the flasher hits when Kenny comes to visit raise questions in Mitch's and Des's mind. And things get even more complicated when the caretaker ends up with his head bashed in.

The author does a great job balancing a zany cast of characters - disgraced Wall Street mogul, former mob moll, zen yoga instructor, former NY cop, muscle bound playboy - giving each a touch of the ridiculous without ridiculing any. Side plots and twists and turns make this title an enjoyable, quick read.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 7th in the Berger and Mitry series. I grew up in Old Lyme, CT which is the setting for the fictional town of Dorset. I love being able to recognize the landmarks and buildings that the author describes as well as some of the actual people whom the characters are loosely based upon.

The Shimmering Blond Sister finds Des and Mitch back together again. It was a little strange that they were able to fall back into their relationship with no hard feelings on Mitch's part and there was no mention of Brandon, but.. it was still nice to have them back together again.

This mystery features a "weenie wagger" who is showing his goods to the elder ladies of Dorset. Although some of the regular characters of the series do make brief appearances the story mainly centers around the tenants of 3 condo units and the groundskeeper.

Mr. Handler really needs to hire a professional proofreader - the typos and grammatical errors were prevalent all through the book and at times were very distracting.

This is a light and easy read...not one of my favorites in the series but shouldn't disappoint the true fans.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quiet Dorset is having a crime wave--a flasher has been bothering the wealthy matrons of the town. Now a man is dead, and no one is sure whether he was the flasher, killed by one of his victims, or was on the track of the flasher, who killed him to avoid exposure. Resident state trooper Des Mitry and her boyfriend, movie critic Mitch Berger, are outskirts of the investigation, since Des and the murdered man had a very public quarrel the day before his death. But a New York City policeman appears at Mitch's door with an entirely different idea about the murder, an idea that will shake up Mitch's relationship with old friends.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Connecticut state trooper Des Mitry is hunting for a flasher who has been targeting wealthy older women in Dorset’s historic downtown. She suspects retired NYPD police officer Augie Donatelli until he gets himself murdered. Film critic Mitch Berger, who has seen too many movies, is convinced the flasher is a frustrated teenager. As usual in this series, the characters are more interesting than the plot. However, in the last couple books, the author has forced Mitch to lose a lot of weight and spend entirely too much time working out in the gym.

[Amanda Meggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this a lot. Mitch has come into his own and there aren't so many references to the racial differences, I was finding them a bit of a drag. The ending took me by surprise although I feel like it shouldn't have, could be because I'm on holiday! I'm also pleased Yolie might have met someone and Rico gets to be a dad. It's nice that the characters are actually moving on like real people.

[Chi Dubinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Film critic Mitch Berger discovers that old neighbors from New York have moved to Dorset. Beth Breslauer was a young single mother, and her son Kenny was a friend of Mitch’s. State Trooper Des Mitry is on the trail of the Dorset Flasher, a man who has been exposing himself to the elderly residents of town. Des suspects Augie Donatelli, a retired police detective, of being the flasher, but when he is beaten to death with a baseball bat, she turns her attention to investigating his murder.

[Nancy H · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy this series, and I think that anyone who enjoys the Philip Craig series set on Martha's Vineyard will also enjoy this one set in nearby (sort of) Dorset, Connecticut. Mitch and Des are an unlikely and absolutely great couple and when they put their minds together to solve mysteries, it is almost as good as when they put their bodies together to make some heat (tastefully done, of course).

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was happy to get this book to read. The book prior left me a little disappointed. This one set everything right. I love these two character and the small island they live on. As always, Handler glorious convoluted stories intrigue you and you will not be disappointed. Fun read.

[Phyllis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Actually made it through this book, but this is not saying much. I don't know if it is the weather, the state of the world (not just the union), or just my state of mind, but I am stuggling to find a book that is a satisfying read. My apologies to David Handler, but not my cup of tea.

[Leslie Angel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almost a 4 just because I enjoy visiting with the characters so much--Mitch, a schlubby Jewish movie critic from NY and Des, a 6-foot black (female) cop/artist in a great New England setting. I did not guess this one.

[Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. There was very little bad language and the storyline really kept my interest. There were a few unexpected twists and turns and I was able to picture the story as it progressed.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I reading a couple of the books in this series, but this one certainly keeps the humor and cuteness going. A fun couple of hour read of a "summer beach mystery".