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Baby Shark #2
Baby Shark's Beaumont Blues
The second book in the popular Baby Shark series begins as 21-year-old Kristin Van Dur accepts an invitation to join a P.I. firm; but things go bad--fast. There are a dozen ways her life can turn even worse, but Kristin's instinct to survive keeps her alive even as mobsters hunt her down.
280 pages, Paperback
First published May 15, 2007
About the author
Robert Fate
9 books16 followersRobert Fate Bealmea is an American author, best known for the Baby Shark series of mystery novels.
Born in 1935 in Oklahoma City, OK, Fate joined the US Marine Corps after High School. He used his GI Bill to go to schools in the US as well as the Sorbonne in Paris.
Before becoming a writer he worked in various fields and won an Oscar for his work in movie special effects.
Series:
* Baby Shark Mystery
Born in 1935 in Oklahoma City, OK, Fate joined the US Marine Corps after High School. He used his GI Bill to go to schools in the US as well as the Sorbonne in Paris.
Before becoming a writer he worked in various fields and won an Oscar for his work in movie special effects.
Series:
* Baby Shark Mystery
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
February 6, 2008
Long, long ago, before graphic novels, there were comics. Superman, Archie, Little Lulu, Sergeant Fury and His Howling Commandos. These comics all carried the Comics Code seal on their covers. (Go to http://lambiek.net/comics/code.htm for an illustrated history of the Comics Code). Even longer ago than that, when I was very young (but
could already read), there were the lurid, scary, and sometimes morally reprehensible pre-Comics Code comics. I have a fairly vivid memory of
encountering some of these in Texas, where I lived at age 5 and 6.
This memory keeps returning to me whenever I read one of Robert Fate's BABY SHARK books. For one thing, they are set in Texas in the 1950s. But
chiefly, it is the sense of transgression in them. Even Baby Shark herself occasionally stops and thinks "What did I just do? What have I
become?"
In BABY SHARK'S BEAUMONT BLUES, the second in the series, Kristin VanDijk (Baby Shark for her youth and pool prowess, although there's precious little time for pool-shooting in this outing) and her partner and mentor, Otis Millett, spray blood around in a manner worthy of one of those old comics with "CRIME" in big letters on the cover. We always know that Kristin and Otis are on the side of the angels. They will go out of theirway to protect the vulnerable and are strictly honest with money they may find "lying around." Yet, they use any means necessary to fight evil, and they are expert at using the mobsters' own criminal tendencies to defeat them. Part of the reason this works is the setting in place and time. It's quite believable that the rich and powerful (even when their gains are exceedingly ill-gotten) can consider themselves above the law, either because of corruption or simply that
they have the police outgunned.
In the first book, BABY SHARK, Kristin's actions were motivated by her personal need to see some kind of justice done to those who killed her
father and left her, raped and beaten, for dead. In BABY SHARK'S BEAUMONT BLUES, she's using the skills she acquired at that time as a
licensed private investigator. A "simple" task of retrieving a teenage heiress -- kidnapped or runaway? -- turns into a complicated and bloody
mess where even Kristin and Otis are not always sure who's conning whom. The ending is satisfying and there is even a possible romance brewing
for Kristin.
Mr. Fate's ear for dialogue is unerring and his ability to write from the perspective of a young woman is almost uncanny. Just one small example
-- each time Kristin returns home after the latest bloodbath, she never fails to put any salvageable clothing to soak in cold water to get the bloodstains out!
It's often with some trepidation that I read a second book by an author whose first I've enjoyed. There was no disappointment here. I highly recommend BABY SHARK'S BEAUMONT BLUES.
could already read), there were the lurid, scary, and sometimes morally reprehensible pre-Comics Code comics. I have a fairly vivid memory of
encountering some of these in Texas, where I lived at age 5 and 6.
This memory keeps returning to me whenever I read one of Robert Fate's BABY SHARK books. For one thing, they are set in Texas in the 1950s. But
chiefly, it is the sense of transgression in them. Even Baby Shark herself occasionally stops and thinks "What did I just do? What have I
become?"
In BABY SHARK'S BEAUMONT BLUES, the second in the series, Kristin VanDijk (Baby Shark for her youth and pool prowess, although there's precious little time for pool-shooting in this outing) and her partner and mentor, Otis Millett, spray blood around in a manner worthy of one of those old comics with "CRIME" in big letters on the cover. We always know that Kristin and Otis are on the side of the angels. They will go out of theirway to protect the vulnerable and are strictly honest with money they may find "lying around." Yet, they use any means necessary to fight evil, and they are expert at using the mobsters' own criminal tendencies to defeat them. Part of the reason this works is the setting in place and time. It's quite believable that the rich and powerful (even when their gains are exceedingly ill-gotten) can consider themselves above the law, either because of corruption or simply that
they have the police outgunned.
In the first book, BABY SHARK, Kristin's actions were motivated by her personal need to see some kind of justice done to those who killed her
father and left her, raped and beaten, for dead. In BABY SHARK'S BEAUMONT BLUES, she's using the skills she acquired at that time as a
licensed private investigator. A "simple" task of retrieving a teenage heiress -- kidnapped or runaway? -- turns into a complicated and bloody
mess where even Kristin and Otis are not always sure who's conning whom. The ending is satisfying and there is even a possible romance brewing
for Kristin.
Mr. Fate's ear for dialogue is unerring and his ability to write from the perspective of a young woman is almost uncanny. Just one small example
-- each time Kristin returns home after the latest bloodbath, she never fails to put any salvageable clothing to soak in cold water to get the bloodstains out!
It's often with some trepidation that I read a second book by an author whose first I've enjoyed. There was no disappointment here. I highly recommend BABY SHARK'S BEAUMONT BLUES.
May 18, 2008
Oh Baby, Baby. She is back, all rough, tough and soft around the edges. Kristin Van Dijk, who we met in Baby Shark, has returned to her crime fighting, but now she is Otis' partner in his PI business.
Kristin and Otis are hired to locate and rescue a kidnapped girl, who ends up more difficult to find and keep than they expected. What seemed like a simple rescue mission becomes convoluted case of deception, greed and dishonor.
In this installment of Kristen's adventures it is the characters that take center stage. Baby Shark introduced us to the main characters but that book was driven by the action, the violence. Beaumont Blues has taken the promise of the first one and given the characters a chance to grow. It is no less exciting, no less blood stained than the first one, but it also shows a maturity in development. It would have be easy for Robert Fate to rest on the momentum of Baby Shark, to recreate the "little lost girl fights back" theme but he was able to step back and let her mature. Otis has a bigger role this time as the friendly boss and father figure, and he fills it well. The assorted other characters that blast their way through the action are well drawn with Fate's usual tongue in cheek spin on motive and morality.
But, of course, it is also the action driven plot that makes this a one sitting book. As the action progresses faster than a bullet, or is that as fast as the numerous bullets, it maintains the velocity of non stop suspense and thrills. It still can have scenes such as "It looked as if we were in the middle of a Popeye comic strip with all the bodies strewn about. But it was no cartoon, it was a slaughterhouse. Blood everywhere." Kristin has matured, not mellowed. The ending is satisfyingly unexpected, with the humor that makes these books so creative and welcomed.
Next up is Baby Shark's Panhandle Caravan (name change Mr. Fate? What happened to Sooner Weekends?). It will be interesting to see what Robert Fate has planned next for Kristin and Otis.
Kristin and Otis are hired to locate and rescue a kidnapped girl, who ends up more difficult to find and keep than they expected. What seemed like a simple rescue mission becomes convoluted case of deception, greed and dishonor.
In this installment of Kristen's adventures it is the characters that take center stage. Baby Shark introduced us to the main characters but that book was driven by the action, the violence. Beaumont Blues has taken the promise of the first one and given the characters a chance to grow. It is no less exciting, no less blood stained than the first one, but it also shows a maturity in development. It would have be easy for Robert Fate to rest on the momentum of Baby Shark, to recreate the "little lost girl fights back" theme but he was able to step back and let her mature. Otis has a bigger role this time as the friendly boss and father figure, and he fills it well. The assorted other characters that blast their way through the action are well drawn with Fate's usual tongue in cheek spin on motive and morality.
But, of course, it is also the action driven plot that makes this a one sitting book. As the action progresses faster than a bullet, or is that as fast as the numerous bullets, it maintains the velocity of non stop suspense and thrills. It still can have scenes such as "It looked as if we were in the middle of a Popeye comic strip with all the bodies strewn about. But it was no cartoon, it was a slaughterhouse. Blood everywhere." Kristin has matured, not mellowed. The ending is satisfyingly unexpected, with the humor that makes these books so creative and welcomed.
Next up is Baby Shark's Panhandle Caravan (name change Mr. Fate? What happened to Sooner Weekends?). It will be interesting to see what Robert Fate has planned next for Kristin and Otis.
November 15, 2008
Bodies, blood, and bullets seems to the theme in the second installment of Robert Fate’s Baby Shark series, Baby Shark’s Beaumont Blues. I counted twelve before I lost track.
Kristin Van Dijk, a.k.a. Baby Shark, is know for her pool hustling. Now that she has her PI license, she’s joined Otis Millet’s Detective Agency. Together, Kristin and Otis make a great team. They are hired to find Sherry Beasley, a soon-to-be-wealthy young woman when the conditions of her late father’s will are read on her eighteenth birthday. Sherry has had a habit of running away over the past few years, but if she’s not present at the reading of the will, well, who knows what could happen to all that money
Hired by the family lawyer, Hagan Buchanan, Kristen and Otis find Sherry high and nude at the ranch of one of Buchanan’s nephew’s, Bobby Jack. A shoot-out takes place and before Kristen wraps Sherry in sheet and heads back to Fort Worth and their dump of an office, the first two causalities have occurred.
Sherry is taken to Doc McGraw’s to hide out and dry out while Kristen and Otis try to figure out who the goons that Kristen shot are. It’s obvious, now, that there is more at stake than a missing soon-to-be heiress. As the new dynamic duo make discreet and not-so-discreet inquires, they soon learn that they are up to their eyeballs in gangsters from over Beaumont way.
This action-packed narrative takes place in September 1956. It’s been Texas hot all summer; the fall promises the same heat and humidity that sucks the soul from anyone moving at more than a snail’s pace. Fate does a wonderful job in using details to keep the reader grounded in time, but once the bullets start flying on page two, they don’t stop for another two-hundred-and-sixty-nine pages. There is lots of shooting, fighting, fast driving, and all-hell-breakin’-loose action. The pages flew as fast as the bullets.
Kristin Van Dijk, a.k.a. Baby Shark, is know for her pool hustling. Now that she has her PI license, she’s joined Otis Millet’s Detective Agency. Together, Kristin and Otis make a great team. They are hired to find Sherry Beasley, a soon-to-be-wealthy young woman when the conditions of her late father’s will are read on her eighteenth birthday. Sherry has had a habit of running away over the past few years, but if she’s not present at the reading of the will, well, who knows what could happen to all that money
Hired by the family lawyer, Hagan Buchanan, Kristen and Otis find Sherry high and nude at the ranch of one of Buchanan’s nephew’s, Bobby Jack. A shoot-out takes place and before Kristen wraps Sherry in sheet and heads back to Fort Worth and their dump of an office, the first two causalities have occurred.
Sherry is taken to Doc McGraw’s to hide out and dry out while Kristen and Otis try to figure out who the goons that Kristen shot are. It’s obvious, now, that there is more at stake than a missing soon-to-be heiress. As the new dynamic duo make discreet and not-so-discreet inquires, they soon learn that they are up to their eyeballs in gangsters from over Beaumont way.
This action-packed narrative takes place in September 1956. It’s been Texas hot all summer; the fall promises the same heat and humidity that sucks the soul from anyone moving at more than a snail’s pace. Fate does a wonderful job in using details to keep the reader grounded in time, but once the bullets start flying on page two, they don’t stop for another two-hundred-and-sixty-nine pages. There is lots of shooting, fighting, fast driving, and all-hell-breakin’-loose action. The pages flew as fast as the bullets.
August 13, 2007
BABY SHARK’S BEAUMONT BLUES (PI, Texas, 1950s) – VG+
Fate, Robert – 2nd in series
Capital Crime Press, 2007, Trade Paperback – ISBN 13: 9780977627622
*** Kristin Van Dijk has been a PI and partner with Otis Millett for almost two years now. They are hired to return a runaway heiress as it is critical she reach her 18th birthday and be present at the reading of her father’s will. They have rescued the heiress before, but this time it turns bad and Kristin ends up with two dead gangsters, the heiress, and the bag full of ransom money. And that’s only the beginning as Kristin and Otis try to figure out what is really going on while keeping the heiress safe, although she disappears on them again, and themselves alive.
*** For me, this was a much better book than the first. The story had more balance to it, even with a higher body count than the first. But here, they are working with the law—at least as much as it is possible for them to do. The partnership of Otis and Kristin is wonderfully done and it’s interesting to see Kristin’s character develop through the story. Seeing men be dismissive of Kristin and, therefore, underestimate her, is an interesting reflection of that time. There is a secondary story of Virginia which dimension to the story. The sense of place is effective and the dialogue even more so. There are scenes of palpable suspense but it is balanced within the story, and a wonderful ending. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am very glad I was persuaded to give it a chance.
Fate, Robert – 2nd in series
Capital Crime Press, 2007, Trade Paperback – ISBN 13: 9780977627622
*** Kristin Van Dijk has been a PI and partner with Otis Millett for almost two years now. They are hired to return a runaway heiress as it is critical she reach her 18th birthday and be present at the reading of her father’s will. They have rescued the heiress before, but this time it turns bad and Kristin ends up with two dead gangsters, the heiress, and the bag full of ransom money. And that’s only the beginning as Kristin and Otis try to figure out what is really going on while keeping the heiress safe, although she disappears on them again, and themselves alive.
*** For me, this was a much better book than the first. The story had more balance to it, even with a higher body count than the first. But here, they are working with the law—at least as much as it is possible for them to do. The partnership of Otis and Kristin is wonderfully done and it’s interesting to see Kristin’s character develop through the story. Seeing men be dismissive of Kristin and, therefore, underestimate her, is an interesting reflection of that time. There is a secondary story of Virginia which dimension to the story. The sense of place is effective and the dialogue even more so. There are scenes of palpable suspense but it is balanced within the story, and a wonderful ending. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am very glad I was persuaded to give it a chance.
March 13, 2012
Baby Shark's Beaumont Blues by Robert Fate pulls the reader into the world P. I. Kristin Van Dijk confronts on a daily basis as she and her partner, Otis Millett, strive to set right the wrongs of the world with their own brand of justice. Never quite vigilantes but never quite angels either, Kristin and Otis confront dangerous criminals and rescue the damsel in distress even as they wonder just how much distress the damsel is actually experiencing. Injuries, love interests, police investigations, and gangsters all attempt to get in the way of Kristin and Otis saving the girl. Even the lawyer who hired them to find her becomes an obstacle to their success as they are distracted by the need to save him. With millions of dollars at stake, the safety of the young but hated heiress is important to a multitude of people. Though the pages are riddled with dead bodies - I lost count at some point - somehow the violence never feels gratuitous. After all, Kristin and Otis have a policy to only kill those who deserve it. Baby Shark's Beaumont Blues is an exciting read filled characters that make the reader want to know them better. Fate balances Kristin's stuggle to balance her strength and feminity in a way that captures the reader's imagination leaving the reader desperate to find out what happens to Kristin Van Dijk next.
July 13, 2008
Kristin Van Dijk may be a teenager, but she’s grown into a full fighter in this, the second in Fate’s Baby Shark series. She owns her moniker. She’s now a PI with her mentor/teacher. The two of them work well together, figuring out what’s going on, who’s doing what, and how they can survive.
Baby Shark holds her own, doing as much and sometimes most of the fighting and stopping the bad guys. She’s not only fun to read, she’s an interesting and complex character. She has her own tragic past and in Baby Shark’s Beaumont Blues she’s beginning to recover from it and is becoming a strong woman and definitely a force to be reckoned with.
Baby Shark holds her own, doing as much and sometimes most of the fighting and stopping the bad guys. She’s not only fun to read, she’s an interesting and complex character. She has her own tragic past and in Baby Shark’s Beaumont Blues she’s beginning to recover from it and is becoming a strong woman and definitely a force to be reckoned with.
July 29, 2022
Enjoyed the book very much. Niche series so far, and I am looking forward to the next one.
March 26, 2023
Baby is back, bad as ever, Texas noir style.
June 23, 2008
Sherry Beasley is an heiress on the run. Kristin Van Dijk and her partner Otis Millett are right behind her. It seems that Sherry is a spoiled little rich girl but things are not always what they seem. Sherry’s father was Hiram Beasley, a Beaumont, Texas millionaire. Sherry was born very late in Hiram’s life and he did everything he could in his will to protect Sherry. Sherry’s mom was killed not long after Hiram’s death.
Kristen finds Sherry and gets her to safety but not without a lot of gunfire. The story of how Hiram wrote his will to protect Sherry and what Kristen and Otis go through to keep her alive will keep you on the edge of the chair.
There’s not a lot of pool playing in Beaumont Blues but there certainly is a lot of shooting. Kristen and Otis have their business down to a fine art and work very well together. Henry is still around but we don’t see much of him in Beaumont Blues.
Kristen has matured and become even tougher than the girl in Baby Shark. Although this is a great follow-up to Baby Shark it is not necessary to have read Baby Shark to enjoy Beaumont Blues. There is no lack of excitement and suspense.
July 21, 2010
Kristen Van Dijk and her PI partner Otis Millet roar through the 50s in this wonderful book that starts out innocently enough with Kristen and Otis hired to find a missing socialite party girl. They’ve tangled with this girl before. But things go sideways when they find the girl being held by a psycho nephew of a local crime boss. Kristen gets the girl away from him, but not before two men are slaughtered and she has to knock the stoned kidnap victim out to get her to safety.
Things go downhill from there. The kidnapped victim, 17 year old Sherry Beasley, is heir to an oil fortune. She will inherit at 18 and if she isn’t there to hear the reading things will go badly. Nothing in the case is as it appears and no one is telling Kristen the truth. But Kristen is sharp and knows her way around low lifes. It’s not her fault that every move she makes seems to bring more of those low lifes out of the woodwork.
This is a wonderfully written book that I had a hard time putting down. Kristen is one of those characters I wish I could sit down and share a few brews with. Highly recommended if you like taut fiction that will leave you breathless, but satisfied.
Things go downhill from there. The kidnapped victim, 17 year old Sherry Beasley, is heir to an oil fortune. She will inherit at 18 and if she isn’t there to hear the reading things will go badly. Nothing in the case is as it appears and no one is telling Kristen the truth. But Kristen is sharp and knows her way around low lifes. It’s not her fault that every move she makes seems to bring more of those low lifes out of the woodwork.
This is a wonderfully written book that I had a hard time putting down. Kristen is one of those characters I wish I could sit down and share a few brews with. Highly recommended if you like taut fiction that will leave you breathless, but satisfied.
November 18, 2011
Haven't read Baby Shark, but it didn't seem to matter.
Liked the characters, liked the time (middle 1950's), liked the setting (Dallas and environs). It is a fast read where the narrative easily pulls the reader along.
Kristin is an accomplished brawler, knife fighter, and pistol marksman. The bodies stack up early and often, although curiously she doesn't seem to revel in it. Being a knife fighter takes a certain kind of attitude - think Jim Bowie and you'll be there. I think it would be better if Kristin at least admitted secretly to liking the adrenaline rush.
Some of the dialog was awkward. Fate used dialog between Otis and Kristin to inform the reader of things that were known to both of them (sort of an "As you know...." kind of thing.) Some of the Texas-isms seemed a little odd and forced.
Robert Fate is a little shaky on Texas vegetation. Jacarandas and avocados are tropical/subtropical species and don't survive the cold winters of north Texas (I have tried...honestly, but the winters kill them). I won't even mention the horrible drought of the mid-fifties.
But, for whatever its problems, it was an enjoyable read.
Liked the characters, liked the time (middle 1950's), liked the setting (Dallas and environs). It is a fast read where the narrative easily pulls the reader along.
Kristin is an accomplished brawler, knife fighter, and pistol marksman. The bodies stack up early and often, although curiously she doesn't seem to revel in it. Being a knife fighter takes a certain kind of attitude - think Jim Bowie and you'll be there. I think it would be better if Kristin at least admitted secretly to liking the adrenaline rush.
Some of the dialog was awkward. Fate used dialog between Otis and Kristin to inform the reader of things that were known to both of them (sort of an "As you know...." kind of thing.) Some of the Texas-isms seemed a little odd and forced.
Robert Fate is a little shaky on Texas vegetation. Jacarandas and avocados are tropical/subtropical species and don't survive the cold winters of north Texas (I have tried...honestly, but the winters kill them). I won't even mention the horrible drought of the mid-fifties.
But, for whatever its problems, it was an enjoyable read.
June 30, 2011
This was an excellent shoot-em-up crime novel set in the fifties with blonde protagonist Kristin Van Dijk. I found the first book, Baby Shark, to be an immense but guilty pleasure. Probably the best retro hardboiled story I had read in a decade. However, the guilt kept me from reading the sequel for awhile.
It shouldn't have. Beaumont Blues is superior to the prequel in several ways. First: it is not a straight revenge tale, so I don't have as much moral dissonance with the story. (I had no problems with the death of the villains, just not the way my heroine brought it about as her quest.)
Second, the Korean does not figure in the story. In the first book I just didn't feel convinced he was a real character. Seemed embarrassing in a way akin to Charlie Chan.
Third (related to first but distinct), this was more a straight PI story with a case that "goes bad." I liked this better. It showed Kristin and her partner were loyal to others rather than seeking their own justice.
It shouldn't have. Beaumont Blues is superior to the prequel in several ways. First: it is not a straight revenge tale, so I don't have as much moral dissonance with the story. (I had no problems with the death of the villains, just not the way my heroine brought it about as her quest.)
Second, the Korean does not figure in the story. In the first book I just didn't feel convinced he was a real character. Seemed embarrassing in a way akin to Charlie Chan.
Third (related to first but distinct), this was more a straight PI story with a case that "goes bad." I liked this better. It showed Kristin and her partner were loyal to others rather than seeking their own justice.
March 25, 2009
A good entry into this somewhat violent series. This series is a little more violent than I like my PI series to be, but I like the characters. Kristin Van Dijk is now a PI with a license to carry, and her role as pool shark (hence the name Baby Shark) plays no part in this novel--this is straight noir-PI all the way. I like Kristin, her partner Otis, and the way they work together. This started and ended with a will with strict guidelines and kidnappings, with a lot of shoot-outs and gunfire in between. And lots of dead bad guys :) -- they even kept count--at least 10 at one point, but the toll may have risen by the end. And speaking of the end, there's a terrific twist!
This got a rating of 3 stars from me only because of how much violence there was--a little less shooting, and a little more plot would have raised the rating. I will definitely continue reading this series.
This got a rating of 3 stars from me only because of how much violence there was--a little less shooting, and a little more plot would have raised the rating. I will definitely continue reading this series.
July 10, 2009
The second in the series I started a couple of weeks ago. This one is very much like the first, but with even more mayhem and a higher body count. In fact the violent confrontations and stand-offs are so frequent that, while reading the final one (in which automatic weapons fire is ricocheting off everything in an alley and the heroes are desperately pinned down) I briefly dozed off. Maybe that says more about me than the book. The writing is still accurate and terse, the dialogue realistic. I'm beginning to notice some tics (cigarettes are never lit, they are "fired up") that are getting a little tiresome. Still, I will eventually get to the later books in the series. Kristin and her partner Otis are certainly fun to spend time with.
February 22, 2008
This book really disappointed me.
Baby Shark was one of my favorite books of the last year. Unfortunately, this suffered from sequel-itis.
The characters really didn't move forward. Nobody was likeable - the sympathy I felt for Kristin in Baby Shark evaporated. And the body count just started to get ridiculous.
I am aware that many people liked this one, even found it superior to Baby Shark. I am just not one of them. Will I read a third one? Maybe, but I won't be eagerly awaiting it.
Baby Shark was one of my favorite books of the last year. Unfortunately, this suffered from sequel-itis.
The characters really didn't move forward. Nobody was likeable - the sympathy I felt for Kristin in Baby Shark evaporated. And the body count just started to get ridiculous.
I am aware that many people liked this one, even found it superior to Baby Shark. I am just not one of them. Will I read a third one? Maybe, but I won't be eagerly awaiting it.
January 6, 2009
Baby Shark becomes a full blown person in this second book of Fate's series. She has moved on from the horror of our first introduction to her and joined forces with Otis as a PI to "protect" a young heiress from someone- perhaps even herself. Mr. Fate does himself proud with the plot, but even prouder with his sparse writing style- suitable to both the the landscape(Texas)of the book and the characters.A very good read indeed. I am now a confirmed fan of Mr. Fate.
The third in the series, High Plains Redemption, is on my nightstand as I type this.
The third in the series, High Plains Redemption, is on my nightstand as I type this.
Read
June 18, 2009Texas noir 1950's, pulp fiction. I am becoming a huge fan of RF and these characters. Baby Shark is Kristin Van Dijk, a twenty-something Fort Worth private investigator. A bottle-blonde pool shark with knives in her boots, drives a black Olds 88. Hah hah. Her partner Otis is as fine a picture of West Texas as any I've seen in print. The dialect is especially accurate- only the really old people there still talk like this. These stories would likely be lost on those not from the southern high plains culture (TX, OK), maybe not? They are very good.
May 26, 2012
Very enjoyable. Less emotionally draining than the first book in the series, but that's because Kristin has found a life for herself even though she still fights the demons. With her partner and father substitute, Otis, they made a great team. I highly recommend this series. Some nice twists. I plan on reading the rest.
May 26, 2012
Didn't quite live up to the first book of the series. Main character is older, more mature, just as tough and competent but somehow just not quite as compelling as a character as she was in the first book.
Enjoyable, good characterization, tight plotting, good progression but not one I will keep to re-read.
Enjoyable, good characterization, tight plotting, good progression but not one I will keep to re-read.
June 12, 2012
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Kristen Van Dijk and Otis Millet are two hard-bitten Texas PIs who know their trade well. The story which takes place in the 50's is face paced and reminiscent of watching a film noire classic. The writing is crisp and the ending left me wondering why I didn't see that coming!
January 22, 2014
Not as good as the first one but still very much worth the read. Baby Shark is now partners with Otis and together they take on the bad guys. We meet some new characters including a love interest and the action is still fast and furious.
April 4, 2009
Love this series
June 24, 2009
2nd in the series. Kristin (Baby Shark) gets into the P.I. business along with Otis Millett. She is still working on her demons but now she has a place to channel them. Just as good as the first.
August 25, 2009
Maybe a 3.5; not quite as good as the first, but still a fast-moving romp. Bodies thick on the ground.
June 20, 2012
This is an enjoyable series.
August 11, 2012
Written by a male, this series contains a VERY strong female character.
July 2, 2013
This was another interesting plot from Robert Fate. Perhaps not as compelling as book one, which dealt with revenge, muscle for hire is a good use of Baby Shark's skills.
Read
February 26, 2015Set in the 1950s, this noir fiction has a strong female main character, a PI in Texas. Moves along smoothly.
December 15, 2019
Great story
Found on freebooksy, this was a great introduction to this writer, of whom I'll be reading more of. Great story line, wonderful characters, I really enjoyed it.
Found on freebooksy, this was a great introduction to this writer, of whom I'll be reading more of. Great story line, wonderful characters, I really enjoyed it.
March 12, 2013
I enjoyed the book very much. Well written noir.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews