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Grabenstein's appealing fifth John Ceepak mystery (after 2008's Hell Hole) finds ultra-straight-arrow cop Ceepak and his laid-back partner, Danny Boyle, on leave in Atlantic City. Soon after a former girlfriend of Boyle's, the nanny for a smarmy stage magician's children, approaches Boyle for advice, she winds up dead in a bizarre s&m ritual before she can explain the problem. The local police deputize the two Sea Haven, N.J., cops as more corpses pile up. Ceepak and Boyle aren't too surprised that everyone is lying in a murder case involving professional illusionists with nasty secrets. Grabenstein has a good eye for the grit under a glitzy setting and a good ear for character-defining accents, including Boyle's wry narrative voice. In less skillful hands, Ceepak might come across as a mere hybrid of Sherlock Holmes and Dudley Do-Right, but the author succeeds in making his hero's earnest devotion to a rigid code of behavior both believable and moving. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Anonymous
Posted January 27, 2012
All of his books have been great reads. You can relate to the main characters.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Since I read the first Ceepak novel, Tilt A Whirl, I have been reading the rest of the series and enjoying each novel. Until this one. Author Grabenstein takes the action to Atlantic City,instead of the cute town of Sea Haven. Big mistake,in my opinion, as Sea Haven added charm to the series. He then embarks on a convoluted tale of a magician and a murder, but somehow we get sidetracked into child prostitution. In my opinion, Mind Scrambler is a mess. I was quite disappointed, having looked forward to another enjoyable novel. I have the next book in the series on hand, but am not as interested in opening it as I was before Mind Scrambler.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.thebigo
Posted August 15, 2009
another exciting John Ceepak novel with an interesting storyline and its usual twists and turns
i enjoy these books and they are a good quick read for the beach or wherever you enjoy reading an entertaining book.
Although opposites in outlook, Sea Haven, New Jersey police partners John Ceepak and Danny Boyle are on leave in Atlantic City. They are not there to gamble, but instead are taking a disposition in hopes of helping Ceepak's estranged dad who has been charged with murder in Ohio.
Boyle runs into former girlfriend Katie Landry, who is the nanny of Richie and Britney, the children of Xanadu headliner magician Richard Rock and his wife. Katie is dating a Xanadu bouncer but agrees to go for drinks with Danny. Their case abruptly ends when Ceepak's dad pleads guilty. Rock's manager hires the two cops as extra security due to a rumor that the Milton Berle of magicians (due to stealing their acts) Lady Jasmine is attending. Katie and Jake vanish while Rock performs his final act geared to get people into the casino; Boyle goes backstage to find Katie murdered. The Atlantic City police deputize the two Sea Haven cops as more homicides occur.
The latest John Ceepak investigation (see HELL HOLE) is a terrific entry as the by the book cop and his breaking the rules partner may be off duty, but quickly become embroiled in a murder mystery. The story line is fast-paced from the onset, but it is the camaraderie between the two polar opposite cops that once again make for an entertaining tale.
Harriet Klausner
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Posted October 15, 2011
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Overview
John Ceepak and Danny Boyle are making the rounds in Atlantic City when Danny runs into his former crush, Katie. She’s working for a magician named Rock, and her life seems to be in better order than Boyle could have hoped for. But Ceepak and Boyle soon find themselves on another case when Katie is found strangled to death. It is up to Ceepak and Boyle to find out who killed her. Their lives and the lives of others depend on it.