WASHINGTON POST:
A riveting political thriller written with an
insiders savvy . . . At the same time that he skewers the practitioners
of political skullduggery, Doolittle also has written a well-clued mystery
that moves smartly to a jolting resolution . . . What began as a routine
background check ends with the revelation of an unspeakable crime, followed
by gruesome justice meted out in a sauna bath.
Doolittle offers a polished
performance in his first mystery. The Boston scene is a lively backdrop, the
dialogue crackles with fast repartee, and the characters make an assorted and
colorful cast ranging from Boston Brahmins and politicians to massage-parlor
operators and pimps.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY:
In this realistic, sharply penned mystery,
freelance researcher Tom Bethany, a Vietnam veteran who has made
the U.S. Olympic team, turns up the perpetrator of an unspeakable murder . .
. Bethany turns to extralegal methods in his search for the truth, leading to
a riveting, unpredictable resolution.
BOOKLIST:
Consider Body Scissors a grittier, harder-edged
Ross Thomas novel, and you have a sense of what Doolittle is up to. Throw in
Robert B. Parkers Boston locale, his heros smart mouth and propensity for
mayhem, and the sordid, skeleton-filled closets of the rich and powerful
that Raymond Chandler kept opening, and you have an even better idea . . .
Bethany will make the reader hope Doolittle is hard at work on number two.
CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER:
A four-star, two-thumbs-up, Class-A
wangdoodle of a thriller. It introduces Tom Bethany, hired by a presidential
aspirants campaign manager for a deep background check of the candidates
choice for secretary of state. The man has a clean record, but his daughter
was a murder victim two years before, and Bethanys interest is piqued enough
to cause an unforgettable attempt on his life.
Like an American Indian carving up a buffalo, the
author wastes nothing. Everything is connected, and at the end all the loose
ends are tied up in as skillful an effort as weve read all year. The
characters are singular and unfailingly interesting, and the uses and abuses
of power and privilege chillingly rendered.
To Get the Book
The first chapter is
available on this site. The entire book, in
Portable Document Format, can be had as shareware.
This full manuscript is in eleven-point type, a standard
size for hard cover books. It will print in horizontal format on standard
8.5 " x ll " paper, giving the effect of an open book with facing pages.
This PDF file will be
sent as an e-mail attachments. Download time should be three or four minutes.
To order, e-mail remnant@badattitudes.com.
Please include your name, mailing address and phone number, for our
verification purposes. This information will not be made available to anyone
else. The full book will then be e-mailed to you. If you like it, send five dollars.