The Big Show Stopper

(A Pinky and the Bear mystery)

by
Ken Dalton

Different Drummer Press, September 2010, 285 pp.

ISBN: 978-0-578-05459-9

Genre: Mystery
Subgenre: Detective / Lawyer
Reviewed: 3/12/2011

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Excerpt

Pinky -- Carson City, Nevada

"Bear?"

"Correct. Bear Zabarte is my full time field operative. The last time we communicated he was in Needles, California. You need to know that Bear is a capable employee. He should never be trusted concerning his expense account, or his--"

The phone rang. Lu picked it up. "Law office of Pinky Delmont. Yes, he's here. Just a moment, please."

She turned to me and said, "It's Bear."

I took the phone out of her hand. "Bear, we have a problem."

"Boss, I'm glad you're back. How was your vacation in Canada?"

Bear's voice was clear, another example that Mr. Bell's telephone invention had achieved near perfection. "I was not on vacation. Now on to our problem and do not interrupt me."

"Right, I'll sit here and listen."

"I told you not to interrupt me."

"Right."

"Damn it, stop saying right."

"Okay."

I paused a moment to give my blood pressure the opportunity to ebb a few notches, and continued. "Willow reminded me last night that you remain a fugitive of justice. Remember that little altercation with Ice Conner?"

I could hear Bear's hot breath pulsate against the transmitter of the phone. "Bear, answer me."

"But you told me to clam up."

"Damn it, when I ask you a question I expect you to answer me."

"Right."

Again I waited in vain for his response. "Bear, answer my question."

"Okay! I know that dirty cop lied to the judge and I can't come home until you can find a way to kill the warrant, or I figure out a way to wring the bastard's neck."

I said, "Now that we are on the same page, last night I informed Willow that I did not know your whereabouts, nor had I spoken to you for some time."

"That's okay, boss. We all have to fudge a little once in a while."

"Stop interrupting me. Now, I have a way around our communication dilemma. From this point on, you will make all future reports using email to Lu."

"Lou, who?"

"Lu. She took over for Mabel."

"I was going to ask you who answered the phone. Boss, you can tell me, is she young and good looking?"

Synopsis

While attending the Brady Blackstone concert in Carson City for Flo's birthday, the chair that zips Blackstone over the audience to the stage malfunctions and slams Blackstone's head into a steel girder, killing him instantly. Detective William L. "Ice" Conner, the dirtiest of all of the Carson City cops, has never gotten along with Bear and appears at the concert to investigate Blackstone's death. Ice Conner has been known to shot first and ask questions later. He is alleged of killing three suspects over a three year period, but nothing was ever proven. Bear thinks the only reason Ice wanted to talk with him is so that he could stare at Flo's hefty breasts.

Mabel, Pinky's secretary, is upset at the death of Brady Blackstone. Pinky has never heard of the country singing sensation. Mabel also has a problem with the way Bear spends money and doesn't like him at all. Bear informs Pinky that he thinks that Blackstone was murdered and also tells Pinky that Jack Spurlock, a young man that works for Brady Blackstone, was arrested for the murder and that Jack's mother would like to hire Pinky to defend her son. Pinky takes the job.

Pinky meets with Jack and Jack tells him that he was having an affair with Lucinda Blackstone, Brady's wife. Jack was in charge of verifying that the chair Brady rides down to the stage was in working order and the the dead man's brake functioned properly. But the night of the murder, Jack had been with Lucinda and didn't have a chance do his job. Lucinda contacts Pinky and hires him to find the real killer and get her boyfriend released from custody within thirty days. She will pay Pinky two million dollars if he meets her deadline.

Pinky and sends Bear back out to the location of the concert to interview more of Blackstone's employees. Bear meets a pretty blonde woman, Beth, who shows him around some. When the show packs up and moves down to Los Angeles, Bear and Flo follow them south so he can finish interviewing men on a list that Lucinda gave to Pinky that may be possible suspects. As Bear delves deeper into the mystery of why someone would want to murder Brady Blackstone, Pinky finds out that Lucinda has shortened the time frame in which he needs to find a viable suspect. Pinky, seeing the two million possibly flying out the door informs Bear that he must find a person that can be arrested for the murder as soon as possible. Pinky doesn't really care who Bear finds, as long as the person is arrested and Jack is released from jail. The only thing that truly matters to Pinky is the two million dollars not whether the person that is arrested for the murder of Brady Blackstone is guilty of the crime.

The Big Show Stopper is the second Pinky and the Bear mystery book written by Ken Dalton.

Review

The Big Show Stopper is a mystery story that starts off slow and slowly build to the conclusion. The story revolves around Bear and Flo tracking down the murderer of country singing star, Brady Blackstone. The pace of the story is kind of leisurely and not a lot happens to really draw the reader in. Nothing very exciting ever seem to happen in the story. It just rolls on from page to page and then kind of ends. There is a little excitement at the end with Ice Conner, but that even whimpers out and dies.

My biggest problem with the book is the main characters. I don't particularly like any of them. Lets look at each one briefly.

• Pinky Delmont - A money-hungry defense lawyer that doesn't care who is guilty of the crime, as long as he gets paid a handsome fee. I didn't like this guy at all. He has no redeeming qualities and I would barely even consider his a human being. If he were a bug, I would step on him and squash him flat. No one would miss him.

• Bear Zabarte - Bear is someone that once killed another man, but Pinky got him off. A former bartender, Bear now works for Pinky investigating crimes. Not much of a thinker, Bear stumbles his way through his investigation relying on his girlfriend Flo to help him out. I kind of liked him more as the story progressed, but not a lot.

• Flo - A college-educated bimbo who loves to lay around the pool and expects to be waited on. She has a rockin' body and knows it, but her personality is harsh and annoying. The only reason anyone would be with a woman like her is to sleep with her. She can spends thousands of dollars a day shopping and doesn't really care where the money comes from, as long as she gets to spend it on herself. In my book, she is worthless also. I couldn't stand her.

So, who am I supposed to bond with in this story? I guess it would be Bear. But, again, he is no winner. Without a main character that a reader can latch onto and cheer for, this book leaves the reader longing for more . . . much more.

As for the story, although it was slow at the beginning, the pace picked up near the end of the book. I found myself more interested in the plot and I also found that I like Bear a little better . . . just a little. I detested both Pinky and Flo throughout the entire book. At least Bear has morals and wants to find the actual killer. Flo is too busy being jealous and threatening to leave Bear throughout the book. Maybe she needs to learn a little bit about trust and self-esteem. Pinky just needs to learn how to care about something else beside money.

Overall, The Big Show Stopper is a mediocre read and could have been a lot better if the main characters in this story were more likable. I understand that there are a lot of people out in the world that are like these characters. I guess I just hoped for a main character I could bond with. There are not too many series I return to when I find that I do not like the main characters. As it stands, I do not plan on reading another Pinky and the Bear mystery. I would rather read books where I get involved in a story and cheer for the hero to save the day or to solve the murder. That was not the case with The Big Show Stopper. Too bad.

I rated this book a 5½ out of 10.