Books
- 23 Shades of Black
- Eureka
- Disturbed Earth
- Property of Blood
- Flip-flop
- Anatomy of an Assassin
- The Family
- Flesh and Blood
- A Metropolitan Murder
- Train
- Skydive Murders, The
- Flesh and Blood
- Accidental Murder: A Detective Inspector Carol Ashton Mystery (A Detective Inspector Carol Ashton Mystery)
- The Anodyne Necklace
- Swag: The Early Life and Crimes of Ernest Stickley
- Missing Madonna
- Just Above My Head
- Mark Twain Murders
- Karma
- Bad Apple
- Close Quarters
- Cold Case
- Prime Suspect 2
- Prime Suspect: 3
- Killing Orders
Average customer rating:
- Tough, Gritty Wisecracking Noir at its Finest
- Too much Ecuador, not enough mystery
- Intriguing Character, Nice Details, Flat Ending
- Humourous... Sharp Narration !
- A breath of fresh air in the female detective genre.
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23 Shades Of Black
K. J. A. Wishnia
Manufacturer: Point Blank
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Women Sleuths
| Mystery
| Mystery & Thrillers
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Similar Items:
- The Glass Factory (Filomena Buscarsela Mysteries (Paperback))
- Blood Lake: A Filomena Buscarsela Mystery
- Soft Money (Filomena Buscarsela Mysteries (Paperback))
- Red House (St. Martin's Minotaur Mysteries)
ASIN: 1930997647 |
Customer Reviews:
Tough, Gritty Wisecracking Noir at its Finest.......2006-12-08
New York police officer Filomena "Fil" Buscarsela isn't your average New York cop. She's from a remote mountain village in Ecuador and her brother had been killed by agents of the government, so one would think she'd have a huge distrust of police and all things governmental, but not so. She and her partner are sent to the scene of a toxic leak at a food stamp center. Several people are sick and when one is killed at a construction site later on, which is owned by the same company, Fil starts to become suspicious, especially since the dead guy was an artist named Wilson McCullough who had been making noises about the insecticide making factory next door to the food stamp center, claiming they were killing the environment.
The insecticide people apologize for the accident, but Fil doesn't really think they're all that sorry. Especially after McCullogh's autopsy reveals the levels of lead in his system were far too high to have been the results of any accident.
And while she's trying to put he case together she also has to deal with her other cases, one involving illegal immigrants, another involving a rape and still another involving a drug bust. She has a full plate, but she busts her tail against long odds as she wants to make detective. And she likes the idea of justice, so she investigates the toxic spill on her own, taking us along while she works the investigation which takes her from the clubs of the Lower East side to the boardrooms of corporate execs.
My best description of Mr. Wishnia's writing would be wisecracking noir at its finest. I just loved it and I will be looking for more of Fil's stories. If you like thrillers, mysteries, hard-boiled noir or any combination of them then you're going to love this book.
Too much Ecuador, not enough mystery.......2000-06-28
Although Wishnia knows a lot about Ecuador (more than anyone needs to know), the elements of mystery fall flat. The tangled, disjointed threads of plots are hard to follow and, generally, not worth a lot of effort. The character of Filomena is tough as a nut, self-centered, militantly left-wing in her thinking. Generally, an unsympathetic bore. It's hard to maintain interest in her.
Intriguing Character, Nice Details, Flat Ending.......2000-05-03
Filomena Buscarsela is an interesting protagonist, one of themore convincing female characters created by a male author that I'verecently read. Intriguing tidbits about her Central American homelandare inserted throughout the story, along with a critical dissection of the political, musical, artistic and social trends in the early 80's, when the story takes place.
The plot itself is fairly convoluted, and while Mr. Wishnia excels in dialogue, scene descriptions and the protagonist's wry fourth-wall commentary, I found the rambling storyline hard to follow after a while. The subplots (especially Filomena's stint with the INS and her relationship with her French lover) were often more interesting than the main plot, but many of them were left hanging, unresolved, as the story progressed.
Finally, the dots are connected in the last few chapters with lightning speed, with that "uh-oh, better wind this up in a hurry" je-ne-sais-quoi that plagues many otherwise enjoyable books...The ending really fell flat for me. END
Humourous... Sharp Narration !.......2000-04-30
Overall, it was a pretty good read. The really fresh thing about this book was that it featured a tough Latina. I happen to like tough Latina's. The book starts off really good. The middle is really good too. However, in the end when Filomena meets face to face with the bad guy I really, really, really wanted Filomena to....Oh, well I guess you have to read the book!
A breath of fresh air in the female detective genre........1999-01-12
I really enjoyed this book. It was a great change of pace after reading books by Marcia Muller, Sue Grafton, Linda Barnes, etc. The main character's is tough and knows how to hold her own with the male Police officers.
This is a great read after reading a lot of (although enjoyable) "formula" books. Her world is not pretty and she exhibits many of the character flaws of someone constantly dealing with the "scum of the earth", as well as the pressures of being a minority in a man's world. Her toughness reminds me of the first time I read V.I. Warshawski.
I liked the grittyness and unexpected references to world events and history. I can't wait to read the next book!
Average customer rating:
- Wisecracking Noir at its Finest
- A fine, gritty cop novel
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23 SHADES OF BLACK
Manufacturer: SIGNET BOOKS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0739400673 |
Customer Reviews:
Wisecracking Noir at its Finest.......2006-12-08
New York police officer Filomena "Fil" Buscarsela isn't your average New York cop. She's from a remote mountain village in Ecuador and her brother had been killed by agents of the government, so one would think she'd have a huge distrust of police and all things governmental, but not so. She and her partner are sent to the scene of a toxic leak at a food stamp center. Several people are sick and when one is killed at a construction site later on, which is owned by the same company, Fil starts to become suspicious, especially since the dead guy was an artist named Wilson McCullough who had been making noises about the insecticide making factory next door to the food stamp center, claiming they were killing the environment.
The insecticide people apologize for the accident, but Fil doesn't really think they're all that sorry. Especially after McCullogh's autopsy reveals the levels of lead in his system were far too high to have been the results of any accident.
And while she's trying to put he case together she also has to deal with her other cases, one involving illegal immigrants, another involving a rape and still another involving a drug bust. She has a full plate, but she busts her tail against long odds as she wants to make detective. And she likes the idea of justice, so she investigates the toxic spill on her own, taking us along while she works the investigation which takes her from the clubs of the Lower East side to the boardrooms of corporate execs.
My best description of Mr. Wishnia's writing would be wisecracking noir at its finest. I just loved it and I will be looking for more of Fil's stories. If you like thrillers, mysteries, hard-boiled noir or any combination of them then you're going to love this book.
A fine, gritty cop novel.......2006-10-05
This title involves an American-Ecuador police officer in
NYC named Filomena Buscarsela. My reading experience is Fil grows on
you as a character. She's a tough, tenacious, and independent lady who
aspires to become a detective. There's enough police work given here
to make this a semi-procedural. Fil's unsettled past in Ecuador is
given via her long, frequent musings. The pace picks up near the end
with a satisfying climax. I'll read more in the series to follow her
interesting character development.
Average customer rating:
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23 Shades Of Black
K. J. A. Wishnia
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000JE8UC2 |
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