Books

Manhattan Is My Beat
The Search
Uncatalogued (Booklover's Mysteries)
A Traitor to Memory
Sea of Bones
The Murder Stone
Death of a Dude
If Death Ever Slept
Red Threads
Double for Death
Bad for Business
Might as Well Be Dead
Before Midnight
Please Pass the Guilt
The Last King of Texas
Officer of the Court
Watchers of Time (Inspector Ian Rutledge Mysteries (Hardcover))
Jane and the Ghosts of Netley: Being a Jane Austen Mystery
Wreck the Halls (Home Repair is Homicide Mysteries (Hardcover))
Dead Aim
Crooked Heart
The Arcanum
The Murder Stone
Bad Move
Copycat

Average customer rating:

EXCITING! MIND-GRABBER!
The Colorful World of Rune
First effot by a stand out author
Not bad,the book had a nice atmosphere.
Not at all bad

Manhattan Is My Beat
Jeffery Deaver
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Suspense | Thrillers | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Mystery & Thriller Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

General | Mystery & Thrillers | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Hard News
Death of a Blue Movie Star
Mistress of Justice
Bloody River Blues
The Lesson of Her Death

ASIN: 0553581767
Release Date: 2000-06-06

Amazon.com

Jeffrey Deaver knows how to hook readers and keep them guessing with suspenseful, twisty plots. This early Deaver effort, originally published in 1988, will not disappoint fans dazzled by his subsequent, high-profile Lincoln Rhyme series (The Bone Collector, The Coffin Dancer, The Empty Chair.)

Manhattan Is My Beat takes its name from the (invented) 1947 film noir watched obsessively by murder victim Robert Kelly. Our heroine, Rune, (a punk with a heart of gold) works for Washington Square Video. On a routine pickup to retrieve Manhattan Is My Beat, she discovers Kelly just shot dead, the target of a professional hit. Rune and a woman jogger glimpse the presumed killer as he speeds off in a green car. While cops drag their heels in solving the mystery, Rune takes matters into her own hands, convinced that the motive for the murder is a missing suitcase stuffed with one million dollars--the subject, not coincidentally, of the film that Kelly and Rune both admired. An avid fan of fantasy novels and prone to see life through the prism of magic and quests, Rune takes up the challenge of finding the lost money and catching Kelly's killers. But the formidable hit team is intent upon destroying both possible witnesses to the murder, and their nimble crosses and double-crosses--some of which the reader sees, some of which are revealed at the end--make for fun reading.

Plotting moves briskly in this novel, except for a slowdown in the story--Rune's ambiguous romance with downtown poseur Richard has little to do with catching killers. The conclusion, while neatly wrapped, is marred by the sudden appearance of a crucial detail that Deaver produces like a fancy dish under the waiter's silver dome. But the gimmick to offset the conclusion's predictability feels like a cheat rather than a revelation. All in all, however, the novel is excellent mind candy, a thrilling romp lead by an agile, street-smart heroine. --Kathi Inman Berens

Book Description

Five feet two inches of slick repartee, near-purple hair, and poetic imagination, twenty-year-old Rune hasn't been in Manhattan for very long. But she's crafty enough to have found a squatter's paradise in an empty TriBeCa loft, and a video store job that feeds her passion for old movies. It's a passion she shares with her favorite customer, Mr. Kelly, a lonely old man who rents the same video over and over. The flick is a noir classic based on a real-life unsolved bank heist and a million missing dollars. It's called Manhattan Is My Beat.

That's the tape Rune is picking up from Mr. Kelly's shabby apartment when she finds him shot to death. The police suspect a robbery gone wrong, but Rune is certain the key to solving the murder is hidden somewhere in the hazy, black-and-white frames of Mr. Kelly's beloved movie. But as Rune hits the mean streets of New York to find answers, she gets caught up in a dangerous adventure more chilling than anything Hollywood could dream up. As her story draws to its terrifying conclusion, Rune's final close-up may include the killer of a co-star.

Customer Reviews:

EXCITING! MIND-GRABBER!.......2006-02-19

This work by JD is really fast-paced and intricate at the same time! a page-turner if you ever saw one! if you're a native of NYC as I am, you'll like the way he describes the Village and Downtown Manhattan! really accurate; the story is fast-paced; Rune is kind of ditzy but determined to get what she wants regardless of the consequences. If you want to pass sometime and have some fun-reading, this is the book for you!

The Colorful World of Rune.......2005-06-10

Although not as highly publicized as his Lincoln Rhyme series, Jeffrey Deaver still delivers a suspense filled, highly entertaining book with MANHATTAN IS MY BEAT.

A whole review could be dedicated to Rune, the main character in this epic. She's punk, she lives in an abandoned apartment on a rooftop, and she doesn't care what anyone thinks of her. The reader is enraptured by her antics and I wished I could have such a carefree attitude, or at least know someone like her. The term colorful doesn't do her justice!

Rune works for Washington Square Video owned by an overbearing jerk. When customer Robert Kelly has a late movie that needs to be picked up, Rune is given the assignment. This simple task is muddied when Rune discovers Kelly's body, an obvious case of murder. As she exits his apartment, she and a jogger see a green car speed away that she guesses is the murderer. The police don't move fast enough, so Rune decides to investigate on her own. She's sure Robert Kelly's murder is somehow tied to the movie he constantly rented, "Manhattan is My Beat". As she plugs along looking for clues, the hit men are intent upon eliminating Rune and the jogger who witnessed the car.

Thrown into Rune's world is Richard, her boyfriend who is anything but what the reader expects. Rune is unpretentious to Richard's rigidity. It was almost as if Deaver had to put Rune in a relationship with a businessman so she wasn't so bizarre she would offend some readers. I would much rather have enjoyed Rune on her own and not have her fenced in by Richard. But then again, Richard only has a minor role, so he could easily be overlooked.

Some of the scenes are very predictable but Deaver always has a few that catch the reader by surprise. This mix, along with Rune's antics, make for a story that will have you not only trying to catch the killers with Rune, but also wanting to befriend her and just hang out. I laughed so hard at times that I had to stop reading and wipe the tears out of my eyes. Seldom does a character touch the reader like Rune, and when that happens, it's definitely a fun read.

MANHATTAN IS MY BEAT is a fast paced book that will capture you from the beginning. Not as mentally challenging as figuring out the villains in the Lincoln Rhyme series, it will leave you smiling and is a few hours well spent.

First effot by a stand out author.......2002-12-17

Deavers wrote this book under the name of William Jefferies. He also wrote another series under this name featuring a film scout. This character is a young punkish girl named Rune who is trying to get through her 20's and survive NYC. She is currently working at a video store and when a regular dies under suspicious
circumstances she becomes interested in the movie he rented numerous times. She becomes obsessed with plot of the movie as it is based loosely on a true crime. She thinks she can solve the case find the money and live happily ever after. This plot is hard to follow at times and sometimes I don't think the author is aware of what he wants the characters to do. I have read his later books and know he can write a good thriller. Too bad this book falls flat, I believe his publisher re-released to capitalize on his famous status. I will read more of the scout series and might try the next one in this series just because Rune is such a likable character.

Not bad,the book had a nice atmosphere........2002-05-20

This plot is rather simple, but kept my interest.Deaver has produced better works.The greatest thing (to me) in the story line was the beautiful city setting,which sets the scence for crime and mystery.

I found the main character (Rune) to be most annoying and unsuitable as a mystery solver. I thought Rune was a bit unrealistic as a character.Apart from that,it is not a bad read.

Not at all bad.......2002-01-16

this being an early Deaver, it is natural to suspect taht it wouldnt be as good as some of his later ones. In general, its right. THis is not as good as some later books, but its still pretty good.

The plot is nicely simple. Not too much complicated stuff to get your head round. The characters are good, and he leaves space for them to be further dweveloped. Presumably, this will come in the next two books (as it would in any good series).

Rune is a nice lead character, nicely contemporary. Some people've said she's annoying, but personally, i didn't think so. On the surface she comes across as naive, but gradually you see that she isnt as so as you first thought. she might have got her head in the clouds, but her feet are still firmly on the ground...

as always with a deaver novel, there are twists a-plenty. and ill admit, here they werent quite as complex as some of his later novels twists, but they are just as viable. and still i didnt guess them. (I gave up trying long ago!)

The writing is good, the plot is good, the characters are good. What more could you want?

As, presumably, this was his first novel, it's a very worthy effort. I look forward to the next Rune novels.

Average customer rating:

MANHATTAN IS MY BEAT.
Jeffery Wilds. Deaver
Manufacturer: Bantam Books,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N7E9VQ

Average customer rating:

Dead beat
A BRASH AND BREEZY, PAGE TURNING READ...

Manhattan Is My Beat (Rune Trilogy)
Jeffery Deaver
Manufacturer: Coronet Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books

Action & Adventure | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0340793112

Customer Reviews:

Dead beat.......2007-06-04

The style of Deaver's "Manhattan" is not overly different to those of his peak phase (for mine, Maidens Grave - Coffin Dancer) in that it is simply written and developed, and with twists. However the twists themselves were anti-climactic (i read the whole book for that? come on), the attempted metaphors of New York as a fairyland and the connections to movies were lost on me, and the characters did not attract. I think I'll leave my Deaver collection to rest for awhile, 2.5 stars.

A BRASH AND BREEZY, PAGE TURNING READ..........2005-07-30

This is one of the author's earlier works, and while it is not one of his best efforts, it is still a cut above what is currently proffered by other writers of this genre. Jeffrey Deaver writes with a decidedly contemporary feel, his prose always spare and lean. While he does not dwell unduly on character development, it does not deter from the book, as it is wholly plot driven, with enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing until the last minute. It makes for a quick, enjoyable read.

The book revolves around a decades old bank robbery in which the million dollars heisted was never recovered. This robbery was memorialized in an old bete noire film entitled "Manhattan is My Beat". Enter the story's unlikely heroine, twenty year old Rune of the purple hair, who works in a video store, squats in an abandoned loft that she calls home, and has an imagination that doesn't quit.

When one of her video customers is killed execution style in his apartment, Rune is drawn into events of the past, as they converge upon the present. The now dead customer had repeatedly rented the film, "Manhattan is My Beat", and Rune firmly believes that there is a connection between his death and the age old bank heist. Her do-or-die resolve to discover why her customer was killed leads the moxie endowed Rune on a merry and dangerous chase. It is one that keeps the reader fully engaged and entertained.

Books:

Books