The Marinara Murders (Arthur Beautyman Mysteries) [Kindle Edition]

The Marinara Murders (Arthur Beautyman Mysteries)
Erik Hanberg
Amazon Digital Services
Kindle Edition
November 2011
Cozy Mystery
5 Stars

In a sequel to the first book in the authors series "The Saints Go Dying" we find Det. Arthur Beautyman feeling a bit disgraced after leaving the force in California living in his mothers basement in Minnesota. So his life took a downhill slide, he has his computer and can be quite happy where he is, or so he thinks. His mother has other plans for him, like doing what he does best, being a detective. When one of his mothers bridge partners Julie Diamond wants to hire him to find out where her grandson had been the past three years. Three years earlier he committed suicide or so everyone thought. His body was never found until the present. And it had just happened. Now for the mystery where has he been for the past 3 years and why did he not contact anyone? How did he happen to wind up dead now? With Beautyman taking the case he has to make his mother a partner to keep her from telling Julie everything he finds out. Now the fun begins .

This was a very enjoyable read and I found very hard to put down when I started. There is more twists and turns through the book with intrigue and suspense to keep the reader very involved. The characters were well rounded and very easy to connect with. I enjoyed Mama. She proves to be pretty good at detective work after all. What started out as an innocent ploy by her son turns her into a crime solving mama. This was one of those books where you did not know the killer or what was going to happen on the next page. Reading this book has made me want to go get the first book now in the series to read. And so with the ending of this book I feel like there will be more to the Arthur Beaytyman Mysteries or I hope there will be. Recommended read- No sexual scenes all though hinted at and the occasional "F" word otherwise very cleanly written.

The Marinara Murders is the second mystery featuring Arthur Beautyman, the first, The Saints Go Dying, introduces the LA detective in the midst of a serial killer case.

In The Marinara Murders, Arthur Beautyman is a forty-something, retired detective with impressive hacker skills. Having left the LAPD with a cloud hanging over his head (I'm not clear about the circumstances not having read the first book) he has been holed up in his mother's basement in Minnesota, a virtual recluse, for months. Tired of her son's inertia, his mother deftly manipulates Arthur into agreeing to help Julia by discovering where her grandson, Jake, had been for the three years it was assumed he was dead. As Arthur investigates, he discovers a link between the Diamond family's restaurant, Carat and an Italian diner, owned by Luca Alcamo, Dromio's and when he is attacked he knows he has hit a nerve somewhere.

The plot of The Marinara Murders is cleverly layered, and makes good use of Beautyman's slightly rusty detective skills and his computer hacking ability. Over the course of the novel, Arthur finds himself caught up in complex web of family dysfunction, identity theft and corruption. It isn't Beautyman though that solves this case, surprisingly it is his mother who pieces together the majority of the clues and, in a slightly absurd scene, invites all the suspects, the investigating police detective and the Beautyman's new 'business consultant', for Thanksgiving dinner to reveal the secret of both Jake's whereabouts and identify his murderer.

There is a note from the author at the end of the book that explains Hanberg's inspiration for the plot of this novel which I found very interesting and overall, The Marinara Murders is a solidly enjoyable mystery novel with likeable protagonists.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Marinara Murders. I found myself caring what happened to the characters, especially Arthur Beautyman, who looks like he may find a little redemption, along with plenty of future adventures, in his new calling as a P.I. partner with his mom.

I'm off to read the prequel, "The Saints Go Dying," next.