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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Among the best of modern mysteries, 30 Dec 1996
By A Customer
K.C. Constantine is a mystery writer wrapped in a mystery. Writing for 20 years or more, no one knows who he really is and, at his best, he is the best mystery writer in America. The Man Who Liked Slow Tomatoes is his best work. The characters, ordinary people living ordinary lives, come alive across the pages. You understand their strengths and sympathize with their weaknesses. Plot is secondary to character in Constantine's Rockburg mysteries, but the plot here will not disappoint. His recent works have had some ups and downs, but he seems back on track now. This book is the best introduction you can get to a master of the trade.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Chief Balzac in a bad mood that only gets worse and worse, 18 Sep 2003
Mario Balzic is in a foul mood pretty much from start to finish in "The Man Who Liked Slow Tomatoes," K. C. Constantine's fifth mystery novel revolving around the world of the police chief of the fictional West Pennsylvania town of Rocksburg. The original reason for why Balzic is snapping at everybody is because labor negotiations between the police union and the city are going nowhere. So the threat of a strike is looming larger and larger with Mario caught in the middle and not looking forward to be the only cop in town. When he walks into Muscotti's bar to get a drink one afternoon Vinnie the bartender offers him some fresh tomatoes even though it is only the middle of June. The tomatoes were grown by Jimmy Romaneli, an unemployed miner, who, in the small world that is Rocksburg, is married to the daughter of one of Balzic's father's best friends, Mike Fiori. When Frances Romaneli calls up worried that her husband Jimmy is missing, Balzic takes the matter personally. But what he starts to uncover makes his disposition even worse than it already is because of the city politics.A Mario Balzic Mystery is essentially a series of conversations between the chief and everybody with whom he comes into contact, although there is actually some traditional "action" in "The Man Who Liked Slow Tomatoes" (which comes relatively early and the story and has little to do with the case at hand, although Balzic does enjoy showing why he does not need a gun to do his job). But this time around several of the conversations became increasingly frustrating and, with a bit of intentional irony on the part of the author, the more a conversation seems to be going nowhere in this novel the more vital information it ends up containing. No one Balzic is on edge by the end of this one. Once again, this is Balzic on his own, dare I say it, because this time it is personal. Not even his family is really allowed in as he tumbles on to what is happening regarding this trio of very unhappy people. All the while the memories of his father become more and more potent. It is one thing to confront the demons to haunt you, but another to discover that they have been doing it for quite some time. This is Constantine's darkest novel in the series so far, a tragic tale that envelops an entire family by the time it is played out and which constantly exposes the worst side of Chief Balzic. And to think, it all began with the growing of tomatoes.
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