Chris Grabenstein: TILT-A-WHIRL There isn't much fun in the sun when a billionaire real estate tycoon is found murdered on the Tilt-A-Whirl at a seedy seaside amusement park in the otherwise quiet tourist town of Sea Haven, New Jersey...

Debby Atkinson Margaret Coel Chris Grabenstein Louise Ure

PRAISE for TILT-A-WHIRL I really enjoyed this book. The story is told from the perspective of a part time cop who is basically responsible for driving around the real cop and the true hero of the story. It was a fresh approach, different enough that I was hooked pretty much on the first page. A quick run down of the plot is this: Millionaire is killed in front of his daughter, daughter gets kidnapped, cops try to find kidnappers in time to prevent tragedy. It seems straight forward enough, but it twists around like a snake in the sun. The further into the book I got, the more the waters were muddied, and it kept me guessing right to the end. As John Ceepak works the clues and tries to get to the bottom of what,s happening, Danny Boyle is just trying to keep up, while driving Ceepak around the resort town of Se Haven, and hopes to be done by sundown so he can go out drinking with his buddies. But as the case progresses Boyle finds himself getting caught up in it and actually enjoying the work. He may end up being a real cop after all. Grabenstein has a very easy and relaxed style that makes the book a real joy to read, and while not laugh out loud funny, it definitely has some really humorous scenes. If forced to I would not be able to pick just one thing that made this book so enjoyable to me, but it just felt right, not too over the top, not understated, just the right combination of everything. I will definitely be looking for the next in this series.    —Jon Jordan, Crimespree Magazine TILT-A-WHIRL is an absolutely delightful humorous mystery. John Ceepak, the new police officer in the small resort town of Sea Haven, New Jersey, is sharp, disciplined, and somewhat reminiscent of a Dudley Do-Right character. The young, part-time cop, Danny Boyle, who tells this story, admires Ceepak, but finds him a bit odd. For example, Ceepak is always prepared for trouble and his pockets are always filled with necessary crime scene supplies. He also keeps himself in tip-top shape and spends his spare time studying forensics. But they don't have a lot of crime in this relaxed tourist town. However, one morning, to everyone's surprise, Reginald Hart, the town's billionaire, is found dead on the local tilt-a-whirl. His young daughter, Ashley Hart, is with him and is covered in blood. Boyle and Ceepak take the call, but everyone on the police force is shocked. They rarely have murders in Sea Haven, but Ceepak quickly shows he knows how to proceed. In fact, it appears that a homeless man may be the prime suspect. But then Ashley is kidnapped, and the FBI is brought in. By the end of the story, both the FBI and the cops are amazed by the detecting skills of John Ceepak. And the reader will be amazed too. Unlike many humorous mysteries, this one is expertly plotted and filled with eccentric characters who are not what they seem. There are a lot of surprises, though the clues are there to warn the careful reader. Of course, Danny never figures the clues out, but Ceepak always takes time to explain them, to Danny and to the reader. The humor in this mystery is situational and not just a series of sarcastic remarks. For example, the very straight-arrow, yet kind Ceepak lives by the "code." Obviously, he is a total misfit in a town where cops pride themselves on being laid back and cool. Yet Ceepak's intelligence demands respect. Furthermore, Ceepak would like to assume that others also live by a code of honor and integrity, but he is sharp enough to realize that is not the case. As a result, he does not hesitate to assume prominent citizens may be lying to him. And Danny Boyle, the young narrator, eventually realizes Ceepak is an okay guy. As Boyle gradually works more closely with Ceepak, Boyle's pithy, sometimes sarcastic comments about the town add more humor. The beach town, with its myriad gift shops and ice cream parlors, is truly tacky and sleazy. Supporting characters are sharply, if not always fully drawn. There is the slovenly medical examiner whose tie indicates what he had for lunch and dinner. Fortunately, a crotchety, sharp old lady, who is the other medical examiner, is around to do the real work and to bond with Ceepak. A rich kid who tries, ineffectively, to be a black "gansta," is pretty funny too. He just can't get the language right, and his words sound like gibberish to everyone, black and white. Then there is the cop who lost his gun, which may be the murder weapon. Even the homeless suspects, who are quite likeable, have unexpected talents and sharp tongues. A tricky plot; very amusing characters; and lots of sardonic observations about tourist traps and small town boosters make this an extremely entertaining, well-written mystery.    —Beverly Deweese, Deadly Pleasures Danny Boyle, a 24-yr-old part-time summer cop in the New Jersey resort town of Sea Haven, finds himself partnered with, and chauffering, John Ceepak, a former MP new to the local Police Department. On a day which starts with the more-or-less typical level of danger as this one, when the first police matter to be dealt with is the theft of a tricycle, things ratchet up a whole lot when the area's version of Donald Trump is found murdered in a kiddie park known as Sunnyside Playland. The body is found on the Tilt-A-Whirl ride where, as one reporter puts it, "Reginald Hart's whirlwind life came spinning to a stop." Hart's barely-teenage daughter is seen shortly thereafter, her dress completely covered in blood, screaming for help. John Ceepak is put in charge of the investigation, with Danny right behind or alongside him, literally and figuratively. Ceepak brings a lot of baggage with him, not the least of which is his stint in Iraq, and he brings an ex-Marine's Honor Code with him. He also brings a sharp mind and intuitive cop skills, from all of which Danny learns quite a lot. There are a lot of twists and turns in the case, as befits a book with this title. Once I got caught up in the story, and the voice of Danny, who narrates the tale, I found it very enjoyable and a lot of fun. But there's danger here as well, and threats, real and perceived, and a lot of good stuff for the mystery fan who likes to try to figure things out before the pros do. This debut novel by Chris Grabenstein is a delightful cozy, one that is a fast read and keeps the reader guessing right up until the end.    —Gloria Feit, DorothyL TILT A WHIRL kept me laughing. It's written in present tense but Chris Grabenstein makes it easy to read. It's as if we're sliding into a booth at The Pancake House and he's saying, "You won't believe what happened to me." While Grabenstein lulls me into thinking that TILT A WHIRL is just a funny book, there's some nasty business going on in Sea Haven, New Jersey, a small barrier island favored by tourists. The Playland amusement park makes an ideal setting for a maze of distortions, deceptions and lies. TILT A WHIRL'S narrator is Danny Boyle, an unarmed summer cop who acts as chauffeur for regular cop John Ceepak, an ex-Military Police who lives by The Code and has Iraq flashbacks. He routinely does what Danny calls "the Starsky and Hutch moves, where he sweeps the horizon with his gun held out in front of his face with both hands." His cargo pants hold everything from power snacks to a miniature magnifying glass. On a sunny Saturday morning Ceepak is about to roust a boy for stealing tip quarters at The Pancake House when a girl covered with blood comes screaming down the street. Her name is Ashley. Her father, Sea Haven's richest developer and slumlord, has been shot while sitting with her in the Tilt A Whirl. The murder scene appears to be a homeless hangout. Ceepak and Danny find castoff syringes and a shallow tunnel under the park fence. They also get a whiff of seductive perfume. Before the investigation can get underway, Ashley disappears. Word is out that she's sole heir to her father's fortune. Can a ransom note be far behind? There's funny/ha-ha and funny/witty. This book is both. Grabenstein has a sly eye for the absurdities of the human landscape. Some descriptions that made me laugh: A police chief who looks like "a contemplative moose resting against a stump." An attorney in a short skirt who has "very strong calf muscles, the kind that could crack walnuts ..." A CSI team wearing "gloves and hairnets and surgical masks and white Tyvek jumpsuits that make them look like walking FedEx envelopes." There's a hilarious scene where a possible witness tries to escape through an automated car wash. The author has referred frequently to Bruce Springsteen's lyrics. I'm thinking that Jim Croce's "Workin' At The Car Wash Blues" would fit nicely here. Grabenstein has worked in New York's improvisational comedy troupes. If you want to know what TILT A WHIRL is really like, see the author's photo on the back flap. His grin says it all.    —Pat Browning, DorothyL See Chris's website for more on Chris and his books!