A Long Reach: A Streeter Mystery

Streeter is back and up to his old tricks. Following the bad guys through twists and turns is no easy job in itself...throw in, getting the girl, making wisecracks and being quicker than the police and you have a five star detective story. I love Streeter - he is like a modern Phillip Marlow. Here Streeter has to protect his ex-wife from a psychopath that was her client and went to jail. Now he is out on a technicality and is furious. His specialty is to make bombs/booby traps to kill everyone involved in the case. Buy this book if you love faced paced mystery and danger. I guarantee every time you put it down you will make the long reach to pick it back up - it's that good! Relic113

The promise that author Stone showed in The Low End of Nowhere is delivered in this second book of the series. While a key plot point is telegraphed fairly early on, the author uses this to his advantage and delivers some nicely unexpected twists. This time out, the characters stand solid in their own right and in the climactic scenes of this book Stone lets his sense of humor loose, with the result that there are some hilarious, laugh-out-loud moments. It's always rewarding when a writer finds his stride and takes off. I'm looking forward to the other books in the series--which are already waiting for me in the small mountain of bedside reading.Highly recommended.

This book (and the rest of the Streeter Mysteries) are captivating with a rough appeal. The rawness of the lead character, Streeter, makes you scared of him, yet leaves you wanting to now more about him. Stone does an excellent job with the story line that will keep you in suspense until the very end. Can't wait for more of them. If you love a good mystery, look no further.

The first 2 sentences of this book hooked me. "Merton"Buddy" Hinckley wouldn't tell you the truth if you set his hair on fire. As a small- time contractor, he treated his customers like lice, and he had more process servers after him than both Clintons combined." Move over, Raymond Chandler. Read this in one sitting. Even though I hated the ex-girl friend and hoped she'd get iced or at least didn't care, Stone makes you care about the story. It moves fast and has interesting characters. The final "show-down" is hilarious; this should be a movie. I plan to read all the Streeter books.

--- A LONG REACH Michael Stone Viking, Feb 1997, $20.95, 225 pp.