King of the Holly Hop

It's such a great feeling to encounter a friend of long-standing whom you've not seen for a while. Milan Jacovich is a tad older, a tad tetchier, a tad more profane than the last time we encountered him, but he's still welcome to share my space with me! Special thanks, then, are due to Les Roberts (Milan's creator) and Gray & Company (Milan's new publisher) for this early holiday gift. Picking up with a friend is one thing; attending one's high school reunion is quite another. In this new book King of the Holly Hop -- the private eye's 14th adventure since Roberts moved here some 20 years or so ago -- Milan attends his truncated 40th class reunion. Bless his heart! It ain't fun, that's for sure. All the favorite hang-outs are here, and the local touches make it so much more personal. Chances are most Clevelanders will have been to at least one of the places Milan likes, or maybe all of them. And why not? His creator has great taste! Roberts hasn't lost any of his dry wit or writing skills while he's not been writing Milan stories, however. His pungent remarks, analysis of people and perceptions of society are still top-notch. Milan hasn't really stayed close to most of his high school classmates; too much water under the bridge for that to have happened. That doesn't lessen the shock when one classmate is found murdered, and another is the prime suspect. There's no real reason for Milan to become involved in the case, but the suspect (probably the most famous and well-to-do graduate) has other ideas. He appeals to a local attorney to hire Milan in the hope of uncovering someone else's secrets. And of course, Milan does just that. Milan's class has a wide assortment of characters -- as do they all, mine included -- so he has enough investigating to do that he enlists a local free-lance investigator to help him out. Suzanne Davis is a terrific character, and it would be nice to see more of her in future books. (hint, hint!) To balance her out, Milan tangles again with Police Lieutenant McHargue, who, according to Milan gets irritated just seeing his name in the phone book, let alone sitting on the other side of her desk. There's no question that it was murder. But there are so many possible perps, it keeps Milan hopping! Phil Kohn, smarmy even in high school, hasn't improved any with age and his medical degree, providing Milan with plenty of reasons for his sudden demise. He's irritated so many people through the years that finding the culprit isn't nearly as easy as it might be. Too many choices tend to complicate things. Class nerd Tommy Wiggins is now a successful playwright, with one supremely unhappy memory of his high school years, thanks to Kohn. Class hippie/druggie Ted Lesnevich has moved up in the world to handling higher cost stuff these days. Class beauty Alenka Tavcar is a successful real estate agent, newly separated from her husband, while Jack and Barbara Siegel's marriage nearly floundered over Kohn's finagling. There'

High School reunions can bring back all the fun of high school - and all the terror of it as well. "King of the Holly Hop" follows Milan Jacovich attending his 40th high school reunion. The festivities fall short as one of his classmates is found shot to death and accusations are flying all over. Jacovich soon finds that it's likely because of an old grudge - but what kind of grudge is held onto for four decades? "King fo the Holly Hop" is a fresh and original mystery, highly recommended to those looking for a classic whodunit with new ideas.

Les Roberts has done it again and with our favorite detective, Milan Jacovich. Some may accuse me of being prejudiced as a former Cleveland boy, however I do read a great number of mysteries. I have read all of the Cleveland and LA series as well as others by Les Roberts and he never lets you down. This is likely the best in the Milan Jacovich series and another one of those I will read again despite knowing the surprising end. This time the story covers Milan's 40th high school reunion and the murder of a classmate he has to investigate. That means digging into the past of both classmates who were close to him and others he didn't care about. Anyone who has been to a class reunion will relate. We all like to keep the innocent memories of our high school years and forget the bad. Milan is forced to see things from the past he wasn't aware of and it isn't pretty. It is a tightly drawn story with well defined characters as Les Roberts is so expert in doing. He is clearly the best detective fiction writer in this nation and any other. It makes the reader look forward to the next book whether about Milan or not. I would recommend this book to everyone and will be doing so.

Roberts does an excellent job of introducing you to the plot and all of the key characters in the first chapter. I finished it with a grin, as it looked like a preview of a coming reunion. A doctor is killed at a 40th high school reunion and everyone who was at the soiree is a suspect, including Mylan Jacovich (pronounced MY-lan Yock-o-vitch), much to the delight of Cleveland police. The book has a universal theme, at least to anyone who's facing a high school reunion after more than 15 years (the 10-year reunion doesn't count because everyone is still establishing career and family). By mid-book you'll have your own lead suspect. And knowing how the slights of high school carry over to adulthood, you know that if there were a murder at your own reunion, the killer would be a classmate. Roberts, who went to school in the 1960s in Chicago, does a good job of catching the tenor of those race-charged years. He only misses how smitten Cleveland was with the music of Motown. The local color is perfect, with restaurants and other local institutions of the Forest City. He even mentions Mitchell's Candy, the leading confectioner of Cleveland Heights since the 1950s. Billy Mitchell, like me, celebrates his 40th high school reunion soon and hopefully it will go smoother than it did for "The King of the Holly Hop".

This latest episode of hunky Milan Jacovich, the Slovenian P.I. is a great addition to the series. This time Milan is hired to investigate a murder at his own High School reunion. The dead guy turns out to be a nasty, tomcat malpracticing doctor who also abuses drugs, women (and animals) and pretty much needed killing anyway. Lots of Cleveland neighborhood color and great characters continue to make this series a must read. Unlike other popular series writers who turn out thin and bad installments to cash in on prior popularity, Les Roberts has maintained the richness of this gumshoe character. Good read!