The Kidnapping of Rosie Dawn: A Joe Barley Mystery (Joe Barley Mysteries)

Rating:
Summary: Clever, Different Mystery
Review: Both my husband and I enjoyed this book. We liked Joe Barley and can't wait to read more about his friends, co-workers, adventures, and Toronto!

Rating:
Summary: Exquisitely written with witty metaphors and saucy dialogue.
Review: Eric Wright is a London-born Canadian. He is a former Professor and Chair of the English Department at Ryerson Institute of Technology, as well as a former Dean of Arts. Also the author of the Charlie Salter mystery series and the Lucy Trimble mystery series, he's won the "Arthur Ellis Award for Best Mystery published in Canada" several times over. Professor Wright is "retired," but is as busy as ever in his capacity as the creator of Canada's most beloved mysteries.

Joe Barley is a permanent lecturer in English literature at Hambleton College who makes ends meet by working part time as a security guard. His cleaning lady, Helena, an illegal immigrant from Portugal with lots of intelligence, halting English, and a network that would be the envy of any corporate executive, asks him to investigate the disappearance of Rosie Dawn, another of her accounts. Rosie Dawn is clearly a phony name, and it is up to Joe to discover who and why:

"She was clearly a tart. I'm choosing my words carefully. Rosie was evidently `kept' in the old parlance, or the apartment was kept for Rosie. She put out for money. The obvious word is `mistress,' but although I used to word to get through to Helena, I don't like it because I'm sensitive to the word's other connotations, shadings that include school mistress and female master, two images that quickly coalesce into a single picture of a middle-aged bond trader being caned by some old slag in a gym tunic."

Joe puts on his detective hat and follows a trail that leads either to Rosie's body or a good explanation for her disappearance. We're treated to Professor Wright's delightful jabs at an education system that locks talented teachers into low wages while working beside fat cat scholars. Joe juggles a secondary "problem" when his office mate, Richard Costril, faces a bogus charge of harassment by a disgruntled student who earned a bad grade. Wright adds to the mix by weaving comedic intrigue into the story when Joe's girlfriend Carole mystifies him by suddenly launching into the role of bumbling seductress.

The Kidnapping Of Rosie Dawn is a cozy type of mystery with the big question...where is the body? It is exquisitely written as a monument to witty metaphors and saucy dialogue. Joe is a delightful character, and readers will no doubt clamor for more.

Shelley Glodowski, Reviewer

Rating:
Summary: Funny and delighful mystery
Review: Joe Barley is a permanent part-time English teacher at Hambleton College in Toronto, Canada. He supplements his income with surveillance jobs for a small detective agency. His cleaning lady Helena, aware of Joe's sleuthing work, asks him to find out if anything happened to one of her clients, Rosie Dawn, a kept woman missing for two weeks. Helena and Joe visits Rosie's apartment where the superintendent gives the cleaning woman her pay from her former employer and informs her she is no longer needed there.

The answers leave a bitter taste in Joe's mind. He is concerned about Rosie's fate and begins investigating the situation. Joe soon finds the owner of the apartment, Mr. Hyde, who seems to have something to hide (no pun intended). Joe learns that someone kidnapped Rosie to get at Hyde. All parties want Joe to butt out, but he is unable to do so, which places his life in danger.

THE KIDNAPPING OF ROSIE DAWN is a book about kidnappers, prostitutes, and crooked politicians and businessmen, all converging into a humorous plotline. Eric Wright has the right stuff (pun intended) as he uses wit to keep his audience laughing in what is essentially an amateur sleuth tale. Joe owns the story line that will hook readers into seeking more novels starring this unique, likable individual.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Not your typical mystery
Review: Leave your preconceptions behind when you pick up "The Kidnapping of Rosie Dawn." Yes, it's billed as as Joe Barley Mystery, but this is definitely not a typical murder mystery whodunit. There are three plots. First and foremost, there's the storyline described by the title, where Joe, a part-time college professor who does a bit of stakeout work for a detective firm, searches for a missing call girl at the behest of his Portuguese cleaning woman. Then we meet Joe's officemate, a fellow part-time prof who's being sued for racial discrimination by a black student. Finally, there's Joe's live-in lover, who suddenly starts acting very, very strange indeed.

Yes, the latter two plots have nothing to do with the main one, but I enjoyed the fact that this is not a normal whodunit. For one thing, it's wildly funny -- I almost dropped the book at a couple of points, I was laughing so hard. And Joe is a pleasant fellow to spend some time with. The wrap-up to the title mystery is a bit convoluted, but on the whole, "The Kidnapping of Rosie Dawn" is a refreshing read.

Rating:
Summary: Not your typical mystery
Review: Leave your preconceptions behind when you pick up "The Kidnapping of Rosie Dawn." Yes, it's billed as as Joe Barley Mystery, but this is definitely not a typical murder mystery whodunit. There are three plots. First and foremost, there's the storyline described by the title, where Joe, a part-time college professor who does a bit of stakeout work for a detective firm, searches for a missing call girl at the behest of his Portuguese cleaning woman. Then we meet Joe's officemate, a fellow part-time prof who's being sued for racial discrimination by a black student. Finally, there's Joe's live-in lover, who suddenly starts acting very, very strange indeed.

Yes, the latter two plots have nothing to do with the main one, but I enjoyed the fact that this is not a normal whodunit. For one thing, it's wildly funny -- I almost dropped the book at a couple of points, I was laughing so hard. And Joe is a pleasant fellow to spend some time with. The wrap-up to the title mystery is a bit convoluted, but on the whole, "The Kidnapping of Rosie Dawn" is a refreshing read.

Rating:
Summary: Will kidnap your attention
Review: When Joe Barley's cleaning lady asks him to find one of her clients who seems to have disappeared, Joe, a part-time teacher, is not sure he wants to help. Joe also works part time for a security agency as a watcher, they pay him to watch a doorway, a park, and a street and then report back on what he saw. But Helena is convinced that he is a real detective so what could he do but agree to help. Rosie Dawn, is a college student paying her bills by doing exotic dancing on the side and being the mistress of a fast-food entrepreneur, is missing. While trying to find Rosie Dawn, Joe must also solve the mystery of why his live-in love, Carol, is acting strange and help his office mate defeat the campus political-correctness police. With a great deal of understated humor, witty phrases and plots within plots, Eric Wright's The Kidnapping of Rosie Dawn, is a very enjoyable book to read. Wright has the ability to make complex plots easy to understand while at the same time leaving you with a sense of wonder at the layers he has created. Wright has a real talent for fleshing out his characters and capturing both their strengths and weaknesses. You are left with the feeling that Barley could easily be your next door neighbor or co-worker, just the average guy you meet every day.

Rating:
Summary: Will kidnap your attention
Review: When Joe Barley's cleaning lady asks him to find one of her clients who seems to have disappeared, Joe, a part-time teacher, is not sure he wants to help. Joe also works part time for a security agency as a watcher, they pay him to watch a doorway, a park, and a street and then report back on what he saw. But Helena is convinced that he is a real detective so what could he do but agree to help. Rosie Dawn, is a college student paying her bills by doing exotic dancing on the side and being the mistress of a fast-food entrepreneur, is missing. While trying to find Rosie Dawn, Joe must also solve the mystery of why his live-in love, Carol, is acting strange and help his office mate defeat the campus political-correctness police. With a great deal of understated humor, witty phrases and plots within plots, Eric Wright's The Kidnapping of Rosie Dawn, is a very enjoyable book to read. Wright has the ability to make complex plots easy to understand while at the same time leaving you with a sense of wonder at the layers he has created. Wright has a real talent for fleshing out his characters and capturing both their strengths and weaknesses. You are left with the feeling that Barley could easily be your next door neighbor or co-worker, just the average guy you meet every day.

Rating:
Summary: Great new series!
Review: Wonderful introduction to a great new series by this Canadian author. Joe Barley is a part-time Eng Lit teacher at a small college and a part-time security guard. Helen, his cleaning lady reports another of her clients, Rosie Dawn, is missing. A lighthearted mystery invoving a student working her way thru college as a table-dancer. Some of the humor is very subtle puns, but some is laugh-out-loud funny! A sub-plot deals with an attempt by a minority student to discredit a fellow teacher and the college adminisration. All in all a fun read in a new series by an award-winning writer.