The Hard Karma Shuffle

Rating:
Summary: Grabs your attention - and keeps it
Review: The authors of Hard Karma Shuffle know what they're doing when it comes to mystery writing. It was a treat to discover their taut plotting and savvy way with words. But most of all, it's the humor and the characters that have stayed with me. There are a ton of mysteries out there, some good, some you wonder how they ever got into print. Trust me: This is the good stuff.

Rating:
Summary: The Hard Karma Shuffle
Review: THE HARD KARMA SHUFFLE
authors: Mike Nettleton and Carolyn Rose
publisher: Deadly Alibi Press, Ltd. 2003
ISBN:1-886199-23-X
reviewed by Pari Noskin Taichert

Oh, man, if you're like, into the 60s, THE HARD KARMA SHUFFLE is going
to be your bag.

This breathless ride of a mystery introduces Paladin--that's his only name now--a gray-haired and pony-tailed love-child who has grown up and opted out of mainstream life for nearly 30 years. He's got no social security number, no driver's license, and has never paid a cent to the
IRS. Now in his forties, Paladin takes care of his minimal needs through barter and payments under the table for delivering packages on his bicycle in the weather-cursed city of Portland. One ugly afternoon, Paladin is sent to deliver an envelope to a software company and then ordered by the sender to "undeliver" it. Upon his return, Paladin finds his client--a good friend--dead. What happens to this counterculture and innocent soul, and the envelope in his possession, is the stuff of the mystery.

Paladin's voice--wry, intelligent and way-groovy--is right on. His world is peopled by fringe characters--a homeless tuba player, an immigrant small business owner, a former free-lover, and computer nerd gen X'ers. Because of his ultra liberal views and lifestyle; more conservative
readers might not relish his observations and descriptions of people who go to work every day, drive cars, or hail abstinence as a virtue. For those of us who secretly buck the establishment, he's copacetic.

There's a sparkling speed to THE HARD KARMA SHUFFLE, from the wonderful chase scenes pitting a bicycle against a car to the mercurial ups and downs of Paladin's fortunes, that renders this short read great fun. This book is for anyone who is nostalgic for the 60s or still
keeps a tie-dyed tee-shirt in the darkest corner of his or her closet.