SO LIKE SLEEP

Rating:
Summary: Justice Is Done Despite the Law
Review: Jeremiah Healy is a most unusual author of detective novels, being a graduate of Harvard Law School and a professor of law. You might think that this would mean that his novels would be dominated by legal nuance. Although Healy can provide this complexity as well as anyone (and this plays a role in the resolution of So Like Sleep), he keeps it in perspective.

John Francis Cuddy is Healy's detective. He has lost his wife, but still talks to her in the cemetery. This is a man of many dimensions. I know it sounds weird, but it works.

In this story, Cuddy finds a mystery replete with frame-ups, misdirection, and people exploiting others. He finds a way to unearth the whole sick plot, but then finds that it doesn't work legally. Justice is done anyway.

If you haven't read any of the Cuddy stories by Healy, this is a good one to start with. The best idea though is to read The Staked Goat and Blunt Darts, the first two novels in the series first. I suspect that you will become as addicted to these novels as I am.

Rating:
Summary: Justice Is Done Despite the Law
Review: Jeremiah Healy is a most unusual author of detective novels, being a graduate of Harvard Law School and a professor of law. You might think that this would mean that his novels would be dominated by legal nuance. Although Healy can provide this complexity as well as anyone (and this plays a role in the resolution of So Like Sleep), he keeps it in perspective.

John Francis Cuddy is Healy's detective. He has lost his wife, but still talks to her in the cemetery. This is a man of many dimensions. I know it sounds weird, but it works.

In this story, Cuddy finds a mystery replete with frame-ups, misdirection, and people exploiting others. He finds a way to unearth the whole sick plot, but then finds that it doesn't work legally. Justice is done anyway.

If you haven't read any of the Cuddy stories by Healy, this is a good one to start with. The best idea though is to read The Staked Goat and Blunt Darts, the first two novels in the series first. I suspect that you will become as addicted to these novels as I am.

Rating:
Summary: Anything But a Sleeper
Review: Last year I purchased a collection of mystery short stories. Among the contributors was Jeremiah Healy and his story, "Voire Dire." I not only found this to be the most interesting of the short stories, but was impressed enough by the hero, John Francis Cuddy, to pick up "The Only Good Lawyer." I read through it in nearly a day and became hooked. I then went to the beginning of the Cuddy series and began reading them all. Although I've found each to be incredibly enjoyable to read (and addicting), "So Like Sleep" is one of my favorites thus far.

It's a story of a young man who is not only accused of murdering his girlfriend, but admits to it to his therapy group and with the murder weapon in hand. Everyone believes it except Boston P.I., John Cuddy, who unravels a fascinating plot of deceit and coverups. Following a seemingly dead-end trail that brings him to Chicago, New York, and back to Boston, you can't help but root for Cuddy as he graples this intense thriller.

Healy once again delivers with a page-turning whodunnit that you won't be able to put down until you know the truth. Cuddy, like all of Healy characters no matter how major or minor, are believable and developed without unnecessary wordiness. You don't have to read the series in order to understand any subplots, but once you read one, you'll have to read them all. Highly, highly recommended. I gave it only four out of five stars because I read "The Only Good Lawyer" and I know what a "5" is from Healy. Against any other P.I. series I've read, "So Like Sleep" gets five stars.

Rating:
Summary: Anything But a Sleeper
Review: Last year I purchased a collection of mystery short stories. Among the contributors was Jeremiah Healy and his story, "Voire Dire." I not only found this to be the most interesting of the short stories, but was impressed enough by the hero, John Francis Cuddy, to pick up "The Only Good Lawyer." I read through it in nearly a day and became hooked. I then went to the beginning of the Cuddy series and began reading them all. Although I've found each to be incredibly enjoyable to read (and addicting), "So Like Sleep" is one of my favorites thus far.

It's a story of a young man who is not only accused of murdering his girlfriend, but admits to it to his therapy group and with the murder weapon in hand. Everyone believes it except Boston P.I., John Cuddy, who unravels a fascinating plot of deceit and coverups. Following a seemingly dead-end trail that brings him to Chicago, New York, and back to Boston, you can't help but root for Cuddy as he graples this intense thriller.

Healy once again delivers with a page-turning whodunnit that you won't be able to put down until you know the truth. Cuddy, like all of Healy characters no matter how major or minor, are believable and developed without unnecessary wordiness. You don't have to read the series in order to understand any subplots, but once you read one, you'll have to read them all. Highly, highly recommended. I gave it only four out of five stars because I read "The Only Good Lawyer" and I know what a "5" is from Healy. Against any other P.I. series I've read, "So Like Sleep" gets five stars.